NZ Manufacturers and Exporters Association
Websites: www.mea.org.nz, www.realeconomy.co.nz, www.johnwalley.co.nz
Company: The NZMEA is one of the oldest and most respected business advocacy groups in New Zealand. Originally established in 1879 and known as the Canterbury Manufacturers Association the association determined it was time to spread their focus nationwide and rebranded to the NZMEA.
Brief: To develop a comprehensive online communication strategy for the NZMEA; this strategy had to specifically include provisions for conveying the nationwide identity of the organisation. Operationally the strategy had to facilitate access to: archival/historic information for members and the general public, current press releases from the association, personal comment from the association CEO (without being directly linked to the association), ability to survey members and present results, ability to take bookings online for events and seminars and the ability to take membership payments. Promotionally the online strategy had to facilitate a strong push of information and updates to the membership base, the media and the general public.
Delivery: Synapse was contracted to rebrand the organisation and rethink the online communication strategy to better service the needs of the membership. Initially significant research was undertaken through interviewing and surveying existing members, potential members and other stakeholders in the organisation to understand what the organisation meant to them. From here a new brand was developed to convey the national orientation of the organisation, the website was developed to utilise the latest technology including the development of the association and CEO blogs, providing news updates, RSS feeds and full newsletter functionality. Significant search engine optimisation was also undertaken to ensure that the profile of the NZMEA was maximised over the Internet. When new articles are posted on the NZMEA website or either of the blogs they are automatically posted to members following the NZMEA via Twitter or RSS. The homepage of the NZMEA is also updated dynamically through an RSS feed aggregator which pulls automatically pulls relevant content from news sources relevant to the messaging of the NZMEA.
Results: In the 12 months following the implementation of the new strategy the total unique visitors to the NZMEA website portfolio has increased by 2400% with over 30,000 unique visitors per month. This has created substantial exposure for the organisation in the media and the general public. The website allows for easy development of online surveys on member business confidence and activity and then the distribution of these results once aggregated to members and the general media. The NZMEA is now frequently approached by media to provide information and comment on the business environment in New Zealand.
