Report of the MCAA Marketing Committee
Words: John Smith Jr.As Chairman of the MCAA Marketing Committee, I would like to submit the following report to the Board outlining the committee’s activities since the mid-year meeting in Boston, MA. But before I progress, I would like to recognize the members of the committee. They are: Brian Proctor, Dan Macario, Damian Lang, Mike Schmerbeck and Ed Davenport.
The Marketing Committee has had a very busy six months since we last reported.
Architects’ Masonry Symposium
This year’s symposium program is up and running at this year’s show. The participation level is down over previous years. This is a direct result of lack of participation from the local market despite the fact the over 2000 brochures and invitations were sent to all AIA architects in the state of Florida.
International Excellence in Masonry
The Excellence in Masonry Program was held last night with three new categories adding to the excitement of the program. Best of Show for Stone, Brick and CMU were all introduced at the reception. This year’s program saw a significant increase in the amount of entries. We had 47 entries, 15 more than the previous year. This year the MCAA introduced new awards for first and second place winners, as well as new plaques for building owners.
On-line Buyer’s Guide
The Marketing committee has implemented the new on-line buyer’s guide and currently has over 100 participating companies. The sponsorships have brought in additional revenues of $11,000.00. The committee started running new ads in Masonry Magazine promoting usage of the site in the February issue.
Testing Seminar
The committee has worked cooperatively with the education department to run these new Testing Seminars. While the seminars were a little slow at the beginning, the last two seminars had decent attendance of approx. 10 per class. The MCAA plans to run these seminars every other month beginning in June. The feedback from people in attendance has been overwhelmingly positive.
Resource Catalog
The resource catalog will next be delivered in the May issue of Masonry Magazine. Ad sales are down from last year, this seems to be a trend for ad sales in general. The MCAA is currently developing a new customized safety software which is masonry specific and hopes to have it ready for a summer release.
Masonry Magazine
Report from Lionheart.
Cost Comparison Book
The committee has developed a feasibility study regarding the creation of a wall cost comparison book. The committee will report on the findings and recommend the development of the book and on-line feature of this project. A more in depth report of the findings is available at the annual meeting.
CSI Show
The CSI Show will be held April 9-11, 2003 in Chicago. The MCAA will once again be exhibiting as a part of a larger masonry presence. The MCAA will soon be co-locating with CSI in 2005 and the committee will soon be asked to re-develop the associations marketing strategy for the show. MCAA joining the show will create a multitude of new marketing opportunities and will completely revise the format and structure of the Architects’ Masonry Symposium. The committee will meet mid-summer to review plans for the 2004 CSI Show and for future functions once the shows are co-located.
Mr. President, officers, and MCAA members thank you for the privilege of serving as the Chairman of the MCAA Marketing Committee. This is my report.