January 2005

Executive Summary

For me all is in the conception-I must have a clear vision of the whole composition from the very beginning. If in the picture there is order and clarity it means that this same order and clarity existed in the mind of the painter and that the painter was conscious of their necessity.

Henri Matisse

With clarity of vision and passion for implementation, PCMA moves into 2005 with the strategic intent to strengthen its position of industry leadership. PCMA is poised to enhance its reputation for delivering valuable education through a variety of innovative channels. As such, PCMA's strategy is as follows:

Channel resources through educational initiatives for all members, with an emphasis on senior-level association meeting professionals and executives, in order to leverage their influence in driving member acquisition and retention. PCMA's dedication to providing members with lifelong career education is supported by complementary initiatives in research, advocacy, technology and operations.

The strategy can be depicted visually in the following manner:

Most importantly, PCMA's strategy will meet and exceed the evolving needs of members and continue to champion thought leadership, expertise and insights in providing unparalleled value. Environmental scans including CEO, member and meeting markets surveys combined with offerings in the forms of the Industry Issues Monitor and products maintain a tight pulse on market and member trends. The complementary strengths of PCMA headquarters and the chapter network also provide a comprehensive system of proactively meeting the developmental and networking needs of members. The voice of members has and will continue to play a preeminent role in PCMA's commitment to strategic and operational excellence in the service of member's needs.

Guided by a system of core competencies geared towards the continual professional development of members, PCMA is successfully transforming proprietary content and relationships into state-of-the-art educational offerings. Vehicles such as Industry Issues Forums, Executive Edge and Convene Magazine are a sample of the tangible offerings of this focus on delivering breakthrough education.

PCMA moves forward with seven primary goals:

1. Use core competencies to drive educational initiatives.
2. Identify broad industry issues for advocacy and education purposes.
3. Conduct research to determine and quantify the value of the industry to stakeholders.
4. Position PCMA as the leader for senior meeting professionals and interested third parties.
5. Educate PCMA members and external audiences on industry related issues.
6. Utilize innovative technology to deliver education and educate members on new technologies that could affect their work.
7. Operate an efficient and effective association to retain and grow membership and fulfill the PCMA strategic plan.

With a well-grounded understanding of the competitive landscape and the key political, economic, social and technological factors impacting the market, PCMA has crafted this strategic plan with the goal of industry leadership and prominence - a goal that is achievable with the guidance, purpose and passion of its committed Board and highly competent staff.

Market Overview

PCMA is operating in a dynamic marketplace that provides association executives, planners and suppliers with a variety of options to fulfill their educational, networking and business needs. In addition to the member base having a variety of organization's to fulfill their needs, the growth of tele/electronic meetings is also impacting the shape of the future landscape. A number of other factors are influencing the manner in which PCMA operates, and those factors can be grouped into the following four areas:

• Political factors, including visa issues, regulations on faxes/emails, airline bankruptcies and Sarbanes/Oxley legislation.
• Economic factors, including an economic slump increasing the cost of borrowing, acts of terrorism decreasing travel and airline bankruptcies.
• Social factors, including associations not being essential to secure travel "deals", and a move from group to individual activities.
• Technological factors, including advanced technology and generational implications.

There are cases emerging of the market fragmenting into specialty groups in efforts to sub-segment out specific members and their unique needs. While market fragmentation begins to percolate, there is evidence that merger and acquisition activity is likely to accelerate in the coming years among the existing body of organizations. This simultaneous occurrence of organizations becoming larger and organizations fragmenting off into smaller groups demonstrates the complexity involved in determining the most effective path to serving the needs of members. Fortunately, PCMA's size (5,400 members) coupled with its position (providing breakthrough education with an emphasis on senior-level members) gives it the ability to provide high-content offerings in a nimble and market-responsive manner.

Member Overview

In this dynamic marketplace, members and their needs are continuing to evolve. There is growth in the number and influence of independent meeting professionals while the historic association planner market has shown preliminary signs of shrinking. Members increasingly need and seek information at times of their choosing, impacting the future direction of educational content delivery. Coinciding with member's desire for "just-in-time" education is a slight move of the relationship between associations and their members becoming more transactional in nature. PCMA's members can be categorized into the following four groups and their specific positions:

1. Planners

• Association Planners
• Corporate Planners
• Independent Meeting Professionals
• Meeting/Association Management Companies
• Exhibition Planner

2. Supplier Partners

• Hoteliers
• Convention and Visitors Bureaus
• Convention Centers
• Destination Management Companies
• Service Providers

3. Faculty 

• Meeting Management
• Hotel Schools
• Event Management

4. Students

• Meeting Management
• Hotel Schools
• Event Management

As noted in the strategy, PCMA is dedicated to serving all levels of members with an emphasis on senior-level association meeting professionals and executives. The emphasis on senior-level members takes advantage of their influence in driving member acquisition and retention, garnering supplier support and partnering for thought-leadership in the industry.

PCMA Overview

PCMA has evolved over the past 25 years into a powerful presence in the industry. Highlights of key events over the past 25 years are illustrated below:

PCMA has grown to 5,400 members and operates with a reputation for a strong educational offering.

Relative to PCMA's position in the industry, there are a number of key insights that impact the strategic direction:

• PCMA operates in a highly competitive market and in order to maintain and advance the organization's growth, strong proactive positioning is required.
• The convergence of political, economic, social and technology factors requires PCMA to be more proactive in advocacy efforts. These factors are also increasing members' needs for greater content value delivered in a convenient manner over the course of their careers.
• The perception of PCMA's ability to deliver on the mission of providing "breakthrough education" is impacted by a wide variety of member touch points:
• Annual Meeting (i.e., meeting experience, Executive Edge, etc.)
• Industry Issues Forums -Convene Magazine -Products
• Chapter Meetings -Alternative methods of content delivery
• Members are looking to PCMA to address the key issues that affect them through advocacy efforts.
• Growing membership needs can be found in the areas of independent meeting professionals, exhibition managers and staff executives responsible for meetings.
• The key value drivers for members include education, research, networking and advocacy.
• Proactive management of relationships with sister organizations will enable PCMA to maintain and grow its market position.

With an understanding of the market, members, competitors and the organization, PCMA's strategy is summarized as follows:

Channel resources through educational initiatives for all members, with an emphasis on senior-level association meeting professionals and executives, in order to leverage their influence in driving member acquisition and retention. PCMA's dedication to providing members with lifelong career education is supported by complementary initiatives in research, advocacy, technology and operations.

PCMA's strategy provides direction, focus and vision for its staff, volunteer leadership and members. Combining this charted course with the flexibility through continuous strategic thinking, PCMA is poised to enhance its leadership position in the industry.