Roundtable Roundup – Association Marcom Executives

We recently hosted a roundtable with association marketing and communications leaders to discuss how they’re navigating a rapidly shifting landscape shaped by political uncertainty, evolving member needs, and technological innovation.

Here are the key themes from the conversation:

There’s been a noticeable decline in international exhibitors and attendees at conferences.

This drop is largely tied to current U.S. administration policies and the broader political environment that has made travel to the U.S. more complicated and less appealing.

Additionally, domestic events, particularly those in politically sensitive locations, are experiencing lower federal employee speaker and attendee participation.

Brands and member value propositions are evolving.

Several participants mentioned they are re-examining their brands and value propositions to stay relevant in response to both macro influences and evolving member profiles. One marcom leader has shifted from promoting “community” to highlighting “peer networks” as members seek more tangible, practical connections.

Data modernization and integration is a strategic focus.

Many of the leaders mentioned ongoing data modernization and digital transformation efforts to connect disparate data systems and create a single source of truth for the organization.

Efforts include implementing new tools like Salesforce, Nimble, HubSpot, and Fonteva, and building cross-departmental digital experience teams to enable smarter decision-making and to create more personalized and targeted member experiences.

Not surprisingly, AI is viewed as both an opportunity and a risk.

Like many of the marketing leaders we talk with, all of the roundtable participants share both an excitement for the possibilities that AI brings and also a sense of caution. Several are focused on leveraging the AI functionality that software companies are building into their existing martech platforms. Additionally, one marcom leader is building an AI agent to help streamline research outputs and has added a submission form on their member portal where their members can submit AI use cases and ideas. Another recently applied for an AWS Imagine Grant to build an AI agent to help their members quickly access information about local regulatory requirements.

From changing conference attendee dynamics to rebranding amid uncertainty to modernizing data infrastructure and responsibly integrating AI, it’s definitely an interesting time to be an association marcom leader. As a participant in one of our previous roundtables said, “the ability to have agility” is critical.