Fusion Productions - Integrating Meetings, Learning & Technology

Over the past year many for-profits have approached associations to partner with them. They offer free web sites, portal platforms, directories, online education, and in some cases even include the word "association" in their for-profit name. The benefits are obvious…

• It's free
• It's already existing
• If you don't know anything about web technology, you don't have to learn; you can leave it up to them

Please Keep In Mind These Points

Fundamental fact…No one does what associations alone are uniquely qualified to do. Fusion's business model is based upon advancing the profession/trade, providing a trusted brand, and increasing the professionalism through unbiased education, research, and communication vehicles.

An IPO's business model is simple. Get more eyeballs, create more customers, increase revenues and market share, and improve earnings per share in the area of at least 20% per year if not 100%.

What are the inherent risks of these two conflicts?

• You are interested in quality content and delivering services at a level which your brand has come to be trusted for.
• For-profit's are interested in whatever content gets eyeballs and speed is more important than your brand.
• You can say whatever you want about the programs or site being a partnership but at the end of the day, members, consumers, and suppliers will say it is your association's site. Your brand and trust is always on the line.
• For-profits only want your content, community, and brand. By partnering you give them all three. Once they have it they don't need you, and as the leading CEO of one of the for-profit portals said at a recent ASAE event, "If associations are not able to change the terms of our engagement every six months or so, we will...make lousy partners and need to move on our own way." And why not since you have given them the keys to their success at that point.
• Many for-profits offer a one set technology solution. Either you use their platform or you need to change. More importantly, technology never stays still and will they still be relevant in six months?

So what is my checklist for partnering?

• Own the content, database, and data mining capabilities
• Ensure the site is under your name, server, and brand
• Make sure they can execute. Check out their record of fulfillment, writing code to and interfacing with your legacy system, etc.
• Make sure you can add robust components such as online education seamlessly and cost effectively
• Make sure they can have no rights to the content, databases, or information mined during and after your agreement
• Understand their business model. How are they making money? What control do you have over how they use your assets to generate income?
• Check out their financial status and ability to sustain over a three to five year horizon. Twenty million in today's dot-com world lasts about 2.5 years if they are lucky. Most are probably losing 8 million a year, so what happens if one day you get a call that the web site is down and they are out of business? Try getting your content back and site up in a week, a month, a year.
• See a great lawyer