October 2005 - September 2006

Scenario:

The Advocates for the American Osteopathic Association (AAOA), formerly a spousal group for the Osteopathic medical profession, opened its ranks to anyone who wanted to be a supporter of osteopathic medicine. The group had recently changed its name and needed to “find” its identity to best serve its now diverse membership.

JB Chicago came onboard to identify the new needs of members of the organization through a communications audit. This was achieved though a qualitative survey of current AAOA members, students, doctors, and board members developed and executed by JB Chicago helping to focus the organization on issues and information important to members. Based on the outcome, the next steps for membership acquisition and retention could be better determined.

Through the assessment process, it was determined that the AAOA needed a deliverable for its constituents. So before it could try to obtain new members, it first had to focus on satisfying the needs of existing members. With "networking" being the number one need determined, JB Chicago set forth and developed a member-based social-networking and forum based website. The forums were developed within the AAOA messaging platform while allowing the members to drive content within those parameters. The social networking allows students to connect with doctors, doctors to connect with other doctors, and family (or spouses) to connect with other spouses for support. Membership now has a perceived value to the members.