IAB the Next Great Idea “Marketing the IE profession”
Notes from Project Charter call 4/7 held @4 PM EST (Bill Tolo, Tom Meaders, Hans Demmel)
Define the task of marketing the IE profession
1. Define IE: What is the message?
2. How do we get the message out?
Why should we do this?
 IEs are critical to the survival & revival of American industry in the global economy
 IEs are subject matter experts and they don’t get the calls (e.g. reporters & press)
 IE’s are not well known to the general population (non-IEs)
What is the Opportunity? Or Problem?
 IE is not specific to any industry
 IEs forget their roots (good & bad)
 IEs are welcoming, e.g. more women are IEs than other engineers
Goal
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Have to start where we are now
o How do we establish a baseline measurement from our target population?
o Poll? Survey? Matching Game?
Establish metrics:
o Increase in membership: IAB yahoo group
o Web traffic: hits, posts on webpage, active vs. passive
o Touches: Speaker talks to 30 students = 30
o Ratings?
o # Copies?
o Publicity?
Never ending, but have tollgates, e.g. monthly? 3 months, 6 months? Annual?
Project Scope
 Keep the IIE Brand and identity, e.g. IIE logo, etc.
 Supported by IIE HQ but not a voice of IIE
 Develop action plan with IAB membership then;
o Share the Plan with other groups where we share common interests
o Ask for specific help to implement the Plan
Team Selection
 IAB members: not time intensive, no more than an hour/month on average
 Leverage personal networks of the IAB membership
 Maximum impact with minimal effort but strategic and focused