How'd They Do It?

If you are like most associations, you've been running so fast to handle the tasks and responsibilities that have defined your profession for the past 30 years, you've not been able to sit back and create a long-term strategy on how to use the email addresses you have accumulated.

Colgate University has developed a number of specific ways they want to engage and involve alumni with email communication. Over the 6 years that IAC and Colgate have partnered together, Colgate has used a mixed collection of email communication techniques that includes some of the following:

• Text broadcast emails
• HTML broadcast emails
• eCards (multimedia email “brochures”)
• eNewsletters
• eGreeting Cards

One very well received program from Colgate is sending eGreeting Cards to over 1,100 alumni to celebrate Valentine's Day and other holidays. Not only do the alumni love to receive these personal, targeted cards, but reaction from those controlling the budget at the university is strong too, considering the cost to reach each alumni with this innovative communication strategy was only cents per alum!