FIA ECMA Workshop: Making the Best Media for Members

Publication date: 13 July 2011

Communicating with members. Should that solely be a matter of marketing? Or should content be beneficial to the members? Thus helping to make membership of an auto or mobility club worth its money. And what would be the most efficient and appealing way to provide this content: a magazine, a website, an e-mail newsletter?

Questions like these are addressed at the annual workshop of the FIA European Club Media Alliance (ECMA), this year to be held on 29 and 30 September at Dietikon near Zurich, Switzerland. The Touring Club Suisse (TCS) has generously offered to host this years event and to provide a social programme for participants to get further acquainted.

Print isn’t dead, just because the guru’s of the digital age are referring to it as “dead trees”. Is your club still publishing content on “dead trees”? Good for you. For the mailman brings your club to your members every time you can afford it. Instant attention guaranteed. No need to power up a pc and browse the web. Does that make new media less worthwhile? Certainly not. But every medium has its own specific values. And for many a new medium, especially social media, it still has to be proven what role they will play in society and how auto and mobility clubs could benefit from that.



Participants at the FIA ECMA workshop last year in Stratford upon Avon, United Kingdom, pose on the staircase at Menzies Welcombe Hotel.  The Camping and Caravanning Club hosted the event.


In the meantime, ECMA will follow the developments and provide you with knowledge from your peers how to become a better publisher or editor. On this year’s programme we once again provide a session on the redesign of a club magazine. Because a club magazine should develop with the times and not only provide interesting content, but also look nice and appeal to the public in a representative way for the club. One other topic will focus on a third revenue stream to finance media, and the magazine in particular, besides membership fees and advertisements. A welcome topic too, in these times of cut backs. And perhaps you could benefit from a partnership with organisers of events - because it offers your members something to look forward to and thus enhances the value of your magazines. We have an appealing example.

This and many more topics will be presented at the ECMA workshop at the end of September at the Hotel Dietikon in Dietikon near Zurich. If you are a club publisher or editor be sure to note the dates: Thursday 29th and Friday 30th September.

To view the programme please click here

To register please click here

For further information, please contact Ms Sinziana Radu Gille at sgille @ fia.com.