American Association of Endodontists
ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
The American Association of Endodontists (AAE)
represents more than 6,500 endodontists (the dental
specialists who conduct root canals) and other
professionals with an interest in endodontics.
The Chicago-based association is the primary source
of continuing education in the field for members,
the dental
profession and the general public. Through its
annual conference, special events, credentialing
services and professional journals, the non-profit
AAE strives to achieve its mission of promoting
excellence in the art and science of endodontics
and to help members meet the highest standards
of patient care.
The need
As part of implementation of recommendations
of a major communications audit Hodge Schindler
had conducted for the AAE, the association sought
to launch an electronic newsletter for its professional
members, whose ranks were increasingly tech savvy.
The AAE also wanted to demonstrate its comfort
with 21st century technological capabilities
to younger members and those who saw the organization
as stuck in pre-Internet communications models.
The association planned to manage the project
on its own, but needed Hodge Schindler’s
help in putting together the right model that
would pass muster with its governing bodies.
Our
approach
After establishing the scale and scope of the
project (the AAE would develop and edit all of
the material to appear within the e-newsletter
and manage the distribution through its proprietary
database system) Hodge Schindler began to develop
a name and format for the newsletter. From a list
of submitted names, “PULP” was determined
to best reflect the new approach for the newsletter,
setting it apart from the AAE’s traditional
academic magazine, The Journal of Endodontics,
or “JOE.”
We then developed several
designs for the e-newsletter template that would
be flexible enough for the AAE staff managing the
execution of the project. It included varying graphical
elements and, ultimately, small ads or sponsor
links. (This was a radical departure from other
AAE publications, which accept no advertising.)
Once the final design was selected, Hodge Schindler
and its design team conducted a day-long seminar
to help the staff expand its skills using Macromedia
Dreamweaver to manage the e-newsletter. (We also
consulted on the best ways to host and distribute
the e-newsletter through the existing network architecture.)
The
outcomes
By all accounts internally and externally, the
debut of “PULP: The Inside Word from the
AAE” was well received by recipients and
AAE management. Much of the praise focused on
the lighter, non-academic approach of the articles
and the addition of handy how-to features that
help members improve the way they run their businesses.
There
were no requests to be removed from the e-newsletter’s
mailing list and there were several recipients
who took the time to send positive e-mails about
sensitive subjects covered in the first issue.
The distribution of the e-newsletter also went
off without a hitch, according to AAE insiders
in charge of that part of the process.
The AAE is
still holding off on the advertising/sponsorship
model for now, but the organization was pleased
that it was able to launch the e-newsletter project
within the projected timeframe and with minimal
setbacks.
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