President's Message
by Shayna Stillman

“We’re in this together” are the words a fellow IASB member said to me after we discussed a problem I was having with a booking. His generosity in offering to help me solve the situation was a validating experience and reinforced that IASB membership has its rewards!

During the month of September, I reached out to about 5 different IASB members to discuss general business issues and help work out specific situations. In each case, I found cooperation and generosity. Our fellow members represent a vast amount of knowledge and experience and my recent conversations drove home the fact that IASB members can be a huge resource for one another.

We do a lot of networking at the annual convention but perhaps our best opportunity to network exists all year long? If you are like me, I often work so hard I feel like I’m in a “silo” making decisions alone or depending on feedback from co-workers who seem to always agree with me. Reaching out to others in our industry offers a chance for a fresh perspective that can help solve a myriad of problems.

I hope you are all using the most valuable part of membership in IASB and that is the opportunity to network with your fellow members all year long. Pick up the phone and you may be surprised at what can happen!

As always, please contact me with any issues, questions or concerns.

Very best wishes,
Shayna

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What? No Magic Formula?

ROI and ROO was the topic of our first Continuing Education Webinar on Tues, Sept 26. I think it’s safe to report that Tom Domine from MPI and Mary Powell from the CIC gave us good information…but no magic formula…it appears there isn’t one.

Mary shared real specific suggestions…all of which require us to institute some form of measurement system.
- Provide the outcomes from a speaker’s past events
- Collect data on what type of speaker is best with what group of people – stats are king
- Do a 6 month follow-up with the client – was ROO achieved? Right speaker, right take-home value often creates best outcome 6 months down the road, not necessarily immediately

One of the interesting examples that Tom shared was about a marketing campaign for the State Fair of Texas Auto Show. Marketers are having a challenge measuring ROI as well. One manufacturer sponsored the event to the tune of $1 million which pretty much locked out other manufacturers from marketing to the attendees. Another manufacturer very inventively intercepted people before they entered the auto show and here's the interesting part - they adjusted their incentives on the fly based on the responses they were getting. So what does this have to do with our industry? The ‘old thinking’ of creating a buzz gives no opportunity for measuring ROI. The ‘new thinking’ of adjusting on the fly gave way better results and a definite way to measure ROI. Now some of us may look at the ‘new thinking’ manufacturer’s tactics as ‘ambush marketing’ or perhaps as ‘street smart marketing.’ I don’t mean to imply that IASB is advocating either of these tactics but I think we can ask ourselves some good questions…can we think differently and come up with some ‘on the fly’ kind of ideas that work for our high level of ethics and values?

In the end it appears that we (bureaus, speakers and speaker management companies) need to be creative and find ways to help planners measure and meet their ROIs and ROOs. Oh goodie…more work for us! But isn’t that what being in this business is all about? Helping our customers to ease their pain?

Karen Harris, CMI Speaker Management
IASB Education Committee Chair

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Board of Governors meeting in Chicago on August 19th

Pictured above- Bottom Row: Kelly Eger, Shayna Stillman and Rich Gibbons. Top Row: Pam Bernard, Kiela Hine, Karen Kendig, Jim Montoya, Duane Ward and Rich Tiller

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Membership News/Please Welcome Our Newest Members

Penguin Speakers Bureau
Jacqueline Fischetti
New York, NY
212-366-2271
speakersbureau@us.penguingroup.com

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It’s My Name. Don’t Wear it Out

With the heavy use of the Internet, a speaker's name has become a hot commodity not to mention a hot topic. What are the legalities around someone buying a speaker’s name and placing it in a prime search engine position with the intent of drawing traffic to their web site? What are the ethics involved? What happens if someone puts a popular speaker’s name in the metatags of their company web site, thus drawing people to a site other than the speaker’s homepage?

These were some of the thorny issues tackled by our panel in a 60-minute discussion at the summer 2006 NSA Convention in Orlando. It's My Name-Don't Wear It Out featured Francine Ward, JD, Brian Palmer, President of National Speakers Bureau and past chair of the IASB/NSA Council, and Terry Brock, Internet technology guru. Each panelist provided an analysis from their specific area of expertise.

Brock shared the importance of a speaker being diligent and aware of how their name is used and where it appears. There’s a responsibility on the speaker to monitor that usage and if there seems to be an issue, contact the bureau or other entity and request a cease and desist.

According to Ward, the legal issues are many and there are always shades of gray. But the bottom line is that the economic value of a speaker’s entire persona (not just their name) is an intangible asset that can be protected. And, there are legal ramifications for using someone’s name and/or likeness without their permission. Among the legal issues are:
1. Right of Publicity, which arises when your name and/or likeness are exploited for commercial purposes, without your permission.
2. Right of Privacy, when someone misappropriates your name or likeness for a commercial advantage.
3. Trademark and Unfair Competition causes of action arise when your trademark protected name is used in keyword-triggered search engine advertising.

Regarding trademarks, because a person’s name can be protected only if the name has acquired a secondary meaning in the marketplace, the average speaker will not likely be able to protect his or her name through a trademark. An example of a name protected by trademark is Tiger Woods, because it’s attached to a brand bigger than just his name (e.g. Tiger Woods Clothing Line, Tiger Woods Golf Clubs).

In the world of advertising, it appears the golden rule operates: “He who has the gold, rules”. As Palmer pointed out, many bureaus buy an ad position for a speaker’s name. Palmer also raised an ethical issue in addition to the legal points mentioned by Ward. If a bureau buys a speaker's name but has never booked the speaker or received permission to list that speaker on the bureau’s site, one has to question the intent of such an ad.

Both NSA and IASB have strong Codes of Ethics, but like any code, they need to be publicized and enforced. These Codes of Ethics can serve as a valuable framework for registering complaints as well as moderating behavior. The panel felt that it is a good practice to seek business relationships with members of both organizations because of these stated ethics.

Lastly, the panel strongly agreed that relationships would be the critical determinate in how both speakers and bureaus can mutually benefit in the easy-access world of the Internet. This probably means working closer with fewer entities. Candid, open conversations and longer discussions around this topic would serve as a natural next-step in a continued dialogue regarding the new world of Internet.

Submitted by: Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE and moderator of this panel. Eileen serves on the IASB/NSA Council, the NSA Board of Directors, and is chair of the Strategic Partnership Council. She also posts the NSA Code of Ethics along with her philosophy of conducting business at www.eileenmcdargh.com

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Place a Banner Ad in Bureau Talk

For as low as $100 you may run a banner ad in Bureau Talk for 3 months. The cost for 6 months is $175 and the 12-month cost is $250. These are IASB 20th Anniversary specials. So, take advantage of this opportunity while it is available.

All IASB member bureaus receive the monthly eNewsletter and the association has grown by 30% since the convention this past April. And, we're expecting more bureaus to join before the end of the year.

Here are the specs for the banner ad...

Width: 430 pixels
Height: 60 pixels
Format: .gif or .jpg
Size: No larger than 20 K
Link: URL to your website

There would be an additional fee of $150, if you would like for IASB to prepare your ad. Just contact Jim Montoya at 317-328-7790 or jim@iasbweb.org.

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Mark your calendar
IASB 2007 Convention
Renaissance Worthington Hotel
Ft. Worth, Texas
April 26th- 28th