01242 250692
email:info@aptmarketing.co.uk

Membership Marketing Services:

Business Transformation, Winback, Reputation, Public Relations, Industry Developments, Events & Awards, Magazine, Commercial Partnerships, Third-party initiatives, day-to-day support

Profile:

A professional trade association for UK beauty, holistic and spa therapists.

Relationship:

Working together for five years, with an in-house marketing team.

Support by apt:

Despite being an established business with good heritage, the business had experienced a steady decline in membership numbers, prestige & industry influence. Following appointment of a new Director of Operations in 2010, apt was enlisted to provide strategic support and delivery to reverse the decline. 

Since 2010 appointment, key responsibilities included:

• Rebranding the company to update the tired identity

• Updating and defining the member proposition as well as communicating it more effectively, working with the in-house team to ensure ongoing development

• Renegotiating and expanding the membership benefits to increase their monetary value and relevance to members

• Developing new levels of membership including a Corporate membership to increase company revenue

• Managing the development of in-house technical platforms including an online application and renewal portal

• Acquisition / winback of lost members through a targeted winback campaign

• Managing and maintaining industry and consumer specific PR

• Research, collation, writing and production of a response submission to a Government Consultation into the regulation of Non-Surgical Cosmetic Interventions; resulting responsibilities included formal statements on Live Television, representation at Westminster on a number of occasions and at The Welsh Government and establishment of the client as ‘Voice of the Industry’

• Managing the tender process for the outsourcing of the magazine, including renegotiation of the advertising proposition and media pack

Key Results:

• 65% membership growth in three years; 75% in five

• Improved retention rate from 65%-85% per annum

• 497% return on investment for a winback programme delivering £90,000 in year one; rising to 1,633% ROI and circa £100,000 in year two

• Membership value increase: securing additional ‘added value’ expenditure including more salon packages and expenditure

• Company rebrand which has re-established the prestige of the company and made it instantly recognisable

• Submission of a 22 page response to a key Government review with six further face-to-face representations; in addition, management of the ongoing consumer and trade PR for the topic. This is still ongoing, but as a direct result of the submission by BABTAC and the continued representation, changed the course of the proposed legislation away from a ban on specific professionals, to support for cross-profession training paths.

• Outsourcing of the magazine, increasing immediate advertising spend from circa. £5,000 per issue to circa £15,000 per issue in year one, making the magazine cost-neutral by year three at £33,000 per issue with profitability in the pipeline.

Testimonial:

"When I started my role at BABTAC the brand was dated and perceived as old-fashioned and the company was experiencing steadily declining membership. apt identified the positioning of the BABTAC brand, the job it had to do and the all- important target audience before preparing a number of concepts for us. These included the brand, keywords, colour palettes, potential straplines and collateral examples. The process was incredibly fast (just 3 months) and we were really pleased with the results; since our rebrand we have seen an unprecedented growth. apt are easy to work with, offering a unique service with a true understanding of our strategies, remaining focused and respectful of our in house expertise."

 Julie Speed, Director of Operations, BABTAC (British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology) and CIBTAC (Confederation of International Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology)