Association Headquarters

Awareness Campaign

Awareness Campaign Helps Strengthen American Society of Transplantation

When Association Headquarters conducted a membership survey for the American Society of Transplantation, results showed the Society had a very broad and diverse group of members from around the globe; however, nonmembers did not realize that.

The Society, which is dedicated to advancing the field of transplantation through the promotion of research, education, advocacy, and organ donation to improve patient care, had been founded 25 years ago to represent transplant physicians and surgeons. Since that time, membership had been expanded to include nurses, pharmacists, researchers, and transplant coordinators, but the perception that membership was limited kept many of the world’s eligible transplant professionals from joining the society.

Revealing the true face of AST
To combat this view, Association Headquarters’ launched a campaign through its strategic marketing partner to show the many faces of AST members. The I Am AST campaign highlighted the variety of professions represented within AST via:
• I AM AST-themed email and traditional mailers, inviting World Transplant Congress attendees to visit the I Am AST-themed conference booth
• the AST Web site, by featuring the many faces and job titles of AST members
• a new brochure highlighting the different faces and professions that make up the AST membership with an accompanying testimonial from each of them outlining the benefits of membership in AST, including educational and professional development opportunities, a network of professional contacts, and society support of legislative and regulatory efforts
• advertisements in the American Journal of Transplantation

Increasing membership; attaining recognition and fundraising goals
The campaign — along with additional public relations and outreach efforts to nonmembers through Association Headquarters’ strategic marketing partner and the decision to grant full membership to associate members who hold M.D. or Ph.D. degrees — yielded a 36 percent increase in new members in one year.

Thanks to those efforts by Association Headquarters, and the resulting increase in membership, AST has been able to achieve its goals of providing further educational and conference opportunities to members, and it has received the additional recognition needed to obtain grants and corporate donations to help fund those programs and other Society endeavors.

“The AST is blessed to have Association Headquarters as its management company. They are the unsung heroes of our society, and their efforts and patience are sincerely appreciated. They made my job infinitely easier with their ongoing help and advice. I appreciate all Association Headquarters does to make our society what it is.” - Jeffrey Crippen, M.D., Past President, American Society of Transplantation