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Vital Stats:
The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit research and education organization
supported by its members. Founded in 1936, the institute now has more
than 29,000 members worldwide representing the entire spectrum of
land use and real estate development disciplines, working in private
enterprise and public service.
The Challenge | The Solution
| The Process s
| Unforseen Benefits | Measurements
& Results | Lessons Learned
The Challenge
How to create a new vision for an industry emerging from economic
crisis?
The Crash of 1991
For many years, ULI was a small organization that fostered information
exchange among real estate developers who exercised significant influence
on land use patterns. While all members belonged to two or three different
associations, they shared a common passion for land use and real estate
development. Government officials comprised 20% of ULI's membership.
In 1991, the real estate market experienced a greater depression,
in terms of magnitude by sector, than what had been experienced overall
during the Great Depression. Real estate lost 30% of its value overnight
due to the 1986 tax law changes. That same year, 50% of ULI's staff
were fired and the Executive Director quit. 1992 was a year for rebuilding.
ULI still maintained a solid core of supporters and a $10 million
operating budget. Membership was dropping, however, and ULI needed
a new vision for the future.
The Solution
Based on a visioning exercise conducted in 1993 and a new volunteer
president in 1995, ULI invested in a branding initiative to communicate
its new vision and increase its membership.
ULI undertook a visioning exercise during the summer of 1993 to determine
"where we want to be ten years from now." Although ULI is
not a lobbying entity, its leadership saw a need to be more proactive
in:
- Preserving the organization's culture and values
- Communicating more effectively to its membership
- Increasing its membership
- Engaging in global outreach
But achieving a ten-year vision doesn't happen overnight. The top-elected
officer spearheaded ULI's move toward a simultaneous branding exercise
and change initiative. Both the branding and change initiatives were
adopted in 1996 in part to answer the question: "What do we need
to do to attract more members?"
The Process
"Demanding higher standards"
A non-profit 501 (c)(3) formed in 1936, the Urban Land Institute
(ULI) serves as the "think tank of real estate". It serves
individual members representing 26 real estate disciplines in 13 real
estate sectors. For more than 60 years, ULI has been widely recognized
as America's preeminent voice for encouraging and fostering high standards
of land use planning and real estate development. The Institute's
continuing focus on non-partisan research and education has made it
one of the world's most respected and quoted organizations in urban
planning, land use and development. Members say "ULI is a trusted
idea place where industry leaders go to grow professionally and personally
through sharing, mentoring and problem-solving. With pride ULI members
commit to the best in land use policy and practice."
The goal of the branding initiative was to preserve the organization's
real value and culture by identifying its membership targets to achieve
its mission "to provide responsible leadership in the use of
land to preserve the total environment."
The steps taken by ULI to implement the branding initiative are as
follows:
- Outsourced branding exercise to Leo Burnett for $150,000
- Market and membership research initiative (consultants and staff)
- Brainstorming retreat to identify brand essence
- Telephone interviews
- Brand survey
- Live working sessions
Development of graphic identity materials
Creation in 2000 of a new executive position
ULI officers and Leo Burnett staff embarked on market research and
held a brainstorming retreat to distill the brand essence and identify
the emotional tie that binds members to ULI. Telephone interviews,
a survey and four days of live sessions were held to distill ULI's
brand essence, market position, member strategy and to determine its
target groups.
The branding process spurred a comprehensive organizational restructuring
that led in the following years to a major overhaul of ULI's operating
procedures and infrastructure. ULI recognized that branding, organizational
strategy and business processes were inextricably linked and could
not be developed in isolation.
Unforseen
Benifits
"In 1992, we were cutting into muscle. Now, with a good real
estate economy, we can afford longer-term thinking."
The branding and re-engineering exercises resulted in a number of
unintended consequences that have ultimately strengthened ULI as an
organization. These included:
- Uniting researchers, staff, local district council leaders world-wide
in an unprecedented "meeting of the minds"
- Improving self-perception of ULI staff, which came to appreciate
their true value to ULI
- Stripping the old governance structure by reducing number of
committees to seven
Consolidating "research and education" under a Vice President
of Policy and Practice
- Integrating delivery vehicles to speed effective transmission
of best policies and practices
- Transforming the brand manager role into Vice President for Strategic
Development
Investing in the infrastructure necessary to consolidate the vision
Implementing vital communication and outreach programs
When the exercise was first completed, there was no money to implement
the recommendations and consequently no immediate results were seen.
ULI seemed to be "going backwards." Over the last few years,
ULI has been able to invest in the infrastructure necessary to move
forward, consolidate the vision and implement vital communication
and outreach programs.
Also, the Internet provided overwhelming and unanticipated leverage
to support the brand identity and ULI's information dissemination
programs.
Measurements & Results
"Four-color changed everything. Now they read the magazine."
A very tangible result of the branding effort is seen in the graphic
identity system that was developed to communicate and reorient ULI's
corporate communications efforts to support the brand. The branding
exercise also culminated in the following statements:
- ULI - Positioning
- ULI - Brand Essence
- ULI - Membership Target Criteria
Ultimately, by reaching a shared understanding of the organization's
essence, ULI's branding team was able to foster clear communication
to help the organization achieve its goals. ULI's position in the
marketplace was solidified as a result of the branding exercise, which
reaffirmed the organization's role as "the preeminent, multidisciplinary
real estate organization, which facilitates the open exchange of ideas,
information and experience among local and international industry
leaders and policymakers dedicated to creating better places."
ULI's branding initiative spurred an overall organizational change,
which resulted in significant financial gains and an effective internal
reorganization. The resulting achievements were measured by:
- Revenue growth from $10 to $28 million in less than eight years
- One hundred and ten full-time staff and field coordinators
- Growth and diversity in membership:
- Full memberships have risen from 1,800 to 4,559 over the last
eight years
- ULI boasts 11,000 associate members, including students
- Increased participation in industry councils
Solidified market position
- New graphic identity system
"If we can hold on to members for three years, they become
members for life."
Membership Categories
In 1990, there were two categories of members, full and associate
members. Full membership, which fosters intimate personal and professional
relationships, is still considered an honor reserved for the industry's
"elite" and is limited to 2,200 - with an enormous waiting
list trailing behind. Indeed, 25 out of 27 models of adult learning
have shown that executives who have little time to read learn and
grow by sharing information in a group setting.
Council Participation
Over the last 60 years, councils of fifty members were appointed for
several years. It was extremely difficult to gain an entrée
as a council member. As a result, council members would do anything
to remain. Council members represented 50% of ULI's gross revenues.
However, it since became clear that associates were equal in terms
of budgetary implications. A decision was made to "ignore the
council ceilings" to allow as many leading-edge members of the
industry to participate as possible.
Lessons Learned
"Brand is an experience. If you understand the heart and
soul of an organization, what really matters, you can protect it."
ULI's branding team concluded that:
- Personal involvement of industry leaders is essential to ULI's
success
- ULI has to "go global" to protect local business
- Membership can be increased without damaging the organization's
elite essence
- Local involvement is essential in influencing policy and practice
- Effective branding - consistent reinforcement of key messages
through all media channels - "holds it all together" and
is fundamental to ULI's success
Industry Leadership
ULI learned that it needed to recruit and to ensure the personal involvement
of industry leaders. To do so, ULI identified the following membership
segments to encourage their meaningful participation:
- Those who build
- Those who make the rules
- Those who influence
- Those who provide professional services
Globalization
During the 1990s, the real estate industry was steadily consolidating
and globalizing. The large commercial brokers, such as CB Richard
Ellis and Jones Lang Wooton, were all going global. It is a supply-side
business that reflects American trends. In order to protect local
markets, going global no longer remained an option but became an imperative.
Diversity in Membership
It came as a surprise, but ULI discovered that it could expand membership
without losing the elite and intimate atmosphere that is necessary
to draw and to retain industry leaders. Since ULI doubled the cost
of full membership, full membership has doubled in turn. ULI now boasts
$6 million in dues revenue and the CEO is a leader in the global real
estate arena, which provides a critical "bird's eye" view
of industry trends. While full membership is a "very expensive
game", 11,000 associate members pay $275 per year. Public sector
members pay at cost and students receive an even deeper discount.
Currently, half of ULI full members are developers and half are consultants
and finance professionals.
Local Involvement
ULI seeks to retain members by investing in local activities and involving
members in district councils in some forty metropolitan areas. Local
coordinators are paid to support the volunteer leadership and to communicate
ULI's mission via outreach programs. The Internet has helped dramatically,
allowing districts councils to access member records, download badges,
and manage their finances.
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