Now in its second year, the California Manufacturers and Technology Association’s competition is a helpful advocacy and outreach tool.
Associations looking to expand their advocacy efforts and building public awareness have known that one popular move is to create a gamified experience. March Madness-style brackets and innovation contests can put a spotlight on a particular industry’s efforts both to legislators and the general public.
That’s particularly true in manufacturing, where state organizations in Illinois, Delaware, and elsewhere. That success prompted the California Manufacturers and Technology Association to launch its “Coolest Thing Made in California” contest last year, which proved successful enough for it to return last week for a second year.
“What we were hearing from our counterparts in different states across the U.S. is that it really helps highlight the diverse manufacturing industry with the public,” said Ananda Rochita, CMTA’s VP of communications. “It’s an opportunity for them to understand our industry and see all the different companies that are making products right in their backyards.”
More than 90,000 people voted in CMTA’s contest last year.
CMTA produces the contest on a shoestring, with Rochita along with two other members of the trade association’s 12-person staff gathering nominations, tallying votes, and encouraging participants to spread the word. The range of manufacturers represented in last year’s contest gave CMTA confidence that it was on the right track: Though Tesla and a pair of aerospace firms were finalists, so was a family business, Carmazzi Caramel Corn, promoting the idea that the state supports both small and large manufacturers. (Another benefit: Carmazzi joined as a member after the contest.)
In addition, the initiative proved successful enough that it attracted sponsorship dollars: This year, the bank JPMorganChase has a naming arrangement with CMTA where its brand is used in all of the association’s promotions of the contest. “It was a year-long process for them to understand us as a brand,” Rochita said. “They’ve attended a few of our events and got a taste of what we bring to the table.”
But the key to the contest’s success is that it’s driven as much by the public as the manufacturers: People are invited to nominate any company that manufactures in the state (it need not be headquartered there), and their votes determine the finalists and winner. Last year, more than 90,000 people voted, and the campaign reached more than 95,000 social media accounts—enough that the state’s lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, made the official presentation of the award to Tesla last year.
That experience showed CMTA the importance of strength in numbers, both among the public and members. “We’re the main advocate for the manufacturing industry here, so through this process, we got a lot of attention from legislators,” Rochita said. “We also got a lot of interest among our members and prospects, a lot of manufacturers who weren’t in our membership and that found out about CMTA through the competition.”
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