American Medical Women‘s Association: Putting Women’s Health on the Map

Challenge: Build a communications program that position AMWA members as physician experts providing science-based women’s health information to consumers.

Strategy: Identify the appropriate communications tools to increase the visibility and credibility of AMWA and its members.

Tactics:
• Developed key messages.
• Created collateral materials including press releases, media advisories, speeches, brochures, fact sheets, testimony, op-eds, letters to the editor, position papers.
• Trained 50 AMWA leaders.
• Built a Speakers’ Bureau with 75 participants.
• Responded to 350 media inquiries a year.
• Partnered with corporations to create non-dues revenue.
• Promoted government relations activities to members and external audiences.
• Worked on health care reform with the White House.
• Participated in coalitions on women’s health issues.
• Created and activated a member-based legislative network.
• Held an annual lobby day.
• Produced monthly newsletter; and leadership newsletter.
• Held five press conferences a year.
• Promoted annual meeting.

Results:
• Through the Speakers’ Bureau, building relationships with journalists, and improved visibility, media inquiries increased from 50 to 350 in two years.
• Partnerships with corporations yielded more than $500,000 annually.
• As a result of the credible reputation of the association, AMWA members were invited to the White House and to be part of Administration health care reform.
• Producing the newsletter in-house saved AMWA more than $30,000 annually.
• In two years, the corporate support for the annual meeting increased by $250,000.