Why Start with “Why?”

As the leader of an association of financial professionals in the media industry, I constantly ask myself what motivates individuals like you and the organizations for whom you work to join the Media Financial Management Association. Understanding the “why” that drives your decision to become an MFM member helps me and my team develop and deliver the tangible benefits – the “whats” – that enhance the value of membership and encourage others like you to join.

Looking back at our 2023 results, a few things jumped off the page:

• Personal connections and professional development: Attendance at all MFM in-person meetings in 2023, including the CFO Summit, Annual Conference, Regional Meetings, and National Credit Conference, jumped by more than 100%. Some of that growth can be attributed to the continued reemergence from the Covid pandemic, but there’s more to it than that. People are hungry for personal connections and appreciate, perhaps more than ever, the importance of face-to-face contact. When you wrap the ability to make those connections with educational content that sharpens personal skills, expands industry knowledge, and improves companies’ bottom lines – you get record-setting attendance at MFM events.
• Cost-effective CPE and MBA quality education content: MFM conducted 25 webinars in 2023, where nearly 1,000 people registered for these free programs and obtained hundreds of hours of CPE credit while broadening their knowledge of the media and entertainment industry.
• Networking, networking, networking: 500+ members participated in 36 Member Network teleconferences in 2023. These gatherings – some featuring guest presenters, and others focusing on roundtable discussions – fostered knowledge sharing and problem solving on a member-to-member level.
• Staying on top of developments in a dynamic industry: Each week hundreds of MFM members read news stories on the latest developments in the media and entertainment industry, finance and accounting regulations, and the overall business climate in MFM SmartBrief, our digital newsletter. And hundreds more viewed video interviews with industry leaders and subject matter experts on everything from artificial intelligence to labor relations in MFMInSites.

But wait…there’s more!

In addition to these better known and more high-profile “what’s,” there are some often overlooked membership benefits that can be enormously valuable to individuals and corporate members, including:

MFM’s Career Center: A unique forum to post internships, contract work, part-time, and full-time positions in media and associated industries. Application details for each position are included within the posting.

MFM’s Knowledge Center: This new service will launch in 2024 and provide members access to all MFM webinars on-demand and at no cost. You’ll be able to view any webinar you may have missed this year, and share them with others in your company.

MFM’s Membership Directory: The ultimate digital networking platform that can connect you to professionals across the industry.

Media-specific Credit Reports on Advertisers and Agencies: Through our BCCA subsidiary, MFM members can purchase credit reports on thousands of individual advertisers and agencies. These are the only credit reports in the market that contain media-specific information, not just generic data on the company’s bill payment history. And, they’re available to MFM members at discounted rates, which can save your company thousands of dollars a year by revealing clients with poor payment histories and bad debt.

Why join MFM? Because we continually work to improve our “whats.” We understand the importance of your role within your media organization, your desire to grow your career, and the pressure you’re under to help improve your company’s bottom line. MFM is the only organization dedicated to providing you with the education, tools, services, and networking opportunities to help you reach your goals for 2024.

Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.