Digital industry association AIMIA seeks to be wound up after going into administration
One of the major industry associations AIMIA is set to be wound up after failing to raise enough money from members to make it viable.
AIMIA, which represents agencies in the digital industry and was founded in 1992, is understood to have issued its four staff with redundancy notices this morning, and is set to ask members to close it down at a special meeting on December 21.
However, it is still set to go ahead with the AIMIA Awards on March 31 next year, with judging already underway.
It is understood the board had sought a potential merger of the group with both the Internet Industry Association and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), although neither appears to have been fruitful.
AIMIA was started in 1992 in the early days of the internet as an association to provide training and guidance to agencies in the emerging space.
However in recent years it has struggled to remain relevant as digital becomes more pervasive, with the association admitting in its press release “the current agency-centric scope of AIMIA is no longer commercially sustainable over the long term”.
It is the latest industry association to be hit with financial troubles. Publishers Australia, which represents large and small publishers, went into administration last September whilst at the start of the year the Australian Marketing Institute sent out a plea for members to pay an extra $99 on top of their memberships to avoid administration.
More to come.
The announcement:
Following twenty-three years of industry leadership, AIMIA is signing off and has closed its offices, voluntarily calling in Ferrier Hodgson to prepare the organisation for a members vote at a special meeting on 21 December to decide its future.
When it was founded in 1992, AIMIA heralded a new opportunity for Australian innovators in the digital content, services and application sectors to band together and as one united voice, help the industry grow through education, lobbying and support.
Commenting, Tim O’Neill, AIMIA’s president said: “Since that time, the impact of AIMIA has been widespread. From the creation of our education programmes, the AIMIA Awards, IAB Australia, and the annual Salary Survey, we have a longstanding history of supporting the growth of the digital industry. Many of our Members and Hall of Famers have found major commercial success locally and globally, and policy makers have adopted numerous recommendations championed for by AIMIA.”
The world of digital has now become so incredibly omnipresent across all industries that the current agency-centric scope of AIMIA is no longer commercially sustainable over the long term.
AIMIA’s membership has consolidated significantly in recent years and prospective members have access to a large volume of alternative sources of knowledge and networking.
As a not for profit, member funded organization, AIMIA’s National Committee explored the opportunity to significantly expand the scope and relevance of AIMIA in line with the digital industry today. Specifically, over the past six months AIMIA has had advanced discussions to merge with a strategically complementary industry organisation.
The merger was supported by Government and would have created a joint body with significantly wider industry appeal and resources. While those discussions were positive, they have recently concluded unsuccessfully. Given AIMIA’s thin capitalization base and the recent conclusion of merger talks, the National Committee appointed Ferrier Hodgson to review AIMIA’s operations and prepare the organisation ahead of the Members Vote to decide its future.
AIMIA’s four staff are expected to be paid their entitlements in full.
AIMIA Awards
The National Committee is committed to ensuring the annual AIMIA Awards programme will be completed as planned. The Awards have recently closed for entries and are currently being judged. Further details will be shared after the Members Vote.
“As a not for profit organisation, we’re immensely proud of the outcomes AIMIA has achieved over many years and the success and size of our industry in part reflects that impact.”
“We thank our many volunteers, members and patrons for their ongoing support, and for their recognition of the results AIMIA’s operations team and National and State committees have achieved over the past twenty-three years,” O’Neill said.
To all the people that supported AIMIA over the years, lets go out with one hell of a bang at the final awards night.
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Sad, a lot of Associations are in trouble and some have already gone
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sad news, good network and great people. all the best.
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‘It wasn’t successful, but it still delivered awards’ is a fitting send off.
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More member-based not-for profits will fall by the wayside in 2016.
Too many associations, not enough members.
Guess which will be next.
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I agree, Sal – AIMIA did a great job when no one else was thinking digital. That will be some party.
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Woah! I had no idea this existed till now!
We have been involved in web development for over 15 years. I guess a lot of us non-advertising ‘digital agencies’ joined AWIA – Australian Web Industry Association – ironically AWIA’s FB page has led me to this article.
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I would have to say their QLD branch was one of the few associations I actually got involved with and it was a great platform for a heap of my early industry connections/friends. I used to pay my membership fees when I was based in Brisbane but when I moved I stayed connected with them by social media but did stop supporting them financially years ago.
I do think AWIA has gained a lot of traction but AIMIA did do some amazing events, farewell and thanks for all the friends!
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The logo says AIMIA, however the writing underneath says: ‘The digital industry association of Australia’.
Why doesn’t it say ‘Australian Interactive Media Industry Association’, aka; AIMIA?
Other than that, good luck to the folks involved and may your awards night be a productive and fun night.
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Sad end for the people who put a lot of work in over the years.
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Wow, AIMIA will be missed. At its best it was a great netwroking & info/education source. It put on terrific events and conferences – V21 is one of the best 1-day events i’ve been to. Hope that it can continue but no doubt would struggle to stand alone.
One thing though… AIMIA offered a deal in June of this year to entice new members. From memory the deal was something like {“join up & receive $XXX of free training courses”. Whjat’s going to happen to the people who signed up based on that deal? Have they done their dough on 6-months worth of their membership, plus the training courses if they hadn’t already taken them?
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Sadly it’s a sign of the times for member based organisations. The true cost of the loss of AIMIA and others like it will come when there are no more of these groups left.
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Given both the internet and “interactive advertising” are now mainstream, maybe The Communications Council might have been a landing place but I guess they don’t need another mill-stone around their neck either.
The market always
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Always a shame to see something like this happen. A sad day for all those involved.
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