Membership

POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON MEMBERSHIP

The 2019 year was a good year for overall growth of membership. Through the use of new retention tactics beginning in early 2019, member retention increased 12% compared to the year before. In addition to retention tactics, an online marketing campaign targeting National members was launched in October and yielded 124 renewals in its first week. The results of this plan have been very encouraging and demonstrate that marketing campaigns and retention efforts are effectively yielding results.

Connecting with Constituents

CIM understands and values the hard work and passion volunteer members dedicate to CIM Branches, Societies and Committees, and the critical role the executives play in the national outreach and success of the organization. Thanks to the leadership of CIM President, Roy Slack, CIM National has been making a strong effort to meet with Branches and Societies and attend their various events throughout the year to build a stronger relationship and show support.

In addition, Branch executives have been invited to attend CIM Council and share their new initiatives, achievements, comments and concerns at quarterly meetings. The inclusion and success of CIM constituents equals success for the organization.

CIM National has also made an effort to have a physical presence at major events throughout the year. In 2019, CIM National attended the Canadian Mineral Processors Conference (Ottawa); Canadian Mining Expo (Timmins); Canadian Mining Games (Edmonton); Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability/Mine Operators Conference (Kamloops); XPLOR (Montreal); Quebec Mines and Energy (Quebec); Conference of Metallurgists/Copper 2019 (Vancouver); Shaft Design & Construction (Toronto); and Mineral Resources Review (Newfoundland).

Bridging Communication Gaps

The fall and winter of 2019 saw the launch of three new newsletters to help bridge communication gaps and provide the latest content to CIM members.

The Branch Newsletter, a new CIM initiative, is sent to Branch executives following a CIM Council meeting. The newsletter consists of the Council highlights, any new CIM initiatives undertaken, new Committee updates, and provides room for a Branch and volunteer highlight, celebrating the achievements of CIM’s constituents. The Metallurgical Processing News Bulletin is a collaboration with the Metallurgy and Materials Society of CIM and is intended to fill the gap for metallurgy and processing members. Members have often voiced their concerns over a lack of email content within the metallurgical and processing fields. The Bulletin is scheduled to be sent out quarterly.

The Student Newsletter helps student members stay upto-date on student-focused content, such as upcoming events, scholarship deadlines, volunteer opportunities and reminders on member benefits that help them excel in their career path.

Corporate Membership Campaign

A Corporate Membership campaign was planned and initiated throughout the summer and winter, which focused on reaching lapsed Corporate Members and reminding them of the benefits of membership. It also focused on converting past CIM exhibitors into Corporate Members. The campaign was a big success, as Corporate Membership increased 12.7% compared to the previous year. Thanks to this positive result, the campaign will continue in 2020.

Back to School Campaign

CIM’s main marketing project over the summer has been to design, organize and run the student membership marketing campaign. In 2018, the first student marketing campaign was launched and it yielded moderate results, with 52% more students joining or renewing their CIM membership over the same five-week period in 2017. In the first two weeks of the 2019 campaign, a 50% increase was recorded over the previous year’s results across five weeks. Through effective use of print and digital marketing campaigns, in addition to outreach through CIM’s constituent groups and partners, the five-week campaign totalled a 180% increase in new student members.

Student Outreach

CIM has made a significant effort in student outreach, with the objective to increase CIM Student membership, increase the number and activity level of CIM Student Chapters, and strengthen engagement and communication with students. The efforts of the Back to School Campaign followed by the launch of a Student Newsletter and a CIM 101 webinar have resulted in increased membership numbers and better communication than in years past.

CIM Link

CIM Link was launched in April 2019 prior to the CIM Annual Convention. The community engagement platform has achieved an active member number of over 800 and continues to grow. CIM Link provides a place for CIM members to connect and engage each other in discussions related to the extractive industries, share new content and build a stronger network.

Canadian Mining Games

The Canadian Mining Games is a key student event for the industry. The event brings together student-led teams from mining schools across Canada to compete in a number of skills and knowledge-based events from mine rescue to minerals and metals trivia. CIM’s continual attendance of the games aims to have open dialogue with the students to better understand what they need from CIM, and to ensure that the future leaders of the industry are supported along their path to a successful career in the extractive industries.

The 2019 year saw a revised and renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CIM and CMG. Alongside sponsorship, comprehensive accounting and financial reporting services, and promotion of the event through print and digital channels, the MOU specifies CIM as the custodian of all of CMG records.