Findings from Marketing Research among Students, Early Careerists and Their InfluencersPresentation: June 2011

Exploratory Objectives and Research Approach

Iterative Approach:1) Immersion Interviews•Interviewed key staff at AIAA to generate hypotheses for testing

2) Focus Groups with Target (3)•Focus groups conducted in LA, CA•1 member group -- mix of students and early careerists•1 non-member group of students•1 non-member group of early careerists

3) Influencer Interviews (9)•In-depth interviews with key influencers by phone•A mix of leadership and middle managers at large and small companies, as well as professors

Objective: Understand how to best engage students and early careerists•What is the value proposition that will promote membership and participation in a professional organization?•What experiences, programs, and services are relevant to those just beginning their careers?•How do you capture and retain their interest?•What makes them want to continue their relationship with the organization?•How can the organization support students and young careerists as they transition to the workforce?

Internal Hypotheses Tested• Our initial interviews with AIAA leaders yielded several hypotheses to explore in research.

Young professionals don’t join AIAA because of the price-tag

AIAA is valued for networking opportunities, possibly in-person

We should offer more at conferences that directly relates to

their job right now

Middle managers are a barrier to AIAA conferences

AIAA is valued chiefly for the conferences, meetings, and events it

hosts

Young people want instant gratification

The challenge is bigger than AIAA – it’s about attracting talent to this

industry. Disinterest often based on misperceptions

We need to provide more fun, social events at the local level

Need to talk big picture – how do we apply our skills to help with society’s

issues?

The industry is aged, and young people feel the generation gap

Professional Expectations…

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“When I was little I had a fascination with planes and fighters and flying. I used to actually build little model airplanes and be really meticulous about putting them

together.” (Early Careerist)

“Since birth. I remember being an aerospace geek early on, and I had this record I listened to of the first shuttle watch in '81. I always played it when I was younger. It

was something I was born with. It sounds ridiculous. From day one that is what I knew I wanted to do.” (Member)

“I looked at the highest-paying engineering professions by field. Aerospace was the first one I saw at the top that I

thought I could stand to do.” (Member)

“I figured engineering was probably one of the best undergrad degrees to have, because it is really a need and you can get pretty much any job with a degree like that. I

just figured it would be a good one. And I really like math.” (Student)

Many students and early careerists were captivated by flight or space

“I kind of ruled out the other career opportunities. I'm not good at reading – or I don't like reading and writing much.

So I ruled out law and all those things.” (Early Careerist)“I remember it was 6th grade, and we were having the introduction to the solar system. I got really passionate

about planets, so I started doing my research. Since I also like building, they told me to find a major that would

combine engineering and astronomy, so I’m an astronautical engineer.” (Student)

But just as many respondents chose the field for practical reasons

Quote LegendStudent: Non-member student groupEarly Careerist: Non-member early careerist groupMember: Student or early careerist AIAA member

Then Expectations Meet Reality: Generation Gap or “Gulf”

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• Respondents describe a generation gap at their workplace – a gulf between a cadre of recent graduates and the old guard

• Many question their next opportunity – who will I be?

• Atmosphere is intimidating, where it is hard to ask for help and guidance

“It is hard for me not to look around and go, ‘this seems like it is dying.’

Everybody is older; they've been here a long time.” (Early Careerist)

• Projects have a long time-horizon, slow pace, it’s typical to not see the end result

• Working on one small piece – might not understand where efforts fit into the larger picture

• Realistically, it’s more computer time than working with hands

• Young people feel unprepared for actual job responsibilities

“…I'm going to be fired because I'm dangerously

incompetent. I still feel that way honestly. I have no idea what I'm doing at

work.” (Member)

Then Expectations Meet Reality: Disconnect from the Big Picture

“I was talking to one of my friends and she didn't even

know where her part goes…As new hires you don't know what is going on. In order to know

what is going on, they need to work for 20, 30 years.”

(Student)

• Challenged by government cuts and bureaucracy

• Manned space flight moving from government to the private sector, while science gives way to tourism – what does this mean for individual careers?

• US was a leader but now a technology laggard; feelings of missed opportunities

“We are less competitive with other countries, like European

space craft builders are going to deliver Leo-[void] or [iTar] parts on

purpose. That means they are avoiding any American parts

because of all the hassles…we are kind of shooting ourselves in the

foot.” (Early Careerist)

Then Expectations Meet Reality: Anxiety about a Changing Industry

Professional Associations: Aspirations

“Who wouldn't love a site where you could go into a search engine, and type in a specific job that you want and it would match you with a person with that job -

who is in the group and is 45 and you get to email like a pen pal.” (Early Careerist)

“When you network socially at a bar drinking, you are really making a judgment about whether you are going to help that person get a job. If I can interact with you socially, in a nice way, then hopefully I can deal with

you every day.” (Early Careerist)

“Help you do your job better, faster. Get a resource without bugging someone at work.” (Early Careerist)

“When you are first starting, you don't know anybody in the aerospace industry. Older people know tons of

people. If they have a problem with something, they can just call somebody up at this other company. When

you are starting, you don't know anybody like that.” (Student)

“It was good because it was a lot of people. One of them was Robert Dickman, who is now the president of

AIAA. He kind of did a general industry overview and what he thought, and this was before he was in the

position but he talked about where the industry was, where he sees it going. Stuff like that, for me, it is

interesting.” (Member)

• Respondents articulated various categories of needs at this stage in their schooling and careers.

Professional Associations: By Audience

Non-members

Members

Word Clouds: The larger the appearance of the word, the more frequent the mention.

Professional Resources Today

“It seems like the people mentoring are often forced to do it, and they may not want to.”

(Member)“In the beginning they were all excited to

mentor the junior engineers, and now they are just waiting to retire and get out.” (Early

Careerist)“AIAA is more about the person than

the program.” (Influencer)

“If I call my colleague who may know someone, that may know someone, that eventually gets me to the right person.” (Early

Careerist)

“There are inter-aerospace company/young engineer group

social gatherings. Those are good for me because they are kind of several steps ahead, so that is pretty much all I have.”

(Early Careerist)

“Staying connected with a few people at the university is

something I do, too, because you never know what

opportunities they might hear of.” (Member)

• YP’s have multitude of resources to help them in their careers, though none are a “one-stop shop.”

The Main Competition• There are two primary sources of competition for AIAA among this cohort.

Acquisition & Retention: The Leaky Hose

Students-in school•Surrounded by mentors•Recruited by many industry orgs•Join for social connections, networking, resume building

First membership fee is due

(commitment)

?

More progressed early careerists•Have adjusted to career, role, industry•Have more time to spend on activities, see the need to publishing papers to advance, attend conference to present•Looking to help them advance careers and excel in the industry; need inspiration for the next stage

Early careerists•Experiencing the work realities of generation gap, skills gap and compartmentalization at work•Unsure where to turn for help•Most time devoted to work•No support or $ for joining org•Don’t see the value and drop•Those living in a gap between academia and real world want an org to help them bridge the gap

Key Transition Point:From being surrounded by

student groups and mentors to relative

isolation

Top of Mind Perceptions of AIAA

What Key Influencers Said …•Builds leadership and management skills •Connects you to the bigger picture – make a breadth and depth of contacts; a way to avoid getting too pigeonholed in your career•Helps to publish research, get your name out there, is good for the resume

What Young People Said …•Older, established, white men, not diverse•Academic; for people who live and breath the industry•Not social or fun•Members describe AIAA as the leader in research/ technical papers/ publications/ standards, etc

“You can see what’s going on in the industry beyond just being an individual engineer…I saw there was a bigger world than just my school and company.” (Influencer)

“I had a mentor in AIAA, and he acted as a sounding board for me. Later he helped me find career

opportunities.” (Influencer)

“I developed my leadership skills, learned to manage people, run projects and write reports.” (Influencer)

“It can give a young person the opportunity for leadership in a safe environment, where it’s not a problem if they do something stupid or wrong .”

(Influencer)

“People who have that seniority are holding up AIAA because it is an older, established foundation.” (Member

Student)

“It is just too academic. It was all this great stuff that I would have been interested in when I was in college, or if

I was going to graduate school.” (Early Careerist)

“I don't know if they do networking and social event things. I know they do the professional conferences and

papers and all that stuff. It is strictly professional.” (Early Careerist)

“I think of a group of people who are interested in performing research or investigating technology which is

kind of ahead of our time.” (Member Early Careerist)

• What key influencers said are AIAA’s strengths, are not necessarily apparent to younger professionals.

AIAA’s Value Proposition

How They Think AboutWhat they Want

How You Present What You Offer

“The thing that I find frustrating reading this is that I can't tell at all if it is relevant to me. They list things like training…they don't give any actual examples. I'm not even going to take the time to find out if this even applies to me.” (Early Careerist)

Conferences As the Primary Touch-point

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• Despite the desire to attend, AIAA conferences are simply out of reach for many.

ProblemMembers see the value, but can only attend if it relates directly to their position or

project

All feel these are expensive and time consuming

Companies are very specific about what they will fund

Non-members see these as venues for presenting papers,

not fun “I always get emails about them. I would like to go, but they are not

accessible… you have to fly all over, and sometimes kids are in school and you can‘t. It would be nice to have them for students…make it more like local workshops so we

could attend.” (Student)

“Have pay-as-you-play access to conferences, information. You could

record anything and put it on the web. If you could go on and just

watch a presentation from the 2009 GNC Conference, it would be great.”

(Member)

“Instead of having these huge technical forums, have forums that are just about ideas. For example,

what should space look like in 2025. Bring in poets, historians, no math, just people collaborating on ideas.”

(Influencer)

“Sometimes there is a topic or two you want to look at, but you don't have $700 laying around

the house.” (Member)

“Oddly, very few requests come in from young people to attend conferences. And most requests fail in the requirements.” (Key

Influencer)

Your primary touch-point is not accessible for most at this stage

of their career!

SolutionMore accessible face-to-face

opportunities at the local level

Part fun, social, and life learning

Part educational: workshops, specialized topics, idea sharing

A la carte offerings online for a small fee; remote attendance for

relevant conference sessions

Other Member Benefits

Item Strengths Weaknesses Value Can be improved by…

Papers/Journal Articles/

Standards

• Access to almost any research in the industry

• Technical standards important

• Designed for those in academia and research• Many others

unaware; lengthy and hard to use as quick “go-to”

• Helpful resource for some at work

• Make some resources more user-friendly for non-academics

Competitions • Those who participate like creating and building

• Hands-on, different than the day-to-day

• Many don’t like the “competition” aspect• Time-frame

unrealistic• Hard to build a

team that quickly

• Takes them back to their passion – why some chose this career

• Inspires excitement about the industry in younger people

• Make it more of a collaborative, learning experience• More time to put a

team together and complete

Daily Launch • Interesting content• Relevant to YPs and

their jobs• Able to keep abreast

of new industry developments

• Too wordy• Too generic for

some• Get similar content

at work (though some say DL better)

• Big picture view of industry

• Not only keep them informed, but can help inspire

• Headline + teaser, then hyperlink to full story

• More pictures and bullet points

• Non-members saw some value in other benefits; but had suggestions to make them more relevant.

Opportunity: Stick Up for the Industry

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“I feel like it (the industry) is weakening. Maybe it is strong but it is not getting stronger.” (Early Careerist)

“In aerospace you are only in the news when something bad happens. There is nothing ever -- you never hear anything good about what did aerospace do for you today? That is

kind of like what I'm looking for, some direction.” (Member)

“We need more news about industry growing instead of dying.” (Student)

“How do we get the message out there that we are not just messing up left and right and spending the taxpayer dollars.

That is what people see right now.” (Member)

“It creates a lot of technology that eventually filters its way into the consumer markets. People just don't know that. NASA's weird experiment could be tomorrow's iPhone...”

(Early Careerist)

“I hear about them going to the Hill but I have never been asked to participate, or to even provide feedback on where

we see as a young profession where we see the industry going and what our concerns are.” (Member)

Industry Problem•Members and non-members both feel that respect for the industry is dwindling. Lack of understanding on part of public •Jobs and funding are being cut•Young students and professionals not aware of corporation’s lobbying efforts behind the scenes

Opportunity•AIAA could provide a leadership and convening role on this front•Articulate the big picture perspective •Become outwardly focused and promote positive images•Allow the voice of the next generation to be represented and heard

Key Considerations for Communications

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• Focus group feedback suggests that AIAA recruitment communications – look, feel and content – are a mismatch to this target audience.

Refresh, Streamline, Increase Accessibility to Better Connect

Moving Forward: Opportunities for AIAAOPPORTUNITY FOR AIAANEEDS CURRENT SITUATION

AIAA can play a unifying role by articulating the big picture perspective, acting as cheerleader/convener, becoming more outwardly-focused

AIAA could be primary networking hub for students and early careerists, where you meet colleagues outside your own school or company, offering a broader perspective and personal connections

AIAA has relationships with a diverse array of companies and can create those locally accessible, face-to-face connections

Explore interest in specialty workshops - an hour (not a day) for idea sharing, a la carte online offerings, leadership opportunities in a “safe environment.” Will corporate partner be willing to pay for these?

AIAA could develop an online/offline network for standards, best practices, help by area, etc.

AIAA could revisit mentoring in a hybrid approach – with a network of willing members and the ability to locate mentors by specialty and geography

Plugging the Leaky Hose

Students-in school•Surrounded by mentors•Recruited by many industry orgs•Join for social connections, networking, resume building

First membership fee is due

(commitment)

?

More progressed early careerists•Have adjusted to career, role, industry•Have more time to spend on activities, see the need to publishing papers to advance, attend conference to present•Looking for AIAA to help them advance careers and excel in the industry – need inspiration for the next stage

Early careerists•Experiencing the work realities of generation gap, skills gap and compartmentalization at work•Unsure where to turn for help•Most time devoted to work•No support or $ for joining org•Don’t see the value and drop•Those living in a gap between academia and real world want an org to help them bridge the gap

Key Transition Point:From being surrounded by

student groups and mentors to relative isolation

AIAA Opportunity •Make it fun to be a member•Become the primary networking hub

AIAA Opportunity •Informal mentoring•Non-traditional conference settings•Create face-to-face connections•Access to real time information•Inspire them

AIAA Opportunity•Stick up for the industry•Leadership opportunities

Appendix

Internal Hypotheses Tested

Hypothesis: Validation?The industry is aged, and young people feel the generation gap

Yes, many observe a generation gap (between new hires and old guard) in large companies

Need to talk big picture – how do we apply our skills to help with society’s issues?

Yes, these young careerists want to be inspired beyond their cubicle

We need to provide more fun, social events at the local level

Yes, without question. Other groups are dominating this space and reaping the benefits

The challenge is bigger than AIAA – it’s about attracting talent to this industry. Disinterest often based on misperceptions

Warrants further testing. A number of student interns and early careerists are disillusioned after experiences at large companies

Young people want instant gratification Not exactly. They are willing to work hard, but they want careers to move at an accelerated pace

AIAA is valued chiefly for the conferences, meetings, and events it hosts

Feedback is mixed. Perhaps this is valuable, but national conferences falls short as a primary touch-point

Middle managers are a barrier to AIAA conferences

The challenge is two-fold: very few YP’s request to go; corporate philosophy discourages

We should offer more at conferences that directly relates to their job right now

Non-members do want “ready to use” information, but conferences are not necessarily the conduit

AIAA is valued for networking opportunities, possibly in-person

These YP’s definitely want face-to-face networking opportunities, but AIAA’s are often inaccessible

Young professionals don’t join AIAA because of the price-tag

No, the barrier is value more so than price. Why pay for something when the value isn’t apparent?

• Our initial interviews with AIAA leaders yielded several hypotheses to explore in research.

Lessons from SWE

Young, Active, Social

“Conferences are in different cities, different venues. The national ones are usually at a conference center but more

regional ones are at universities or more local venues. It’s a great resource. There are professional chapters also. It is not just a bunch of students getting together. It’s people

who have already been through it.” (Student)

“At school SWE definitely puts on a lot more active things than AIAA. The only thing I've seen from AIAA is pizza and a one-on-one basketball game. Other than that, it is always SWE at the

beach…they do a lot of stuff like that.” (Student)

“I hosted a SWE college student the other day. When I was in college they would serve sushi at

their events, how could you not go?”(Early Careerist)

“I get the view of SWE as being a newer society compared to AIAA. I could see that younger

students could relate to SWE a lot easier than AIAA, because it mostly consists of younger

generation people.” (Student)

Local, Accessible

“Yes, so I got the internship from G.E. because of SWE. I also met women

engineers, which is really rare. Those women gave me tips about being a woman engineer…they are doing life training. I've

learned so many things from SWE.” (Student)

Networking and Mentoring: Job, Career,

Life

“It’s also sharing ideas. I have asked friends, ‘how does it work at your company?’ The networking and the social aspect of it is

one thing, but to get feedback with someone that works at another company and pull it into your company is really

golden.” (Early Careerist)

“The benefit is mostly networking. I came to Raytheon, shadowed a female engineer, got my job through that.“ (Early

Careerist)

• In LA, SWE strikes the right balance between social and professional; and has a strong local presence.

Item Strengths Weaknesses Value Can be improved by…

Student Brochure • Showcases ways that AIAA can benefit students

• Many excited by the prospect of inspirational speakers

• Perceived as generic• Focus on competition is

alienating to some

• Students are interested in how AIAA can help them in the future

• Focus on the more practical aspects of student membership, i.e. internships and job networking

Recruitment Poster • None that respondents volunteered

• Did not speak to most non-members. Suggests AIAA is for over -achievers , must live and breath AIAA, alienating

• Format doesn’t work

• None that respondents volunteered

• Redesign to speak to a broader audience of young professional

Member Benefits • None that respondents volunteered

• Overwhelming• Mile high, inch deep

• Shows all the ways in which AIAA may be beneficial to different types of members

• Concentrate on 3-4 core benefits that connect back to their wants and needs

Website • Useful to gather information about organization events, download publications and industry policy and news

• Navigation issues• Text heavy• Access varies

depending on membership type

• Members utilize website for publications and papers

• Improve navigation, search function• Streamline content,

i.e. high level abstracts to help them find useful articles quickly

AIAA Communications• Respondents were quite critical of most of the materials we tested.

Meeting the Challenge:• AIAA is seen by many young people as an organization that is for older professionals, with a national emphasis and

more academic focus.• Influencers also describe an organization that is run by older members and seems resistant to change. • Among both, these elements contribute to the stagnant perception of the organization. As the industry evolves, AIAA

will need to do the same while working on three parallel tracks.

AIAA has young professional at the table now. Allow the perspectives of

this next generation to come into decision-making.

“A lot of people who make the decisions are senior people. It’s hard to identify

with them because of age and experience differences.” (Key

Influencer)

“We are still mired in, what does the Tech Activities Committee think? My

answer, is who cares? AIAA is not culturally open to the breadth of the profession today.” (Key Influencer)

“Young people say we have problems that keep us from reaching a new level of success, and they see that as partly political. AIAA can be an alternative

pathway to bring industry players together to address society’s challenges.” (Key Influencer)

Internal Track

Developing a more robust local presence through your chapters; both

social and professional

“I feel one thing that is kind of a catch-22 with AIAA (local level) is that it just seems like every time I go to there, it’s

not that many people…you are not attracting a lot of people, so you are

always just going to have a small group of people.” (Member)

“I know that they have national awards, but I don't know of anything

for local recognition.” (Member)

Local Track

Engage industry leadership to ensure support of YP participation.

Develop alternative YP offerings that cater to both member and employer

perceptions of value.

“Membership promotion needs to come from the top down. Often mid-

level people don’t really care if it’s not important to them…they don’t see the

benefit to young people.” (Key Influencer)

“They need to look at how they can have their leadership engage with the

leaders in this industry, former generals, CEOs, etc and people who can look back over decades and see where things are going. That experience can bring more to AIAA.” (Key Influencer)

National Track