A CMO with a Vision for Member Growth

Featuring BNI Chief Marketing Officer Terry Atkins

May 20, 2020

BNI Chief Marketing Officer Terry Atkins joined BNI in the fall of 2019 with one thing on his mind, growth. Growth for BNI and all of its 270,000 Members around the world. After all, that’s why BNI exists and why people join BNI. The first step that he and his team took towards that growth was refreshing the brand so that people everywhere would see BNI as a contemporary and progressive organization with a relevant service to offer.  Certainly, now more than ever, BNI is relevant. In fact, as Members would say, it is fundamental to their survival during this period of worldwide disruption.  But for those that don’t know BNI, it is hard to understand all the benefits it has to offer. The brand refresh has been designed to do one thing, and that’s attract more members. Attract them with a look that is inspiring, a look that’s professional, yet friendly. Based on consumer research and the reaction from those who have now seen it, it’s a real winner.  The new logo has an energy and a certain magnetism of attraction. Why is it so important to attract new Members?  Because more Members means more referrals and more referrals equals Member growth. The summarization of all of BNI’s benefits can be found in its new campaign tagline, “Growing Forward Together™”. Those words were chosen after quite a bit of dialogue and research with BNI Leaders and Members. Through all of that work it became quite clear that if there was one word that captured the essence of BNI, it was growth. The other thing that stood out were the Members’ personal stories of how BNI changed their lives both professionally and personally for the better, allowing them to move forward. Lastly, Members talked about how being part of a network of like-minded, caring people helped them to achieve things together that they could never have done alone. There was no better way to represent BNI and its refresh look than to use the words, Growing Forward Together™.