CSPA celebrates 90th: change still shapes the association.

EMBRACING CHANGE has become a way of life for successful corporations and trade associations alike. It's been five years since the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) developed a strategic plan that has served as a roadmap for change for the association and its membership. During the CSPA's 90th annual meeting, held Dec. 8-11 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, association leaders reflected on several positive changes that occurred in 2003.

Outgoing CSPA chairman David Beaham of Faultless Starch/Bon Ami noted that the Product Care program posted strong gains in its second year of operation. Early last year, organizers held a press conference to announce the public unveiling of the program. Training sessions were held both in the spring and prior to the annual meeting. Also during the year, team members completed an extensive comparison of Product Care to ISO 9000 and 14000.

More recently, the Product Care team began promoting the program on a new website, www.productcare.com and greatly expanded the Product Care section on the members-only portion of the CSPA website, www.cspa.org.

All the work has paid off, because as of mid-January, 63 member companies had joined Product Care.

"Product Care presents a great opportunity for the association, for our industry and for your company," insisted Mr. Beaham. "We need a dominant percentage of our membership to be active participants to fully realize the benefits with external stakeholders such as EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) and Congress."

While Mr. Beaham championed Product Care, CSPA president Chris Cathcart reviewed several legislative victories that the association registered in 2003. He called the successful passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 a "triple win" for the industry, EPA and the environmental community.

"(Our work) was one of the most remarkable lobbying feats that I have seen in my 22 years of association work," said Mr. Cathcart. "Essentially, this legislation transforms how EPA currently regulates antimicrobials and other non-agricultural pesticides."

Passage of the Act benefits the EPA because it is assured of long-term, stabilized funding, according to Mr. Cathcart. Environmental groups and the labor community will benefit because it provides funding toward worker protection and emphasizes reduced-risk pesticides. Finally, it's a win for CSPA members because they can achieve predictability and shorter timeframes for product registrations, which will get products to market faster.

Victory in California

At the state level, CSPA aggressively defended its members' products when they were threatened by proposed revisions to California's State Implementation Plan for the Clean Air Act. During that process, the South Coast Air Quality Management District lobbied for the right to regulate consumer products. But thanks to the CSPA Air Quality Special Committee, the proposed SIP remains under the jurisdiction of the California Air Resources Board.

Mr. Cathcart also praised the association's efforts to attract new members. Four years ago, CSPA membership was 220. As of December, 2003, membership reached 236--a remarkable achievement during this time of company mergers and acquisitions, said Mr. Cathcart.

Defining the Presidency

Washington Post editor Bob Woodward served as the keynote speaker during the opening session. Author of "Bush at War," Mr. Woodward has been a keen observer of the President for much of the past four years and had the opportunity to interview him and ultimately try to understand the most powerful person the world.

Mr. Woodward said he found President Bush eager to be interrogated regarding his decision to attack Iraq. According to Mr. Woodward, just prior to becoming president, Mr. Bush was briefed about the threat Osama bin Laden posed to the U.S., but he ignored that warning. After Sept. 11, 2001, he was determined to make sure terrorists couldn't strike again.

"You learn more from failure than success," observed Mr. Woodward. "911 taught Mr. Bush to take care of threats early."

After success in Afghanistan, Mr. Woodward said President Bush looked closely at Iraq. "He knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction against Iran and his own people, and he was determined not to let it happen in the U.S."

Mr. Woodward said he doesn't know if the decision to attack Iraq was a wise one, but he hopes to find the answer before publishing his next book, War in Iraq, later this year.

The speaker also touched on several other issues during his presentation. As the lead reporter (along with Carl Bernstein) in the Washington Post's coverage of the Watergate break-in, Mr. Woodward was eager to mention Richard Nixon, calling him one of the most intelligent men to hold the office of the presidency. Unfortunately, Nixon's hatred for his enemies poisoned his administration, according to Mr. Woodward.

"But the sense of hate and score-settling is not in the Bush Presidency," asserted Mr. Woodward. "The U.S. response to 911 is not based on hate."

Turning to domestic issues, Mr. Woodward called the U.S. economy "pretty good," but noted that a single terrorist attack could have a tremendous impact on the economy. "There are thousands of terrorists who want to do something," he warned. "They haven't been able to do anything because of good CIA work."

CSPA and CSPC 

Hal Stratton, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), told the audience that his agency has an excellent relationship with the CSPA and he intends to keep it that way.

"We have a good working relationship with your organization," he said. "We can improve consumer safety by working together rather than apart."

He told the audience that CPSC typically issues 370 product recalls a year--none of them are mandatory. Mr. Stratton also noted that less than half of the reports that reach his office result in a recall.

Pick Up the Pace!

To grab share from competitors and capture consumer attention, consumer product companies are rolling out new products faster than ever. But to be successful, companies can't run willy-nilly into new product launches. To help executives understand how to create better products faster, the cleaning products division presented a program entitled, "Speed to Market: Melding R&D and business minds."

Creating a strong strategic alliance is a cornerstone to a fast-moving company, said Karen Messer, principal, Karen Messer Associates. She noted that there are many types of alliances to choose from, including preferred suppliers, joint R&D or new product development and, the most radical alliance of all, mergers.

Creating a successful alliance is anything but easy. "It requires the inner strength, the courage, to do what's needed," asserted Ms. Messer. "You must be willing to fail in front of two companies."

In addition to courage, every company must have a blueprint. Successful alliances require every stakeholder to buy into it, find the right kind of alliance and build on it. Questions to ask when creating an alliance include:

* "Will the alliance help our company achieve its objective faster?"

* "What is the potential partner's image?"

* "Does the alliance fit?" and

* "Do the two cultures fit?"

Once a partner has been approached, hammering out a win-win relationship can be difficult. Ms. Messer suggested appointing a project champion from each company to keep negotiations moving. Details, such as each party's responsibilities, must be agreed upon. When successful, an alliance can create a new paradigm for your business. "It will redefine the boundaries of your company," insisted Ms. Messer. "But you must invest the time and effort to build a strong relationship."

Creating the right climate for success is critical too, especially given the fact that only 30% of alliances are successful. Ms. Messer blamed the low success rate on corporate cultural problems, mismatched strategies and failure to create win-win relationships.

Mark Miller of the McIntyre Group explained how to move a customer's concept to creating a finished product. "Providing a chemical solution alone is no longer enough," he warned the audience. "You must provide a variety of services, including formulation work and toxicology and stability testing, all in a timely manner."

According to Mr. Miller, improving speed to market should focus on four key points. The first, project scope and leadership, calls for specifically defining the project's scope and the desired finished product; having a technology directive as well as setting financial expectations and a timeline.

The second, involving administration, includes establishing confidentiality and joint development agreement. The third point, technical communication, involves appointing a technical liaison to provide project updates on a regular basis.

Finally, intellectual property agreements are extremely important, according to Mr. Miller. If IP issues are not outlined prior to the start of a project, there is a potential for conflict, he said, adding that patent laws are often very specific when it comes to IP.

Tony Rademaker of Market Edge told the audience that understanding the value chain can help improve product success rates. He noted that in many mature markets, consumers are increasingly price sensitive and may no longer perceive a difference between competitive products. In this environment, it is imperative to understand the value chain: from supplier to wholesaler to retailer to consumer.

"Are you just a commodity chemical (to the consumer)?" asked Mr. Rademaker. "We must understand what makes people tick."

At the same time, suppliers must look at every point in the value chain to understand the market. "Too often, we look only at the next guy in the value chain, but it's really a system of moving cogs."

Like the speaker before him, Mr. Rademaker said companies must deliver the entire package, including products, services and know-how. "Delivering quality has become a commodity," he insisted.

But delivering the entire package all the way through the value chain can be fraught with difficulties.

"So many things have to go right when you launch a product," he warned. "There are a lot of places to fall down when you innovate. (Too often) we love the technology and forget the customer."

Air Care & the Internet

Using the internet to communicate effectively was the air care division's program topic for the annual meeting.

CSPA staff member Don Ho explained how online marketing techniques can help drive traffic to websites. Mr. Ho is credited for revamping CSPA's site into an award-winning destination and he also developed many other sites for the association. He detailed several traffic-driving strategies. Keyword embedding, a relatively new technology, is content-based and is intended to improve visibility on search engines by including as many keywords as possible on the site.

Keyword bidding is another way to improve site visibility. By paying for placement on a search engine, companies can ensure that their site will be one of the first ones to show up when a user types in a keyword. Mr. Ho noted that CSPA used just that strategy to build traffic for its aboutgerms site. (To find out more about the bidding process, visit www.overture.com.)

Finally, website designers might want to try a mutual link strategy. Although not as popular as keyword embedding or keyword bidding, it is an easy way to let folks know about your site. Webmasters just have to link their site to another site. To find out if your site has already been linked to another, just go to Google.com, "link to:[add your web address, www.happi.com, for example]" and you'll find out how many websites have already linked your site to their site.

Although the internet can create new opportunities, it can create more than a few headaches too. Internet rumors fall under this category, and Elena Solovyov of Nichols Dezenhall explained how companies can effectively combat rumors such as lead-based lipstick.

"The internet is an attacker's paradise," she warned. "Everyone (appears to be) an authority and everyone is anonymous."

She said internet attacks are just part of doing business in the 21st century. But companies must distinguish between attacks that are merely a nuisance and those that can lead to a real crisis.

To defend your company from these attacks she suggested using traditional containment strategies such as exposing a hidden agenda and combating misinformation with fact. She also urged companies to dig deep to identify their attackers and if they are corrupt, expose them. Finally, companies may want to use third-party testimonials to fend off attackers.

Mark Your Calendar!

The Association has a full schedule of events planned for 2004. Here's a quick look at the major events:

* International Regulatory Conference, March 24 and 25, The Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C.;

* Mid-Year Meeting, May 4-7, Downtown Marriott, Chicago;

* New Horizons 2004, Sept. 19-22, Sagamore Resort, Lake George, NY;

* Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

More info: CSPA, [phone]; Website: www.cspa.org.

RELATED ARTICLE: Johnsen earns Allderdice Award; Midtbo wins Chairman's Award.

DURING THE OPENING SESSION of the annual meeting, the CSPA honored two of its members for their years of service. Well-known aerosol expert Monty Johnsen received the Charles E. Allderice Jr. Memorial Award, the association's highest honor. Mr. Johnsen joined the aerosol industry in 1953 with Continental Filling Corporation. Two years later he joined Peterson Filling and Packaging, where he held leadership positions in research and development and quality assurance until his retirement in 1987.

Since then he's established a consulting company and written several books and hundreds of articles for industry journals. In addition, Mr. Johnsen served as chairman of the association and, prior to that, the aerosol division. During his career, Mr. Johnsen served as a consultant with the United Nations on CFC-replacement technology.

Larry Midtbo, president of I-K-I Manufacturing, received the Chairman's award for 2003. In presenting the award, Mr. Beaham called him "an advocate of small business, bringing valuable insight to CSPA's efforts for its smaller companies."

Mr. Midtbo joined CSPA in 1985. He has been active on the association's board, the executive and finance committee, a variety of general committees and numerous positions in both the Aerosol Products and the Industrial and Automotive Specialty Chemicals divisions.

RELATED ARTICLE: What are consumers thinking?

AEROSOLS HAVE BEEN CFC-free for 25 years. So why do so many consumers still have misperceptions about them? To help answer that question, the Laerosol division enlisted Jay Ingram, host of "Daily Planet" on Discovery Channel Canada. But if the science-savvy audience was hoping for some good news, they must have been disappointed with Mr. Ingram's remarks.

"When we make decisions, we don't use all the data that is available to us," observed Mr. Ingram. "You cannot expect people to make rational science-based decisions about buying aerosols."

That's because most folks simply don't understand science. In fact, according to Mr. Ingram, only 5% of the general population understands a typical science article in Time.

What's worse, most people often have no idea how they reached a conclusion. "So, if you ask people why they don't buy aerosols, you can't rely on their answer," he charged.

In order to find out what consumers are truly thinking, he suggested the audience try something called "neuro marketing." Basically, consumers get ah MRI while being shown products. The technique enables researchers to see what makes the brain active.

Unfortunately, the technology is still in its infancy and still mighty expensive. Mr. Ingram said that to conduct a study on 12 subjects would cost about $500,000!