Customer proof on record
How INMA selected a new AMS on time and on budget with Dennison & Associates
- Customer on record
- INMA
- Vendor on record
- Dennison & Associates
Proofmap verifies attribution, approval and current standing, never the business outcome.
Every quote on this page comes from a recorded conversation and was approved by the contributor in the wording shown. Proofmap does not fact-check the claims, score the vendor or rank proofs.
Being on record is free and cannot be bought. Some companies also use Proofmap for other services; being on record is free to any company.
Proofmap summary
Proofmap writes this summary with AI from the quotes the contributor approved for this proof and the recorded conversation they come from. It is distilled from the approved material only, not from anything else about the company, and it is not a review or a rating.Created with AI, distilled from the approved quotes
INMA, a global association of news media professionals, hired Denison & Associates to guide its selection and implementation of a new association management system. Its operations director, Brooke Dillier, says the project would have been "absolutely overwhelming" for their "very small team." With the consulting firm's "intimate knowledge of the vendors," INMA confidently selected a non-traditional system and finished the project "completely on time and on budget."
Approved quotes
Every quote the contributor approved, in the wording approved, so a cited quote can be checked against this proof.
Showing all 20 quotes
- Background
Company Overview
“I'm with the International News Media Association. We're a global association of news media professionals, and all the big publishing houses globally are typically members. We have over 24,000 members, including about 190 corporate members like The New York Times.”
- Background
Global Scope
“We truly are global. We have staff in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US. We provide all the typical things that associations do—knowledge, connections, masterclasses, events, and reports—and we advocate for the industry.”
- Before
Complex Operational Needs
“The way our association runs is very unique. It's a white glove service. The members that are super involved are typically the CEOs of big media houses, and they expect a lot of unique, specialized, customized attention. Operationally, our systems have to be well-oiled machines to handle 24,000 members, but they also have to be extremely flexible to customize the experience for those CEOs. Finding a technology system that can support that wide range was tough.”
Panic vs. Gratitude
“I couldn't decide whether I was overwhelmed by gratitude that we have Denison & Associates or overwhelmed by panicked thinking about what if we didn't have them. Because it would be absolutely terrifying. Navigating this without them really would be terrifying.”
- Results
Vendor Knowledge
“Vanessa and her team come to the table with not only a solid process and tools that make the complex decision-making feel comfortable, but also an international perspective on all the vendors in this space. They have intimate knowledge of the vendors, the people that work for them, and their history. It is literally like a gold mine finding them.”
- How they use it
Overwhelmed Small Team
“We're a very small team. For us to take on a project like this, which pretty much requires a full-time person to manage, was absolutely overwhelming. When we got the budget approval to bring in a consultant, I was thrilled. And then finding Denison & Associates was amazing.”
- Before
Research Overwhelm
“I started doing some of the research on my own, and it was just so unbelievably overwhelming. I had no idea what our needs were going to be because I'd never done a project like this before. The consensus was very clear that hiring a consultant was a "must-have," not a "nice-to-have."”
- How they use it
Unique Experience
“The likelihood that you're going to have someone on your team with the expertise of selecting and implementing multiple AMS systems is low because they are such long-term investments. Hiring a consultant is critical because they come to the table with a unique experience that not everybody on your team is going to have.”
- Results
Structured & White Glove
“I loved their very step-by-step funnel approach to selecting a vendor. It provided a lot of structure. I was able to see the flow from start to finish and how it would be simple for us to follow, which is important because we are a resource-limited company. They also used a very white glove, customized approach, which jived completely with our philosophy. Culturally, they were a really good fit for us.”
- How they use it
Accounting Wall
“At one point, we hit a wall with our accounting needs. Denison & Associates was able to bring in somebody from their team with specific accounting expertise who helped me advocate for changes internally. The knowledge that they gave us armed us with the information we needed, and because it was backed by such a well-known firm, it gave us the exact leverage we needed with the vendor to get a cost-effective solution.”
- How they use it
Flexible Expertise
“One of the areas that was absolutely hyper-critical to the success of the whole project was around our accounting needs. Denison & Associates was able to go above and beyond the scope and bring in experts that could help my team internally figure out what we needed to change. I don't know if many other consulting firms would have been able to be as flexible and bring in so many different perspectives as quickly and cost-effectively as they did.”
- Results
Validated Selection (Olive)
“Denison & Associates has this phenomenal technology tool they use called Olive. It helps you figure out very analytically which vendors actually meet your needs. We narrowed it down to two, and one was a bit of a wildcard that Vanessa brought to the table. I would never have been able to make that choice and validate it to our International Board of Directors without the backing of Denison & Associates. Their process produces really helpful documentation, so when our CEO asked for data, I was able to very easily provide it. There is absolutely no way we would have been able to make that decision without them.”
- Results
Confidence to Choose
“We were able to analyze and make a choice that we would not typically have been able to look at, because the vendor we chose was less well-known in the industry. But I felt confident knowing that we had Denison & Associates backing them. Knowing that we would have Denison & Associates help us throughout the implementation process was huge for me.”
- How they use it
Gap in Knowledge
“I would not have been able to go with this vendor if I didn't know that I had Denison & Associates to help us through the implementation. To collaborate with this vendor involves an intimate knowledge of every single detail, and I don't have that knowledge—but I knew Denison Associates did. Without that, we would have gone with the vendor that had the out-of-the-box functionality.”
- Results
Better Vendors
“Working with Denison & Associates allowed us to look at unique, non-traditional vendors that didn't necessarily have the same brand recognition. We had confidence that we could select a vendor that had a higher potential to meet our needs.”
- Results
Relationship Capital
“Being able to draw on the relationship capital and history that Denison & Associates has in the AMS industry was invaluable. They helped us navigate what could have been some very challenging situations, which turned out to be very positive, collaborative situations instead.”
Emotional Anchor
“Having Denison & Associates along for the ride kept me from making emotional decisions. They've encountered all of these challenges before, so they have solutions ready to go. To have somebody there holding your hand saying, "We've got this, I've seen this before," is absolutely awesome.”
- Before
Once in a Career
“Bringing in a new AMS is hopefully a once-in-a-career opportunity, but it is extremely challenging and has a much broader scope than you might be prepared for. Having the right consultant partner walk you through that full process and prepare you for things like internal stakeholder management is critical.”
Miraculous Outcomes
“Denison & Associates was able to come into this project, assess the situation, and shift their approach. Quite honestly, the scope of the project changed quite a bit, but they were still able to come in completely on time and on budget—which is miraculous.”
Susannah is a Gem
“Susannah was absolutely phenomenal. She made herself one of the team; it's completely seamless. Half our team actually thinks she works for us. She knows exactly when to step in and step up, and exactly when to step back. She's an absolutely unique gem.”