Essentials Magazine Essentials Winter 2019 | Page 32

President’s Perspective Membership in EDmarket Means Content + Connections BY JIM MCGARRY EDmarket President & CEO I n the last couple of months of 2018 EDmarket staff asked many of our members to artic- ulate why they belong to the Ed- ucation Market Association. By a wide margin, their responses highlighted two main reasons for continuing their membership: Content and Connections. This cross section of members relayed that EDmarket is a trusted source of original and third-party content that is relevant, forward thinking and thought provoking. They made it clear that the information available through membership was making a difference in their business strategies and customer interactions. This content comes in many forms. Research EDmarket produces primary re- search such as the recently-published study on how to sell to and work with Education Service Agencies and Buy- ing Cooperatives or the coproduced study with MDR on how teachers feel about the impact of space on learning. In addition, we have research partner- ships with the Business and Institution- al Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) and the Software and Information In- dustry Association (SIIA) which strive to quantify the size and scope of the industry and give members important data to use in their business planning. 32 essentials | winter 2019 Publications Members keep up to date on in- dustry happenings, education trends, and product innovation by perusing thought-provoking articles in Es- sentials Weekly e-newsletter each Tuesday while getting a deeper dive into the issues impacting us all in the quarterly Essentials Magazine. Intro- duced in 2018, EDspaces Insights, a monthly e-newsletter of original con- tent that focuses on the convergence of pedagogy, space and technology in the learning environment has gained widespread readership. Many of the articles are written by the highly-rat- ed speakers at EDspaces. And new