{"id":7807,"date":"2020-04-24T15:49:28","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T19:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=7807"},"modified":"2021-03-10T11:46:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T16:46:23","slug":"alcoholics-anonymous-aa-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/alcoholics-anonymous-aa-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"What Marketers Can Learn from Remote AA Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

No other organization relies on meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous does\u2014the program is literally built upon in-person meetings. Well, those can\u2019t happen right now. But at this moment, millions of people need AA and NA more than ever. How does a life-saving organization that depends on intimate, anonymous, secure in-person meetups continue to serve its membership? And what can you learn from how they\u2019ve made the transition for in person to remote?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the middle of March, when schools and nonessential businesses began to shutter to stall the spread of Covid-19, support groups for those in addiction recovery<\/a> have been trying to find ways to continue to keep their members active and engaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zoom<\/a> revolution came to AA early. The organization was among the first to mobilize online, replacing their in-person meetings with digital alternatives. For all intents and purposes, the transition has been a success. New York Intergroup<\/a>, AA\u2019s regional office for the state, says that it now hosts over 2,500 video meetings a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But AA\u2019s adoption of video conferencing hasn\u2019t been seamless. The word \u201canonymous\u201d is in the AA\u2019s name for a reason, and so security and privacy are paramount. Some meetings have run into technological hiccups\u2014namely, infamous instances of \u201cZoom-bombing\u201d<\/a> that risk the group\u2019s anonymity. Some groups are reporting a loss of membership that reflects the difficulties of trying to replicate the intimate in-person experience in a video conference. But on the whole, there\u2019s a lot to learn. Here\u2019s what AA\u2019s digital revolution, hiccups and all, can teach marketers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AA was designed to be flexible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AA managed to make the leap to digital so adroitly because of the way the organization is structured. Each individual support group operates autonomously, and is therefore self-supporting. As a result, when shelter-in-place mandates went into effect, individual groups had the permission\u2014and, in many cases, the discretionary funds\u2014to act to support themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoom became the platform of choice not because it was company policy\u2014it would take NY Intergroup a few weeks to replace all meetings with AA-operated Zoom rooms. But because it\u2019s so widely used in the business world, AA members were already familiar with the platform. In many cases, that familiarity made Zoom the easiest choice, and the easiest to teach to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaway: <\/em><\/strong>
The entire organization was able to make the shift to a digital meeting model because the change happened from the ground up, with each group testing the system that worked best for them, and then spreading their findings by word of mouth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust the program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It turns out that when it comes to recovery, a digital meeting is a pretty solid stand-in for an in-person experience. While the physical intimacy of the in-person experience might be lacking, the emotional intimacy stays pretty much the same. That\u2019s what really matters to recovery, as one AA member explained, because \u201cthe healing is in the sharing.\u201d And the sharing really can happen just as easily from your living room as it can in a church basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are just about as many styles of program meetings as there are groups. But what makes for a good AA meeting? The stories. A support group is only as powerful as those speaking, and, luckily for AA members, Zoom doesn\u2019t limit the potency of a compelling story or speaker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaway:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
What you say matters more than where you say it. With some additional care, the online experience can be as conducive to forming emotional connections as the in-person experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Use remote features to your advantage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are even some ways that Zoom improves the AA experience compared to the in-person experience. As an example, that NA member explained how Zoom\u2019s muting function was particularly well-aligned with his group\u2019s \u201cno crosstalk\u201d policy. While that might be a frustrating feature for certain business conversations, it may be a huge asset in others. It suits AA\u2019s highly-structured meetings and is tailor-made for exactly the kind of individual testimonials that make for some of the best meetings. \u201cYou\u2019re given the floor, you say your piece,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way that Zoom is set up translates very well to an overwhelming majority of meetings that I’ve been to,\u201d said one NA member. That NA group did have to make a few small adjustments to its meeting format in order to streamline the experience with Zoom. Here are some of the changes they recommend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n