We recently chatted with long-standing customer LOMA about how they’re utilizing Content Controller. LOMA is one of the largest associations supporting the financial services industry. They offer industry knowledge, insights, connections and solutions to help more than 700 member organizations navigate change with confidence. This month, they introduced a new microlearning product called Industry Advantage. Using the power of Content Controller, the program provides new learning opportunities to their members.
We sat down with their team to learn more about their amazing work and how Content Controller has helped make the program a reality. We spoke with Gene Stone, VP of Professional Development for LOMA, and Christie Tribble, Senior Marketing Specialist for LOMA. Here’s what they had to say.
What is the product, and how was it developed?
“Our organization has successfully delivered educational content to the insurance industry for 100 years, mainly in the form of college-level courses that lead to professional designations. As we talked to our members and looked at trends in adult learning, we determined that many learners wanted something different. Since the industry views us as the leading provider of industry knowledge, we responded by creating Industry Advantage. This subscription program features unlimited access to a large and growing library of short (average 15 minute) courses, all specific to the insurance and financial services industry.”
Does this product change the way your customers learn?
“For some it will. Although some learners still desire the deep experience and recognition of our traditional designation courses, many learners prefer to learn in bite-sized pieces. Industry Advantage has many use cases. One is to help with new employee orientation and onboarding those who are new to the industry. Another is to help people who are experienced in one area but moving to a new one get up to speed. Yet another is helping people in shared service functions better understand the products and operations they support. It can also aid experienced employees stay on top of industry trends.”
How did you come to the decision to buy vs. build?
“Initially, we intended to build a platform to deliver Industry Advantage courses. We even built a proof of concept that had all the features we wanted. However, while recruiting member companies to be part of the trial, it became clear that they didn’t want to send their employees to another learning platform. They wanted to centralize all learning from all providers on their own platforms (which they had already invested in). As one person put it, they want what’s in the box; they don’t want the box. From there, we searched for a solution to deliver our content directly to our members’ own systems. We had heard of Content Controller and had a vague notion about what it does, so we started talking more seriously with our Customer Success Manager, Cameron Gray, at Rustici Software. Our trial companies confirmed that Content Controller is an effective way to distribute this new content in a way that meets member needs while enabling us to manage subscription access to the content.”
How does this new product benefit your members?
“It gives them the content without having to come to us for it. They also have flexibility to use it in different ways. For just-in-time learning needs or for planned deeper learning, Industry Advantage gives them access to a large library of short courses that members can organize in their LMS however they want. To help with organization, we’ve grouped many of the courses into optional learning paths. These are great for companies and learners who want to be more prescriptive with learning. Companies can also create their own learning paths using our content. And learners who just want to explore the catalog and see what interests them have that option.”
Is everything working for you as expected? What are your future plans?
“Content Controller had exactly what we needed, and since we already had a positive relationship with Rustici, it has been a natural transition into implementation. We looked around for alternatives and could not find anything that matched up.
Industry Advantage is a perfect complement to our traditional designation-based learning programs. It does not replace our existing programs but rather runs in parallel. The in-depth experience a learner receives through our traditional courses is great, but those courses are not for everybody. Industry Advantage is for those who don’t want as deep a learning experience but still need to develop industry acumen. Industry Advantage also introduces more members to our association and the quality of our education programs. It could lead some learners to explore more of our offerings, even beyond education.”
Content Controller makes content distribution simple
We are really excited to see LOMA easily integrate Content Controller into Industry Advantage and already have great customer feedback as they roll it out. Find out how Content Controller can help your organization or association with distributing or centralizing content. If you have questions about Industry Advantage or anything related to Content Controller, just ask us. We are here to help.
