Any association executive who manages a meeting probably knows this by heart, but it’s still worth keeping in mind: The experience is everything.

But can that experience translate neatly online? A recent campaign from the retailer Walmart suggests anything is possible.

The Walmart Toy Lab, an interactive tool that allows users (likely kids) to try out a variety of different playthings through a web interface, aims to make it possible to get an idea of how the toys work, by watching a kid actually play with them. After watching, they can select to add the toy to a wishlist that they can then send to their parent, grandparent, or anyone else who’s eyeing a gift for them—along with a custom-cut video of the toys in action.

Alon Benari, chief creative officer of the marketing firm Eko, which worked on the campaign, told Marketing Land the idea was to play with the perennial popularity of unboxing videos, while giving kids “an interactive video version of a toy catalogue.”

While you may not be selling toys to kids, you likely have opportunities to create immersive experiences like this one, even if they only sit inside a web browser.

Getting Everything Integrated

3 associations share their AMS-LMS integration stories — by @WBT_Systems https://t.co/V8ZZ5GAcfx #assnchat pic.twitter.com/hUMJE0GJbG

— Deirdre Reid, CAE (@DeirdreReid) November 26, 2018

Integrating an association management system (AMS) with a learning management system (LMS) sounds like a horror story in the making. Getting two massive pieces of enterprise software to talk with one another? Not exactly fun, right?

WBT Systems and the iMIS user group NiUG International recently held a webinar where a series of associations detailed the lessons they learned when pulling off integrations between the iMIS AMS and WBT’s TopClass LMS—and there were ups and downs for each, of course. Check out the WBS website to see some of their big takeaways.

Other Links of Note

Diversity remains a major problem in nonprofit governance. In a piece for Nonprofit Quarterly, Arizona State University Leadership Professor Dr. Elizabeth Castillo ponders the underlying issues driving the problem.

Don’t let the lock phool you. A recent report from the anti-phishing firm PhishLabs found that nearly half of all phishing websites have Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, installed on their sites.

What helps highly productive people stay at it? A profile in Fast Company highlights insights on the issue from voices as diverse as Janelle Monáe, Slack cofounder Cal Henderson, and prominent immigration nonprofit head Jennifer De Haro.

(Walmart Toy Lab)