As an open source project, Drupal has many strengths. We have strong and diverse technical contributors, a healthy financial ecosystem and a rapidly growing and vibrant community. However, we are not that strong in marketing and there may be an opportunity to change that in 2009.

Marketing can be a bit of mystery to technical people. Traditional marketing practices such as advertising or promotion of poor quality products have earned the discipline distrust. The following video, "A Short History of Marketing" is a good summary.

However, there are few that would argue that our marketing activities such as Drupal books, Drupal local groups, Drupal camps, Drupalcons, and case studies are bad for the Drupal project. These marketing efforts all have one thing in common; they are helping people have an engaging conversation about the value of using Drupal.

If you want to help expand that conversation for the Drupal project, consider some example roles for the association:

1. Drupal.org lead- While the Drupal association prioritized Drupal.org in 2008, we have not yet created a point person for coordinating the association's Drupal.org efforts.
2. Branding - Drupal now has new branding. Protecting, promoting, and spreading the new Drupal branding is a key part of growing the Drupal project and helping Drupal become a well known project like Linux, Wordpress, or Firefox.
3. Media relations - Drupal 7 will launch in 2009. Working to get press coverage internationally for the launch is a big effort. Media is changing from traditional newspaper and television to a more dynamic and exciting medium. We need people who can create relationships with bloggers, reviewers, and technology reporters on behalf of Drupal.
4. Communications - As the association grows, we are constantly tasked with keeping our membership informed, the community up to date, and responding to challenges and misinformation about the Drupal project.
5. Trade shows and conferences - We have identified over 40 conferences and trade shows that the Drupal project could have a presence at in 2009. We need someone to work with event management companies, recruit local volunteers, and work on logistics such as ordering chairs, tables, and electricity.
6. Local groups - we now have over 150 local groups. Most of the groups are self sufficient, but there are best practices that could help create new groups and keep local groups well informed.
7. Drupal camps - We are seeing Drupal camps spring up around the world. Some of the camps are now bigger than the Drupalcons of 2006. Helping promote and support Drupal camps are great opportunities to help grow the Drupal project locally.
8. Drupalcons - Soliciting Drupalcon proposals often means dozens of meetings with local teams around the world. These teams have many questions and need assistance in developing their proposals and getting ready to host a Drupalcon. They have financial, logistics, and community questions that need answering.
9. Advertising - This role could be both internal and external. Many businesses will offer free advertising to the Drupal project in magazines, books, videos, websites, and at events. Developing standard advertising collateral and working with organizations to use those opportunities helps out with marketing efforts. We are continuing to evaluate what advertising on Drupal.org is effective and appropriate. We need your help.
10. Drupal.org Search Engine Marketer - Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing can be a shady business, but it does not have to be. Having useful, relevant, and well placed content to make it easy for people to find out about the Drupal project is an important part of helping users find Drupal for the first time.
11. Partnership strategy - Did you know the Drupal project has partner relationships with almost 500 companies? We have ongoing relationships with over 120 hosting companies, several book publishing companies, Drupalcon sponsors, and hundreds of association organization members. Keeping up those partnerships is a key component of the projects' growth.
12. Business development - Each year we expand the scope of projects we take on. In the past we've added memberships, Drupalcons and advertising. There are many more opportunities to expand how we can support the Drupal project. If you've got experience in business development we could use your skills to discover how we can better support the Drupal project.

Candidates should be able to clearly define a role and list their responsibilities. Members of the association are available to help you. Candidates should be able to provide references demonstrating they have a history of being accountable to their peers. Finally, candidates should understand that the Drupal association is a Belgian non-profit with a general assembly, board of directors, annual budgets, voted priorities, and regular board meetings that require voting on well presented proposals. Candidate should indicate that they can be effective with this working process.

If you are interested in being a candidate for the Drupal association, you can learn more at the Drupal association election website.