Networking with The American Marketing Association

There is a network of marketing professionals that spreads across the United States, bound together by the same mission of educating and equipping others in the marketing world. This network is one of the largest families of volunteers that works day and night to host conferences, connect professionals, research the industry and much, much more. This network is called the American Marketing Association and I am proud to be a part of it!

What is the American Marketing Association?

The resounding calling of the American Marketing Association is to be the most relevant force and voice shaping marketing around the world; an essential community for marketers. How does an association comprised entirely of volunteers live up to such a high calling?

Consider for a moment the variety of tools, tactics and theories that comprise marketing in general (and we’re talking both digital and traditional marketing here). From paid ad placements to organic social media efforts and local mailings, there is a lot that a marketer has to understand when trying to execute. Then there is the discussion of return on investment (ROI), wondering if all of your hard work paid off for your business. And on top of that, nobody knows what the next marketing trend will be?

Now imagine a marketing association comprised of thousands of professional marketers, each person with their own expertise and experience. This team is broken into local chapters and thrives on planning and executing events, like speaker luncheons or speed networking for college students. Now you’re starting to get the idea of why the American Marketing Association is so important; With a team like this, I don’t have to worry so much about keeping up with what is trending! I get to meet up monthly, seeing new faces or reconnecting with colleagues, and learn what is and isn’t working in the professional marketing space.

American Marketing Association Leadership Summit

Speaking of being brought up to speed on the latest trends and collaborating with other professionals, I wanted to make mention of the annual conference designed for American Marketing Association board members. I attended the conference this year as the incoming President for the Akron/Canton Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Every year, the conference brings hundreds of marketing leaders together in Chicago and consists of three days of learning what it takes to succeed in the marketing world in your local chapter. My favorite part of the weekend is what is called LOUD TABLES and is made up of over 30 tables, each with a different topic like Social Media Marketing or Hosting Events or many others. A timer is set for a short period and everyone bounces back and forth with what they’re learning and what is working for them in their own environments.

I’d encourage you to take a look at this thread to get more of an idea of what the community actually looks like at the American Marketing Association Leadership Summit: twitter.com/hashtag/amasummit

Of course, I’m only scratching the surface on what the AMA is about and why I enjoy being a part of the Akron Canton AMA. You’re welcome to contact your local chapter or even email me directly if you have any questions!