Marketing Minute
Monthly Newsletter

Dear AMA Members,

We used to be told that the only constant is change, and that as marketers we need to be constantly adapting to embrace change. I don’t know about you, but today it feels more like the only constant is the increasing rate of change and that we need a new skill set to be able to deal with the speed at which new things are being thrown at us and the ability to pivot when things don’t work in order to satisfy stakeholders. A case in point is how Chat GPT is all the craze at the moment. We are equally excited at its potential and concerned at the harm it can cause if not used ethically. And an example with how quickly the landscape changes is Italy banning Chat GPT due to privacy issues. How this will affect us, how competitive forces will be formed and how it will be regulated is still such an unknown.

So how do we then become battle ready to deal with all of this. We join a tribe. We connect with like-minded professionals and meet up and have thoughtful debate and discussion. We engage, and offer opinion and argument, and that’s how we learn, form new opinions, become experts and build new teams to collaborate and work together through these obstacles, challenges and opportunities. Suddenly everything seems a little less daunting when you are part of team who can help and inspire you. And I can honestly say that there is no better organization to belong to than the American Marketing Association. The AMA provides its members with an amazing networking platform to meet and connect with people you can collaborate with, and the wealth of information and learning opportunities is unraveled. One example is the 180+ Marketing toolkits available to members (https://www.ama.org/toolkits/), another is the huge selection of publications, e-books, guides and marketing journals Marketing News | AMA. And if you’re a company owner, or a manager of marketing teams, then signing up your team members is a great staff development program, or take on a certified course and become internationally recognized and certified through AMA’s professional certification courses. (Professional Certified Marketer | American Marketing Association (ama.org)).

Some exciting news is that we are in the process of migrating our CRM to HubSpot. Our Past President Jennifer Miller, Founder and CEO of Strategically Connected (Meet the Team (strategically-connected.com), is spearheading this for us as our lead sponsor. Jennifer has been a giant at AMA, not only leading the chapter for 2 years, but also winning the coveted Turn it Up AMA Chapter of the Year Award in 2021, beating 70+ other Chapter entries!  As you all know, we are a non-profit organization and rely heavily on sponsorship and since we have only purchased the Basic HubSpot package, we are putting out the call to potential sponsors who would be interested in partnering with AMA Austin and sponsor our HubSpot Professional package so that we can service our members better. Please reach out to me at francois@austinama.org if you’re interested to find out more.

Lastly, our featured Board Member this month is our Chief Financial Officer Dr. Enrique B Becerra,(81) Enrique P Becerra | LinkedIn, who is the Chair and Professor for the department of Marketing for Texas State University. Enrique joined the AMA board in 2022 and has been a driving force in guiding the Board not only from a financial budgeting, planning and execution standpoint, but has also been an amazing strategic guide in helping the team and the chapter grow to a position of strength.  Thank you Enrique for your amazing Leadership.

May is going to be a fun-filled “Events” month for us with 3 event opportunities for you as our member to come and connect with like-minded marketing professionals. Check out our website for details and book early. Look forward to seeing you there!

Best Wishes,
Francois 

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

5:30 pm | Red Velvet HQ | 7121 North Lamar, Austin, TX 78752

Now that the dust has settled from another SXSW takeover of Austin, its time to look at what marketing events worked, which ones did not, and the lessons that any organization can learn when planning their own experiential marketing campaigns.

We're delighted to partner with Austin's preeminent leaders on Experiential Marketing, Red Velvet Events, for an hour-long discussion on what's hot and what's on the horizon for marketers looking to make an impact with their audiences.

Register Now!

Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

8:00 AM | Easy Tiger North | 6406 N IH 35 Frontage Road, Suite 1100

Marketing Mornings are your chance to have a personal conversation about the hottest topics with with your peers in the marketing industry. Make this your mid-week dose of energy, inspiration and learning.

• Ask questions (and we mean anything)
• Discuss new trends with your peers and find out what's trending
• Discover what new marketing opportunities are out there
• Grow your network
• Free breakfast treats for all Austin AMA members and guests

Register Now!

Thursday, May 18th, 2023

5:30pm | WRST Collabs | 1021 E 7th Street, ATX

Join us for an exciting panel discussion on "Building Community Thru Digital Connections" featuring marketing professionals who will share their insights on how to build online communities of loyal customers. The event will focus on the impact of Web3.0, social media, and emerging technologies on building loyal advocate groups among existing customer bases.

During the hour-long discussion at WRST Collabs in East Austin, our expert guests will cover the following topics:

• The power of online communities in building brand loyalty
• Best practices for creating and managing online communities
• How to leverage Web3.0 and emerging technologies to create engaging digital experiences
• The role of social media in building online communities
• Measuring the success of your online community-building efforts

Register Now!

Take our Membership Survey

The Austin AMA leadership team is working hard to make this a great year for marketers in Austin - and we could use your help to determine how we can best serve the community. 

We were hoping you’d be interested in providing your thoughts and ideas in a 5-7 minute survey.

Vintage Ad of the Month

Camel Cigarettes (1946)

The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company launched an ad campaign in 1946, using the slogan "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette." They offered doctors a free carton of Camel cigarettes to get this "finding" and created a Medical Relations Division to connect with them, advertising it in medical journals and paying for research that showed the positive efforts of cigarettes for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering with the AMA Austin Chapter is a rewarding and valuable experience for marketing professionals who want to give back, network, and get the most of the membership! By volunteering you can gain valuable experience working on marketing initiatives, learn new skills, and build your network in the local industry. 

Volunteer call: Director of Strategic Partnerships

We’re actively seeking someone to help our strategic partnerships committee contributing to our research, sponsor/partner outreach, and communication efforts. We’re looking for someone interested in building relationships between our chapter and local businesses.

If you’re interested in joining our team and want to learn more, please reach out to Meghan.

Sponsor Our Next Event

Make a positive impact on the Austin marketing community and reach 200+ members by partnering with Austin AMA!  We are currently looking for new event sponsors and speakers for our 2023 events!

Email Emily Carper or AJ Davis for more information on partner and sponsorship opportunities.

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