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Marketing Students Bring Back Valuable Tips from Collegiate AMA Conference

“Networking is everything!” That was a key take-away for NC State Poole College marketing student Lauren Henderson, when asked about the American Marketing Association’s International Collegiate Conference that she attended March 21-23, 2013, in New Orleans, La.

The value of networking was a key takeaway, but Henderson and other members of NC State’s student AMA chapter who also attended the conference learned a great deal more than that.

Henderson, president of student chapter, based in Poole College, attended along with six other members of the student organization: Melissa Borto, vice president of communications; Maggie Martin, club member; Kristen Bathe, vice president of fundraising; Logan Cole, director of fundraising; Michael Johnson, vice president of informational technologies; and Jacob Brown, vice president of finance.

About networking, she said, “You never know who you will meet, or when you will meet them. Students should always be prepared to make connections, because those connections could lead to success.”

The annual AMA collegiate conferences bring together student AMA chapter members to learn more about the marketing profession, build professional relationships, and network with each other. The theme for this year’s conference was “Live the Marketing Life.”

In addition, they discussed the agenda and decided which events they would attend. To prepare for networking with professionals, they also took some time to review each others’ resumes. 

At the conference, the students competed in a case competition. Based on conference rules, they did not receive details about the case until 30 minutes prior to the competition. While that limited their preparation time related to the specific case, the students had done some preparation before leaving for the conference, including reviewing marketing tools and principles they had learned through their studies, Henderson said.

Now that they are back on campus, the conference participants have begun to put into practice what they learned to strengthen their student chapter, particularly in the areas of fundraising, membership involvement and membership. 

Henderson said she expects the new ideas will really help to better engage and retain members. 

One idea they are considering is a local business marketing campaign. Club members will work in two competing teams, each helping a different local business to create a marketing campaign, for a small fee. They also will begin to solicit sponsorship support for their activities. 

To encourage stronger membership involvement, the student AMA chapter will begin to use a points system to reward members for active involvement. Club members will receive points for participation in meetings and other events; those receiving the top three total points will qualify to attend the Annual AMA International Collegiate Conference in 2014, with five other members.

The student chapter also will begin to arrange site visits and tours or brief presentations at marketing company offices, Henderson said. Car pools will be offered to help students with transportation. 

“I think this will really help to set us apart and help keep our members involved and interested,” she said.

“The conference was such an amazing experience,” she added. "Our chapter has so much potential, and I cannot wait to see it flourish!”

One of the club’s first new activities was a bowling fundraiser held April 4, at the Alley, located across from the NC State campus. The student AMA chapter received a percentage of the $10 bowling fee. 

Photo

In the photo are, left to right: Maggie Martin, Kristen Bathe, Jacob Brown, Logan Cole, Michael Johnson, Melissa Borto, and Lauren Henderson.