At the October AMA Luncheon, attendees joined together to toast (with champagne of course) Houston as the official “Chapter of the Year” for the American Marketing Association.
This is a good time to celebrate and reflect upon this award. So what does this mean for you?
From Sherri Scott, immediate past president for AMA Houston:
It is my privilege to tell you that for the 4th time in the last 6 years AMA Houston has been named THE national chapter of the year!
Each year, the 75 AMA chapters are given the opportunity to submit a Chapter Excellence Award entry. This initiative, which is sponsored by the international headquarters of AMA and is organized by professional chapters council, allows past presidents from highly successful AMA chapters to review the entries. And for the second year in a row, AMA Houston was chosen as the best overall chapter with the best overall scores in the areas of Leadership, Membership and Programming.
So what does this mean to you—our members, our sponsors and our community? Winning this highly prestigious award means that the board of directors and volunteers are working diligently to give you the most return on your AMA investment. We are committed to providing the best professional development and networking opportunities for you.
See a little more from the speech. We also want to hear from you! We can only keep up this success if we are meeting your needs, so please email us your thoughts, or use the comments area below.
J.C. Fassino, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Market Representation for Gulf States Toyota was the speaker at the AMA Houston October luncheon, and he spoke about how Gulf States Toyota assesses and uses sponsorships and promotions to engage their customers.
Many marketers can relate to J.C. Fassino.
I say many marketers can relate, because J.C. sits in a tight spot. He’s not on the consumer level – the dealerships within Gulf States Toyota are the ones interfacing with the end buyer, and he’s not on the corporate level of Toyota either. Gulf States doesn’t get to choose what vehicles Toyota manufactures, nor do they control the direct customer experience. What they can control, though, are the strategies that his group employs to secure the strong relationship with the dealerships in his region. When you’re a B2B marketer (whether your customer ultimately sells to other businesses, or director to consumers), thinking about ways to partner is the ultimate killer strategy.
After the lunch, I walked away wondering what other partners I could co-promote with, or what types of event experiences might improve customer connections. There’s so much noise sometimes in traditional promotions, and perhaps events – where you can really build relationships in person – is being underutilized as a tool. J.C. did point out, that this tool like others, needs to FIT your marketing pillars, and you need to put measurement metrics in place.
As J.C. simply stated, you need to focus on good partnerships with your customers, and with other companies that serve your customers. With a nod to saying goodbye to traditional forms of vehicle advertising, “It’s about the relationship, and not so much as the size of the gorilla on top of the dealership!”
Each month we’ll be asking one of our members to share a little about who they are, and what inspires them.
This month, please take a moment and get to know AMA Member Cheryl Garcia:
Where do you work?
I am Marketing Programs Manager at PULSE – an electronic funds transfer organization that specializes in debit cards.
How long have you been an AMA Houston member?
This time it is two years, but I was also a member in the 1990s for about three years.
Give us three words that describe yourself:
Enthusiastic, Friendly, Snoopy
If I weren’t in marketing, I’d be…
A college teacher (I actually did that before!)
What is your all-time favorite marketing campaign or brand?
Doritos (several iterations)
What’s your favorite food or drink?
Any Mexican food found here in Houston, and gallons of iced tea (unsweetened)
Why did you join AMA Houston?
Two reasons:
The local learning opportunities in my field are boundless (luncheon speakers, special SIG events, B2B events, etc.).
The opportunity to network with the caliber of professionals that AMA attracts is a huge draw for me.
Want to connect with Cheryl personally? Talk to her at the next event, and add her to your network on LinkedIn.
Tell her you found her on the AMA Member spotlight. She might even have a few good recommendation on the best Mexican restaurants, but you won’t know unless you ask!
