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Are Ad Agencies Brand Killers or are Branders Stifling Agencies?

April 26, 2012 in AMA Member Blog Posts | Tags: Advertising, AMA Baltimore, branding | by Megan Campbell | 1 comment

by Ed Weiss

I may have said this before but it’s worth repeating; branding is a process and not a quick fix. Its strength is that it provides a solid foundation for a company and its image. It assures, among other things, that there will be consistency in messaging. Provided that the branding concept is good, the repetitive brand message will hammer home the strength of the company.

Here’s an example: There is little doubt that BMW knows how to sell its products. It has a long history of telling a great story about their cars. BMW has had multiple ad agencies throughout its history. One thing you can imagine is that when a new agency is hired they want to change things. They are likely to assume that if a client changed agencies, they wanted something new and different. That is probably true. However, there is one thing that BMW never wants to change and that is its brand message. “The Ultimate Driving Machine®” has remained its brand essence over many decades. So the message from BMW to its new agency is, change what you think needs changing but never monkey with our brand’s foundation. Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding the Interest Graph

April 13, 2012 in AMA Guest Blog Posts, AMA Member Blog Posts, Marketing Trends | Tags: Social Media, AMA Baltimore, marketing, AMA, American Marketing Association, Katie B. Roberts, Facebook, Marketing Strategy, social media strategy, interest graph, pinterest, social bookmarking | by Katie Roberts | 4 comments

By now you’ve heard of Pinterest. I’ll even bet that you’ve probably seen stories about why your brand needs to be on Pinterest. You may even be annoyed by all of the Pinterest articles, because I know I am. But this is not just another blog post on why you need to be on Pinterest, or a hot list of brands using Pinterest well. Nope. I’m going to share a concept around the interest graph – the backbone of almost all bookmarking and visual social sites.

THE SOCIAL GRAPH

Courtesy of facebook

Many social media sites have some sort of graph identifying various characteristics of each user. Facebook uses the “Social Graph” where individuals are connected based on social characteristics – friends, colleagues, family, live near each other, grew up together, are regulars at the corner bar, met at a networking event, etc. On Facebook, our behavior is very social, too. We tag ourselves and friends in photos, we share videos of the kids doing silly things, we share cool news stories and start conversations around hot topics, and more. We are connected to each other through social identifiers. Read the rest of this entry »

Why “Dabble Time” Is Good for You and Your Marketing Strategy

April 5, 2012 in AMA Member Blog Posts | Tags: AMA Baltimore, Business Growth, Creativity, Idea generation | by Megan Campbell | 4 comments

by Meghan Ray Virro

Most of us feel like there is barely enough time in the day to get three things checked off the to do list, much less devote time and energy to individual creative thinking or “dabble time.” Given multiple demands on our time, energy and personal bandwidth, how can we make the case that it’s a good return on the investment of time? Scheduling some dabble time will help spark your creative process, give you new insights into your own business, help you innovate and encourage fun!

I learned the true value of dabble time in business school in a new product development (NPD) class. From day one our assumptions about creativity, brainstorming and innovation were consistently challenged. I left every class energized, invigorated and a little sad it was over. Most of my colleagues felt the same way because we were dreaming of the freedom to dabble and learn about anything we wanted while we were on the clock. Read the rest of this entry »

Intentional Networking: Communicating With Purpose

March 27, 2012 in AMA Member Blog Posts | Tags: AMA Baltimore, Business Growth, business networking, Event Summary, marketing, Networking, Small Business Marketing | by Megan Campbell | Leave a comment

by Luke Harlan

The most inexpensive and underutilized resource available to every business is one’s own ability to effectively communicate to those they interact with everyday to either begin new relationships , strengthen existing ones and/or continue to nurture and develop the trust that will lead to increased opportunities for success. We have this opportunity in all aspects of our lives but none as highly focused and available than that in a planned networking event itself.

However, the biggest issue with “networking” that repels people is not in the event itself, but in how they perceive those who attend. Most importantly, it is the misconception of how they believe one is supposed to interact which is often the polar opposite of what it really takes to actually create the right opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

AMA Baltimore Names New Board

March 26, 2012 in AMA, Announcements, Baltimore Advertising, Baltimore Marketing, Board Management, Member Spotlight | by Jennifer Glass | Leave a comment

The Baltimore Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) today announced that it has named Keith Michel as its new Board president, as well as the addition of three new vice president-level Board members for its 2012-2013 year.

Keith Michel is a results driven marketing professional who has successfully managed the strategic planning and daily needs of a diverse set of businesses. Through his career, Keith has been an entrepreneur and senior marketing strategist for top brands like McDonalds, Giant Food and the Washington Post, as well as an advertising account executive. In his current capacity as Marketing Manager at Laureate Education, Keith leads the development and execution of brand positioning, new product launches, marketing strategies, online advertising, data analysis and driving enrollments for The Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership at Walden University. Keith graduated from Skidmore College. Read the rest of this entry »

What you REALLY need to know about Facebook Timeline

March 23, 2012 in AMA Member Blog Posts, Marketing Trends | Tags: AMA Baltimore, American Marketing Association, Facebook, Katie B. Roberts, marketing, Online Marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, social media strategy | by Katie Roberts | 2 comments

By now you’ve heard the news about Facebook Timeline for brand pages. You’ve probably read a few blog posts about the changes and have observed how all of the cool kids are using Timeline for their brands. I’m bringing you a big daddy post about Timeline, what you really need to know, and throwing in some resources that you may have missed.
Why the big deal?

As a client of Facebook, I have been super excited about the new Timeline changes. In fact, I was so excited that they invited me to their offices in Austin, TX while I was at SXSW. (Okay, so the invite came before Timeline was released, but still…and yes, I signed the “Wall!”) I couldn’t stop smiling while at their offices, chatting it up with Facebook product managers, engineers, sales and marketing folks, and others. All about the new Timeline possibilities. Oh, and I’m pretty sure that everyone on my floor at the office could hear me oohing and ahhing during Facebook’s first ever Facebook for Marketers Conference (fMC). Seriously, I love the new changes!

Here’s why:
• The timeline allows brands to tell a much larger story about their brand through content, photos, videos, milestones, and more. Think of Facebook as the new history book. Read the rest of this entry »

20th Annual Student Job Search Workshop – April 21, 2012

March 14, 2012 in AMA, AMA Guest Blog Posts, AMA Scholarships, Events | Tags: Networking, Student Job Workshop | by Jennifer Glass | 1 comment

Annual Student Job Search Workshop

The Annual Student Job Search Workshop, hosted by the Baltimore Chapter of the AMA, offers undergraduate college students the leading edge on an education in marketing and/or related major, career paths and current positions in the Baltimore area. Students engage in one-on-one interactions, small group discussions, and networking with Baltimore-area marketing professionals to learn the ins-and-outs of careers and internships in all functional areas of the marketing/advertising fields. Read the rest of this entry »

9 Ways Promotional Products That WORK for Your Business

March 13, 2012 in AMA Member Blog Posts | Tags: Advertising, AMA Baltimore, branding, marketing, Promotional products, Small Business Marketing | by Megan Campbell | 5 comments

by Arsham Mirshah

Promotional products are unparalleled in their ability to attract new clients, increase brand awareness and ultimately grow your business.

We’ve all heard that phrase “you have to spend money to make money” haven’t we? But what, exactly, are we supposed to be spending our money on?

I’ll tell you what.. Promotional Products!

They are a proven, cost effective way of marketing your company to an extremely large audience while doing minimal work. Sounds efficient, does it not?

If you’re new to the idea of promotional products, I understand that you might be hesitant. Despite any fears you may have, I strongly urge you to continue reading and discover just what quality promotional items can do for your company. Read the rest of this entry »

10 Ways to Maximize Your Membership – Making the Most of AMA Baltimore

March 5, 2012 in AMA Member Blog Posts, Member Benefits | Tags: AMA Member, Member Discounts, Membership Value | by Dov Hoffman | 2 comments

Do you feel that you’re benefiting from your involvement with AMA Baltimore? To be completely honest, it’s difficult to maximize your membership if you’re not aware of all the wonderful member’s only resources. Well, don’t worry – as VP of Membership, entering my third year in this role, I’m more than willing to share some of the valuable benefits which you can access. But, don’t just take my word, hear it from other members in our AMA Baltimore Testimonials Video Series.

Below are ten different ways that you can start maximizing your membership today! Read the rest of this entry »

March Volunteer of the Month – Megan Campbell

February 28, 2012 in AMA, Baltimore Advertising, Baltimore Marketing, Board Management, Member Spotlight | by Jennifer Glass | 3 comments

This month, the Baltimore AMA is thrilled to present our monthly volunteer award to Megan Campbell. As the AVP of Communications for the Baltimore AMA chapter, Megan has done an incredible job managing content and blogger outreach for our website. She’s locked in some super talented writers and keeps each and every one of them on a timely schedule.

Thanks to her project management and communication skills, our blog is chock full of great content and is constantly updated. Her efforts have lead to increased readership, web hits, and engagement with our members and followers. We’re very proud of each and every contributor and Megan keeps it all in control. When Megan isn’t “herding cats” as I like to call her blogger outreach efforts, she is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Capitol College implementing strategic marketing and communications initiatives to internal and external audiences. Megan studied communication design at UB and resides in Columbia, MD with her husband Alex and her two beautiful children. Congrats Megan! We couldn’t do it without you!!!

Are Ad Agencies Brand Killers or are Branders Stifling Agencies?

Why “Dabble Time” Is Good for You and Your Marketing Strategy

Intentional Networking: Communicating With Purpose

AMA Baltimore Names New Board

20th Annual Student Job Search Workshop – April 21, 2012

9 Ways Promotional Products That WORK for Your Business

10 Ways to Maximize Your Membership – Making the Most of AMA Baltimore

March Volunteer of the Month – Megan Campbell

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