This blog has been obsoleted!

The Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned website at: www.cville-ama.org.

This blog has served as a stop-gap website for the chapter for roughly a year and now it is probably time to retire the blog. All chapter events and happenings will be chronicled at the new website.

Impulse Marketing and Media: Taking Your Message Mobile

Program Announcement: Impulse Marketing and Media: Taking Your Message Mobile

When: October 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Where: Charlottesville/Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau - Just above the Market Street Parking Garage—(free validation of parking for attendees)

Jim Washok, Founder and CEO of OTAir, a national impulse marketing and media firm based in Richmond, will show how mobile devices provide the ultimate portable interface between you and your customers and prospects to drive sales.

What you will learn:

• How to integrate mobile messaging into your marketing campaign

• What are the interactive possibilities with cell phones

• How to extend your brand to this new medium

• How to set up a mobile campaign quickly and inexpensively

To demo this exciting new media:

Text CVAMA to "68247"on your cell for a chance to win a a FREE ticket to our November luncheon meeting at JPJ.

Cost: AMA Members FREE with reservation by Oct. 16; $5 at the door.
Non-members: $20 with reservation by Oct. 16; $25 at the door. Students $5

RSVP: By Monday, Oct. 16 to info@cville-ama.org. Be sure to include your name, email and company.

Not a Member? Join the Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association before November 30, 2006 and receive a $30 discount on membership. You will also have a chance to win "Dinner for 4" @ Glenmore Country Club & two tickets to the UVA -Duke Basketball Game @ the new John Paul Jones Arena!!

Program: New Rules for Marketing to Boomers over 50

AMA-Central Virginia Chapter - September Program - RSVP by Monday September 18th
New Rules for Marketing to Boomers over 50
by The Boomer Project team

To be a successful marketer in the near future, you will need to understand and connect with a new demographic segment: Baby Boomers over 50. That’s because every day 10,000 more Boomers turn 50. By the numbers-- that’s 78 million Americans who control 70 percent of the nations’ net worth and half of its discretionary income.

Get insights and advice on how to reach and communicate with this important market from the nationally recognized experts and founding partners at The Boomer Project, John Martin and Elizabeth McLaughlin. The Boomer Project has appeared in Business Week, Newsweek, the Washington Post, Money Magazine, the NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News and many other national media outlets

When: September 19, 2006 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Where: UVa Darden School of Business
Sponsor’s Event Space in Sponsor’s Hall, on Nash Drive just off of Massie Road (plenty of free parking)

Cost: AMA Members FREE with reservation by Sept. 18; $5 at the door.
Non-members: $20 with reservation by Sept. 15; $25 at the door. Students $5

RSVP: By Monday, Sept 18 to info@cville-ama.org or simply reply to this email.
To RSVP by phone contact Rusty Giles at 888-231-3175. Be sure to include your name, email and company.


We'll see you there!


Central Virginia Chapter- The American Marketing Association
P.O. Box 5488
Charlottesville, VA 22905
www.cville-ama.blogspot.com
Email: info@cville-ama.org

AMA-Central Virginia Chapter Social and Winetasting At King Family Vineyard Wednesday, August 23

Join us for a Marketing Social

AMA members and invited guests only event to kick off the Central Virginia AMA's 2006-2007 season.

Who:
AMA Central Virginia Chapter members and their guests

What:
A chance for AMA members to get to know each other while touring one of the hottest local vineyards and tasting their award-winning wines. We'll also unveil the upcoming year's programming schedule.

Where:
King Family Vineyards in Crozet: fifteen minutes west of Charlottesville, two minutes off I-64. http://www.kingfamilyvineyards.com

When:
Wednesday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m.

Cost:
NO CHARGE (this is for Central VA AMA members only... plus one guest each)

Choose from a 6:00 tour and a 6:30 tasting, or a 6:00 tasting and a 6:30 tour. Wine by the glass or bottle will be available for purchase from 5:30-7:30.

RSVP: By Monday, August 21 to info@cville-ama.org or simply reply to this email. To RSVP by phone contact Rusty Giles at 888-231-3175. Be sure to include your guest’s name, email and company.

Join us for an evening of marketing talk, networking or just plain socializing with fellow AMA members. This event is also a great opportunity to bring a prospective new member to show him or her the vast experience and value our membership has to offer.

Driving Directions from Charlottesville:

Take Rt. 250 West past Western Albemarle High School. Turn right onto Rt. 797 (Hillsboro Lane). Turn right onto Rt. 684 (Half Mile Branch). Go one mile, winery entrance on the left.
OR
Take I-64 West to Exit 107 (Crozet), turn right onto Rt. 250 East. Go 1/2 mile, turn left onto Rt. 797 (Hillsboro Lane). Turn right onto Rt. 684 (Half Mile Branch). Go one mile, winery entrance on the left.

We'll see you there!


Central Virginia Chapter- The American Marketing Association
P.O. Box 5488
Charlottesville, VA 22905
www.cville-ama.blogspot.com
Email: info@cville-ama.org

Job Opening: Designer

Birch Studio Graphics, a design and branding firm is looking for a f/t Designer proficient in Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign and p/t Developer proficient in PHP, Javascript and Actionscript. Knowledge of both skill sets a plus. Please e-mail portfolio/programming samples to jenny @ birchstudio. com.

Birch Studio Graphics, Inc.
Applied Print, Web and Information Design
619 East High Street, Suite 4
Charlottesville, VA 22902
land line: (434) 977-3903 / fax: (434) 977-3961

Spring Membership Drive Extended: Join AMA now

If you are involved in business management at any level then you should be a member of The American Marketing Association.

The AMA spring membership acquisition campaign will be extended until June 15, 2006. It's your last chance to take advantage of the special membership offer, network with top area marketers at local chapter events and take advantage of the vast resources available from the largest association for professional marketers in the world. You will also receive a $30 application fee waiver and your choice of a free gift. View the gift options at www.marketingpower.com/offers.

With your help, we can make this one of the best performing campaigns ever. Be sure to also choose the Central Virginia Chapter as your local chapter!

Central Virginia Marketers Celebrate Marketing Excellence at EMMA Awards Banquet

Charlottesville, VA--The Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association held its annual Excellence in Marketing Awards Banquet last night at The Boar's Head Inn and is pleased to announce this year's EMMA (Excellence in Marketing Award) winners:

Internet Marketing
Company: World Strides
Title: World Strides: An Interactive Introduction

Honorable mention: Martin Horn, Inc. for their website design.

Broadcast TV
Company: UVa Health Systems
Title: Vascular Surgery Campaign

Broadcast Radio
Company: Payne, Ross & Associates
Title: Tomorrow Owes Today series
Client: Charlottesville Tomorrow

Print
Company: Payne, Ross & Associates
Title: Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra Season Campaign Brochures
Client: Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra

Honorable mention: Martin Horn, "Greetings from..." direct mail.

Print Advertising
Company: Gotham Graphix
Title: 2005 Advertising Campaign
Client: Prince Michel Winery

Logo/Graphic Identity
Company: Gotham Graphix
Title: Rebranding of the American Shakespeare Center
Client: American Shakespeare Center

Non-Profit Marketing
Company: Payne Ross & Associates
Title: Bi-Lingual Patient Brochure & Ad
Client: Charlottesville Free Clinic

Honorable mention: Gotham Graphix, "Your Visa to Charlottesville", Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport.

Overall Marketing
Company: Martin Horn, Inc.
Title: Awareness Campaign

Honorable mention: Payne Ross & Assoc., Greenberry's Coffee & Tea campaign

--------------------------------------------
The 2006 EMMA Awards drew over 80 area marketers to celebrate the best marketing campaigns over the past year. All entries were on display for review during a mixer session that featured jazz prior to the formal ceremony.
About AMA:

The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the world?s largest and most comprehensive professional association for marketers, consisting of nearly 38,000 worldwide members and 75 professional and collegiate chapters throughout the United States.

AMA offers professional advancement and development opportunities through conferences and workshops, networking opportunities both locally and nationally, great local programming and the opportunity to help advance the practice, study and teaching of marketing. The Central Virginia Chapter of AMA delivers valuable, monthly programs to benefit the marketing efforts of area businesses, organizations and professional marketers.

To learn more about AMA, visit the Central Virginia Chapter's website at www.cville-ama.org or the International Headquarters' AMA website at: www.MarketingPower.com.

# # #

Freelance writing opportunities - The Daily Progress

Enjoy writing? Looking for some extra income? The Daily Progress Advertising team is looking for freelance writers who can work from home or our office, conducting interviews and writing stories for some of our special sections. Must be reliable, self-motivated and able to handle multiple projects at once. We pay per published story. Please send resume and a writing sample to kkullman@dailyprogress.com. No phone calls, please.

EMMA update: RSVP deadline

Please reply soon if you wish to attend the EMMA celebration on May 16. The Boar's Head Inn requests a preliminary head count by next Wednesday and we need to have the final count by next Friday. Therefore, we ask that you make your reservation by next Wednesday, May 10 by sending us an email and letting us know that you will attend.

The 2006 EMMA Awards

The EMMA Awards Celebrating Excellence in Marketing in Central Virginia

The 2006 EMMA Awards will be held on May 16, 2006 at The Boars Head Inn. Please join us for a gala evening of music, mingling, and celebrating the work of Central Virginia’s finest marketing professionals.



You are invited...
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
6:00 PM Reception
7:00 PM Awards Presentation
Wine, beer, hors d’oeuvres, and jazz music at The Boar’s Head Inn Ballroom
Reservations due by May 10
AMA members $30
Non-members & guests $45

The Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association proudly presents the 2006 EMMA award winners for excellence in the following categories:

o Overall Marketing
o Print
o Print Advertising
o Broadcast Radio
o Broadcast TV
o Internet Marketing
o Logo/Graphic Identity
o Non-Profit Marketing

Reserve your seats by email: info@cville-ama.org or by calling 434-977-7607. No tickets will be mailed; names will be listed at the door.

GOLD SPONSORS:

Birch Studio Graphics
Glenmore Country Club
Photoworks Creative Group
Pantops Shopping Center
The Daily Progress
SportsWar.com
University of Virginia Community Credit Union
WCAV-TV, WVAW-TV, WAHU-TV

Excellence in Marketing Awards - entry deadline today

Today is the last day to submit entries for our Excellence in Marketing (EMMA) Awards.

Download your entry form and rules right now http://www.cville-ama.org/emma.htm and start working on those entries!

Tonight's Blogging & Podcasting program- - a few seats left

There are still 7 seats available for tonight's program, "Blogs and Podcasts: Serious marketing tools or just more over-hyped media clutter?" with local experts Waldo Jaquith and Sean Tubbs.

Be a part of local podcasting history as, of course, this event will be recorded for subsequent podcasting.

Come to the Holiday Inn on Emmett Street (attached to Damon's) at 5:30pm and bring your questions on how to use podcasting and blogging effectively in your marketing mix. Please also drop us an email to let us know you plan to attend. $25 payble at the door with cash or check.

Job Opportunity: Sr. Copywriter

Date Posted: 4/5/2006 Senior Copywriter
Are you a world-class wordsmith? Do you enjoy writing for a variety of
different projects? Do you have significant experience in strategic conceptual
thinking and persuasive message development? If so, VHDA is looking for you!
We need someone who can develop compelling text for print, broadcast, internet, new media, and other projects.
Viable candidate will have significant experience in persuasive writing with an advertising agency or marketing communications firm. Must be able to develop
creative & persuasive copy under tight deadlines, and be able to articulate the
rationale behind all creative output within a business context. Ability to multitask
and adapt quickly to changing priorities required. Must be able to meet deadlines
while maintaining high quality output and attention to details. Strong grammatical,
editing and proofreading skills are mandatory.
Position reports directly to the Creative Team Leader. Bachelor's degree in English, Advertising, Communications, or a related field preferred or equivalent experience; English majors with a marketing emphasis are strongly preferred.
Interested? VHDA provides salary commensurate with experience and excellent benefits. If you're up for the challenge, please send your resume, cover
letter with salary requirements, and 5 samples of your best work by April 21, 2006, to:

Virginia Housing Development Authority
Attention: Copywriter Recruiter
P.O. Box 4570
Richmond, VA 23220
Fax to: (804) 343-8717
E-mail to: hr@vhda.com
Visit our website at: www.vhda.com
An EOE

Hiring Range: $39,697 - 51,606
Market Range: $39,697 - 63,515
Credit and background checks will be performed.

Blogs & Podcasts seminar

Don't forget to sign up for our presentation on April 18 that will have Waldo Jaquith and Sean Tubbs discussing whether blogs and podcasts can be used as serious marketing tools or whether they are just more over-hyped media clutter.

We'll be at the Holiday Inn on Emmet Street (attached to Damon's). RSVPs strongly suggested since we'll have limited space.

http://cville-ama.blogspot.com/2006/03/blogs-and-podcasts-serious-marketing.html

Top 10 Reasons to join The American Marketing Association

In true "This Is Spinal Tap" form, our Top 10 list goes to eleven because we sensed that our audience needed that extra little push over the cliff.

http://www.cville-ama.org/top10.htm.

Call For Entries: Excellence in Marketing (EMMA) Awards

The 2006 EMMA Awards will be held on May 16, 2006 at The Boars Head Inn. Entries are now being accepted and all materials must be submitted by April 25.

Categories include:
* Overall marketing
* Print
* Print advertising
* Broadcast TV
* Broadcast Radio
* Internet
* Logo/identity
* Non-profit

To enter this year's contest, please download both of the following files, complete your entry form, and have all entry materials submitted on or before April 25, 2006.
2006 EMMA entry form | Official 2006 Rules

Sponsorship opportunities exist for this event.

| Sponsorship Opportunities |

If you would like to increase your visibility by having your name on all invitations, event and promotional materials and the official program that all attendees will receive along with logo and link on this website, then please contact Rachel Dippold at 434-978-7241 to discuss the possibilities or send an email to info@cville-ama.org.

Please feel free to watch the video from last year's EMMAs.

Please join us on May 16 and see the best marketing that Central Virginia has to offer.

Spring Membership Drive has Sprung

It is time again for the Spring Membership Campaign! The campaign runs from April 1, 2006 through May 31, 2006. Join AMA during this period and receive $30 off the usual cost of joining (a $30 application fee waiver) AND your choice of a) Pro-style binoculars OR b) A $20 MasterCard gift certificate OR c) A $200 coupon to use towards an AMA national professional development event OR d) A USB flash drive.

Join online right now at http://www.MarketingPower.com/join.

Now is a great time to join so you can also save money on our upcoming EMMA awards competition as AMA members pay reduced entry fees.

Take a look at all we have to offer locally by scrolling through the rest of this page to see what we've done so far this year. If you had been a member of AMA you could have attended all of these local programs for free while networking with some of the most influential marketers and business people in the area.

Join AMA right now.

March Direct Marketing program survey results

Once again, thank you to Rick Whelan, President of Marketing General, Inc. of Alexandria for speaking to us on March 21. His presentation was a hit!

Blogs and Podcasts: Serious marketing tools or just more over-hyped media clutter?

All serious marketers these days are either integrating blogs and podcasts as part of their marketing strategies or they are considering them. How will you evaluate whether or not these new media tools should be essential components of your future marketing plans?

Don't allow your marketing skills to become frozen in some past time.

Join the Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association as we explore blogs and podcasts.

We’ll cover the basics and then explore how blogging and podcasting might help you take your marketing to greater levels of success.

Local experts Waldo Jaquith of Cvilleblogs.com and Sean Tubbs of The Charlottesville Podcasting Network will strip away the hype and tell you what you need to know in order to make informed decisions about how you invest your precious marketing dollars.

You'll learn:

• Blogging and podcasting basics: What these new tools are and how you can easily get started
• Whether or not blogs and podcasts can be credible vehicles to shape your marketing and branding messages
• How to leverage these new media to complement your existing online and offline marketing strategies
• How blogging and podcasting can help you enhance your customer communications
• The latest trends and statistics that you can ignore only at your own peril

You should attend this special AMA program if you are a marketing professional, business owner, business manager, or someone interested in promoting a product, service or idea. Open to everyone.

When: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 from 5:30-7:30pm.

Where: Holiday Inn University Area, 1901 Emmet St N, Charlottesville.

How: Reserve your spot now by sending an email to info@cville-ama.org with your name and contact information.

Cost: AMA Members are free if pre-registered on or before April14, $5 after April 14 or at the door.

Non-members $20 if pre-registered on or before April 14, $25 after April or at the door.

Students free with valid ID.

Excellence in Marketing Awards are coming....

Save the date of May 16. More details coming soon.



Reduced entry fees for AMA members. Join AMA now at:
http://www.MarketingPower.com/join

March 21 Program Announcement: Direct Marketing Workshop

The Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association will hold a direct marketing problem-solving workshop on Tuesday, March 21 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau, 100 5th Street NE, Charlottesville. Come with your direct marketing-related questions for group discussion or better yet, submit your strategic challenge in advance for us to use as a case study by using this .pdf questionnaire.

We will be lead by some outstanding direct marketers.

First is Rich Whelan, President of Marketing General, Inc. (MGI) of Alexandria. MGI is a direct marketing solutions agency and is one of the leading direct response agencies in America specializing in serving not-for-profit organizations with membership development, convention/tradeshow marketing, catalog development, advertising, exhibit & list management, and web strategy development.

Also leading us on the problem-solving side of the table will be Judy and Jerry Rendich of BB&R Marketing. BB&R’s expertise in direct marketing is well known within the industry and the agency specializes in high-end copy and design strategy development and execution.

These session leaders will help us develop strategic solutions for real-world direct marketing problems in a highly interactive, workshop setting.

Please reserve your spot now by sending an email to info@cville-ama.org with your name and contact information.

AMA Members are free if pre-registered on or before March 17, $5 after March 17 or at the door.
Non-members $20 if pre-registered on or before March 17, $25 after March 17 or at the door.

Creative Leadership w/Chic Thompson wrap-up

Thank you to everyone who came out earlier this evening to listen to Chic Thompson speak on Creative Leadership. What a wonderful presentation Chic treated us to. Thank you Chic!

Here are the results of the survey from the program:

On the Hat's Off - Thumbs Up - Adequate - Yawn - Stinker scale....

100% of respondents rated the speaker as either "Thumbs Up" or "Hat's Off" in the areas of Speaker's Presentation, Interesting Topic, Quality of Content, Wise Investment of Time and/or Money and Overall Value.

Further, 18 respondents gave Chic all "Hat's Off" marks (some tried to cheat by voting for Hat's Off more than once....but your point is well taken that you wish there was a higher ranking) and 3 of the respondents gave him "Thumb's Up" on all criteria.

There was not a single rating at or below merely "Adequate" on any of the criteria.

We'd like to thank Payne Ross & Associates for donating autographed copies of Chic's book to the first 20 people who registered. We also thank Lisa Ross of Payne Ross & Assoc. for organizing this program.

Lastly, Chic was gracious enough to offer copies of his book, "What A Great Idea", at his cost of $5 at the program and we thank him for such a nice gesture. If you missed this event, I urge you to buy Chic's book at Amazon.com and visit his website to learn more.

Thanks to all who made it possible. Great program!
Dave Dolak
President
Central Virginia AMA

Still space for Chic Thompson's Creative Leadership program tonight

There is still space for tonight's special program, Creative Leadership: How to Foster A Mindset of Innovation, with Chic Thompson that will be held at Darden's Sponsors Hall. Great leaders always seek ways to become more effective and Chic will reveal strategies to bring a new level of creative innovation into your role as leader.

A summary of the event with a map to Sponsor's Hall may be found at the following link:
http://www.cville-ama.org/AMAFebProgramMap.pdf.

Cost is only$25, payable at the door.

And, of course, to learn more about Chic, please visit his Website at:
www.WhatAGreatIdea.com.

We'll see you tonight.

"Details to Go" for next Wednesday's program on Creative Leadership

Next Wednesday's program, Creative Leadership: How to Foster A Mindset of Innovation, with Chic Thompson will be held at Darden's Sponsors Hall. A handy, one-page summary of the event with a map to Sponsor's Hall may be found at the following link:

http://www.cville-ama.org/AMAFebProgramMap.pdf

...and don't forget, we are asking you to help us distribute the announcement for the event:

http://www.cville-ama.org/FebAMA.pdf

And, of course, to learn more about Chic, please visit his Website at: www.WhatAGreatIdea.com.

This is one of those "Can't miss" events in the Charlottesville area this year.

Chapter elections: Nominees sought before Friday

To All Central Virginia AMA Members:

It is chapter election time again.

Time is flying by and we got a little behind coordinating chapter elections so we need your prompt action.

It is important that you to nominate officers for the Central Virginia board no later than this Friday, February 17 so that we may then contact each nominee to see if he/she is willing to serve before finalizing the ballot by March 1. Remember, you may nominate yourself for any of these open positions...

Positions up for election this year:

President-elect (to serve from July 2007- June 2008)
Secretary
Treasurer

Please send your nominees to Rusty Giles at rgiles @ mapl.net, or call at 888-231-3175 by this Friday, February 17.

Thank you for your assistance.

Leadership skills can spread like a virus...

Please download this NEW .pdf promotional flyer that promotes our February 22 program, "Creative Leadership: How to Foster a Mindset of Innovation" with Chic Thompson and forward it to anyone in your address book who might benefit from attending the program.

Better yet, print out a few copies and post them on a bulletin board or two at your workplace to help us get the word out. Leadership skills can be learned and here's a great way to help promote an environment of creative leadership at your organization.

Chic is a wonderful speaker and this event is sure to please.

February 22 program: Creative Leadership with Chic Thompson

Creative Leadership: How to Foster a Mindset of Innovation

How do you inspire a mindset of innovative thinking in your organization?

Chic Thompson believes that we must be “curious first… critical second”. In this high energy interactive session, Chic will open your mind to creating possibilities and breakthrough ideas then applying and selling them in your workplace.

Chic Thompson is an internationally renowned speaker and author on creativity. He has worked extensively for many U.S. and foreign corporations, including UTC, McGraw-Hill, Accenture, and the Young Presidents’ Organization. Early in his career, he worked in new-product development and marketing for W.L. Gore and Associates (Gore-Tex®), Johnson & Johnson, and Walt Disney.

During the last 25 years, Thompson has given more than 3,000 presentations around the world. He is a Batten Fellow at The Darden School and is an adjunct faculty member at the Brookings Institution.

When: Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 5:30 –7:30 p.m. (NOTE: This is a change in the previously scheduled date)

Where: UVa Darden School of Business, Sponsor’s Event Space in Sponsor’s Hall, on Nash Drive just off of Massie Road.

Cost: AMA members FREE with reservation by February 17; $5 at the door; Non-members: $20 with reservation by February 17; $25 at the door; Students: $5.

Pay by cash or check at the door.

RESERVE YOUR Seat Now. The first 20 people to register for this event will receive a FREE autographed copy of Chic’s book What A Great Idea! (now in its 19^th printing).

REGISTER NOW by sending an email to info@cville-ama.org with your name, organization and contact information.

January Board Member of the Month

We congratulate and thank Rusty Giles of Mid-Atlantic Printers for being The Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association's January "Board Member of the Month". Thanks for all your hard work, Rusty!

AMA announces Mplanet conference

The American Marketing Association has just announced a new, signature international conference for marketing professionals, Mplanet, to be held at Disney's Dolphin resort, November 29 - Dec. 1, 2006.

Keep an eye on http://www.mplanet2006.com for forthcoming details.

Free Direct Mail Cost Effectiveness Calculator

Conducting a direct mail campaign?

Use this simple yet useful Excel spreadsheet that will help you determine the ROI of your direct mail campaigns. Calculates print cost per piece, total costs, total cost per piece, response rate and cost per response.

This free marketing tool is brought to you by the Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Free Website Guide for Small and Medium Sized Businesses

As an additional followup to our Marketing On A Shoestring program last night, we are able to offer the free 31-page white paper, "Website Essentials for SMB's: A Practical Guild to Building and Maintaining an Effective Website", compliments of Snap technologies, Inc. Thank you so much to Tim Groeneveld, Director of Sales & Marketing for Snap.

Marketing on a Shoestring discussion

Thank you to everyone who came out earlier this evening to our "Marketing On A Shoestring" program. It was great to see many new and old faces!

Let's continue the discussion via the "comments" link just below this message. If you were at the event this evening, you should have already gotten the bonus "50 Ways to Market On A Shoestring Budget" via email, but let's also continue sharing money-saving ideas using this website.

Cheers!
Dave Dolak
President
Central Virginia AMA

Seeking venues

We are looking for venues to host our Feb, March and April events.

If you have a suitable facility and would like to make it available to 30-50 local marketers and professional business people, please let us know by sending an email to info@cville-ama.org.

Thank you for helping to support AMA and a strong marketing community throughout Central Virginia.

February program announcement...

We are thrilled to announce that our February program on creativity will feature Chic Thompson. Chic is a professional speaker who has given over 2,500 talks in the last 20 years. He is author of two books, “What a Great Idea!” and “Yes. but…”, President of Creative Management Group, and has teamed up with talent ranging from Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey to Cirque du Soleil and Second City Improv. Chic Thompson will open everyone’s mind to creating possibilities.

More details will be announced soon. Watch this space for additional information.

In the meantime, be sure to RSVP for our Januray 17 program, "Marketing on a Shoestring".

Our Spring lineup is shaping up to be our strongest ever and we hope to flatten our historic attendence records. Please come join us! You'll be better off for it and the skills you apply on the job will be stronger, too.

PS- You do NOT have to be an AMA member to attend our programs!

Member resources

AMA Members,

Need to update your address information? If so, go to http://www.marketingpower.com/address to update your information online.

Time to renew your AMA membership? Do so at http://www.marketingpower.com/renew.

Remember that your membership number is printed on the address label of your monthly Marketing News Magazine.

Marketing Boot Camp, Jan. 26-27

The Triangle AMA chapter has invited us to participate in their AMA Marketing Boot Camp on January, 26-27 in Durham, NC. Marketing Boot Camp is an intensive 1-1/2 day session on the basics of marketing, taught by a national expert. Marketing Boot Camp is geared toward marketers who are new to the profession or for individuals who have recently moved into positions with responsibilities such as marketing, sales and sales management, advertising, promotion, brand building, and pricing. Please download Triangle Chapter’s Marketing Boot Camp flyer for full details at:

http://www.cville-ama.org/RTPMktgBootCamp.pdf

If you will attend, please send us an email here locally to let us know so we can assist in coordinating car pools--or better yet, let others know by posting your comments below.

Marketing On a Shoestring January 17 Program--more details

Do you ever wish you could market your product or service like the Big Guys but on a little guy's budget?

Well, there are many ways to do just that.

We have the following panel of experts who will share money-saving ways to effectively stretch your dollars using the following media:

Olivia Branch (WMRA-NPR): Radio
Pam Fitzgerald (The Ivy Group): Advertising, Design and Website issues
Rusty Giles (Mid Atlantic Printers): Printing
Geoff Kilmer (Photoworks Creative Group): Trade Show Exhibits
Denny King (Paladin Pictures): Audio & Video Production
Jim McCabe (WCAV CBS19/WVAW ABC15/ WAHU Fox27 Television): Television
Ann McKenzie (The Daily Progress): Newspaper


Each speaker will give tips and field questions.

There is a good reason this program is consistently one of our top attended meetings and that is because of the valuable information you will receive.

When: Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 5:30-7:30pm

Where: Zehmer Hall Conference Center at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, 104 Midmont Lane, Charlottesville

Cost: $20 for non-AMA members if registered by Jan. 13, $25 after that date or at the door. Central Virginia AMA members free.

How: RSVP now to info@cville-ama.org

We look forward to seeing you there.
Rusty Giles
Program Organizer & President-elect
Central Virginia AMA

# # #
==> Interested to know what other programs are coming this Spring? Print out this handy flyer with dates and program descriptions. Includes bonus offer for joining the Central Virginia AMA. <==

State of the Chapter Report

On Tuesday, December 13, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Central Virginia Chapter of The American Marketing Association met for its monthly board meeting and to conduct a mid-year performance review of the chapter, measured against our own 33-point Strategic Plan.

Overall, we are doing well as a chapter. We have increased the number of programs and networking opportunities for our members, we are financially sound and we continue to deliver value to not only our members but also to the local business community.

One of our goals is to transition to a “year-round” programming calendar that offers more purely networking opportunities for our members since in a survey at the end of last year members indicated a desire for more networking opportunities.

We responded with an additional members-only networking event in August at King Family Vineyards that was very successful, had our first known President’s lunch which served as an open networking and chapter Q&A opportunity, and made our membership roster available to all members. We are seeking additional ways to foster networking between members. We are also still hoping to achieve a rolling program calendar to keep the momentum going so let us know if you have a killer program idea or a knock-‘em-dead speaker in mind for June or July.

Financially, we were helped a great deal by winning AMA’s Professional Chapters Council’s “Turnaround Chapter of the Year” award for last year. This honor came with a cash prize of $1, 000.00. Even without the prize money, our first half-year financial performance shows a slight increase ($98.72) in our bank account. Sure, we could be doing better, but striving for breakeven or slightly above is not a bad thing for a non-profit, professional organization such as ours that is managed solely by volunteers.

One way to view this financial performance is to acknowledge that most all revenues generated through the operation of the chapter go directly back to member benefits via programming.

That being said, I believe that one of our objectives as an organization should be to increase our cash position so that we may look at new ways to benefit the local marketing community through new initiatives such as marketing scholarships, grants and contributions to charitable causes. Obviously we are unable to consider such initiatives if we are operating at a subsistence level, but ensuring long-term sustainability is every bit as important and our chapter is indeed sustainable.

During the 2005-2006 year so far, our membership performance is flat from the end of last year (which saw us grow at an incredible 40% rate). While a slowing in the rate of growth was actually expected, we did not anticipate zero growth with the very real possibility of actually being down net members within the next month. This has budgetary repercussions as we do not have some resources from dues that we expected.

Overall, on the 33-point scale in our strategic plan, we scored ourselves 25/33 for a solid “C” grade at 76%.

Some of our recent obstacles have been the loss of a couple of key board members due to relocations, the general and familiar “over-worked, over-communicated” syndrome of modern society that also affects all the volunteers on our board who already have demanding jobs and personal priorities, and the disappointing lack of non-member attendance at our monthly programs. We have also been faced with the necessity to pay for a couple of venues this year and this always represents a major expense for us.

The good news is that the only grade or rating that truly counts as a chapter is the one that judges our overall performance at the end of our year on June 30, 2006. We have time to make adjustments and to take corrective action.

We need to work a straightforward, second half strategy of “Involve – Communicate – Deliver”.

We are addressing several of these key areas.

First and foremost, we need active involvement from all of our chapter members. If you can help run the chapter in any way, please volunteer your time and talents by serving on a committee or simply by helping out during one or more of our programs. Sometimes the little details make all the difference. We can use help promoting events and also finding economical or free hosting locations for events. We also can always use help creating name badges, setting up and cleaning up before, during and after our events. With our annual EMMA Excellence in Marketing Awards banquet coming up in May, it will soon be “all hands on deck”. If you wish to help us in these or any other ways, please drop me an email and let me know.

Secondly, we simply need to do a better job involving local businesses and professionals in our activities. This includes promoting and publicizing our events and asking non-members to come and see what we are all about. We offer a great deal to not only members but to the entire local business community...but we do not always do such a great job reaching out to let people know about the value we offer.

Our first corrective action to address this challenge has already been initiated.

The Board unanimously approved a motion that we have a flyer insert in the first Chamber of Commerce mailing of 2006. Look for it in the chamber’s mailing scheduled to arrive during the first week of January. This flyer will promote our January 17 “Marketing on a Shoestring” program while also listing other upcoming programs this spring.

We cannot rely on a one trick pony to help us turn around our performance in the area of communications and involvement. Therefore, I ask you to please print out some copies of this flyer and post them at your place of employment, hand them out to business associates or simply post them in suitable public places to help us get the word out. We are a marketing association, after all, and we can all do a better job at marketing the value we offer members and non-members alike. I am interested to hear your ideas on how we can do a better job communicating our message.

Please let me know what other ideas you have for our communications as we currently do not have a Chair for our Communications Committee and our current Communications strategy is merely the piecemeal efforts of our thinly-stretched board. We rarely lack strategic ideas, but what we lack is the manpower to take these ideas, work them into a comprehensive strategy and then and run with them through implementation by volunteering time, talents and reaching out to involve other members.

Lastly, we must remember that we must deliver value in everything we do—especially to our members. Our mission is to generate knowledge about marketing, communicate what is known about the best marketing practices and stimulate the use of high ethical standards in marketing activities. The value we offer to the business and marketing communities in Central Virginia is consistent with what one expects from the world’s largest organization of professional marketers. We must continue to find ways to deliver value in these areas to advance the study, practice and teaching of marketing throughout Central Virginia.

Involve – Communicate – Deliver

Together we will make it happen.

Warmest regards for a wonderful Christmas and holiday season and I wish for you prosperity, health and personal fulfillment in 2006.

Dave Dolak
President
Central Virginia Chapter of the American Marketing Association
Tel: (434) 975-6584
Email: dave@davedolak.com

Note: This is an interactive website. Please feel free to publicly comment on this or any other post by adding your comments below. Get Involved...help us Communicate...help Deliver value to others by sharing your thoughts and ideas.

January 17 Program Announcement: Marketing on A Shoestring

On January 17, 2006 we will hold our next program, “Marketing on A Shoestring”, where we will present ways to stretch your marketing dollars—especially on limited budgets.

We have assembled an expert panel representing the local print, newspaper, television, radio, advertising, and tradeshow exhibiting industries to speak and lead a discussion with members and guests. Bring your questions and get ready to take notes because this third annual program always delivers actionable ideas that you can implement immediately.

Who: The Central Virginia American Marketing Association and all other interested folks

What: “Marketing on A Shoestring” presentation & panel discussion

When: Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 5:30-7:30pm

Where: Zehmer Hall Conference Center at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, 104 Midmont Lane, Charlottesville

Cost: $20 for non-AMA members if registered by Jan. 13, $25 after that date or at the door. Central Virginia AMA members free.

How: RSVP now to info@cville-ama.org

Why: To get greater results from your marketing dollars

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==> Interested to know what other programs are coming this Spring? Print out this handy flyer with dates and program descriptions. Includes bonus offer for joining the Central Virginia AMA. <==