By Mary Kate Gulick, AMA Lincoln President
Summer is in full swing in Lincoln. That means lounging and grilling and any other heat-related, water-adjacent pursuit you can think of. And what are we doing on the AMA Lincoln board? Every July, we get to work.
On June 30th this year, the 2017-2018 AMA Lincoln board headed to the Lincoln Escape Room to set the tone for the year. The major takeaway as I saw it? You win some, you lose some. One of our two groups was able to master the complex web of riddles and problem solve their way out of the Missing Musician room. The other group couldn’t quite break out of LiCastro’s Lair.
But win or lose, we had ridiculous amounts of fun and discovered who the control freaks and panickers on the board are. So that’s helpful.
Wait a minute. “You win some, you lose some” is the least inspirational message I could have possibly come up with. I might as well choose “Meh.” as the rallying cry for the new AMA Lincoln year. I can do better.
There are problems to solve everywhere. Most of them don’t matter. So focus on the ones that do.
There we go. That’s a theme I can get behind. It’s an approach that will get you out of an escape room (because there are all kinds of decoys and random puzzles in those rooms that can suck all of your time away and distract you from the goal if you’re not careful) and it can also help us give AMA Lincoln members a better experience.
As AMA Lincoln has grown over the last 5 years, we’ve come up with more ways to provide marketing education, more ways to communicate with you and get feedback, and more big brands to bring to Lincoln. While these are all good (great!) things, we were intentional about using last year to find out about you and what you really want to get out of this membership.
Enter the the Great AMA Lincoln Census of 2016-2017. You may remember me contacting (read: harassing) you to complete our member survey last fall. Well, 86% of professional members responded and provided input about themselves, their professional aspirations, and what they’re getting — and not getting — out of their AMA Lincoln involvement. Here’s what we learned are the problems that matter:
1. What you most want from AMA Lincoln and are not getting is NETWORKING.
2. The most common career goal among AMA Lincoln members is a promotion into management, and management training was the most common type of training requested.
3. Most of you are doing sales, in one way or another, whether you expected to or not.
4. You want to hear more about emerging trends, B2B marketing, and digital marketing.
So that’s our plan this year to solve the problems that matter. We want to give you the marketing education you want to reach your goals, and help you build the connections you need to keep growing and advancing.
I hope you’ll join us through this year’s journey. AMA Lincoln needs your help to make this happen. Show up at events — if the lunches don’t work for you, come to our free SkillSchool series and Round Tables. You’ll meet people. You’ll learn things. You’ll help someone else become a better marketer. That’s why we’re all here. And those are the important things to focus on for AMA Lincoln this year.
It’s weird to say this, but as a result of the AMA, I now have a “phone-a-marketer” type of relationship with many marketing professionals both local and across the nation who can provide feedback and insight into any challenges I might have. I’ve been introduced to new and progressive concepts from speakers and fellow AMA members; plus the AMA has given me an opportunity to serve in a leadership position that led to increased visibility, authority, and experience for my personal brand, as well as the companies that I’ve worked for.
Your “biggest accomplishment” has a way of changing over the years. Early in my career, winning my first prism award as a young marketer was a big deal. Then came the marketer of the year award, plus other local recognition, and ultimately the launching of my own company. My family had to take a photo when I got my first office as I’m the first female in my family to own a business!
Hustle and be willing to try new things. The rate in which our world is changing means that we have to be proactive in developing our skills. Yes, the AMA is here to help, but if you don’t apply the tips provided in the SIGs, or dig into the AMA’s marketing toolkit, or seek out the speakers for additional insight, you may be missing the biggest benefits of your membership. I also can’t stress enough the power of networking within the marketing community. Connecting to other experienced marketers is like having your own super powerful “google search” of knowledge.
I have a ton of interests as I can’t sit still (my family is just like me too, which makes for a chaotic household!). I love running, playing the piano, gardening, reading, tinkering with new technology and spending time with my husband and two boys.
I don’t have a favorite of all time necessarily, but I do have a special love for the Oreo tweet that catapulted real-time social media into the spotlight during the super bowl in 2014 (when the lights when out in the stadium). While millions of dollars were spent by other advertisers, Oreo was able to cleverly steal the spotlight (in the dark!) and divert the attention to a clever post at the right time.
AMA Lincoln 