By: Gina Bonar, AMA Cincinnati President

At the turn of the year (just halfway through our “Chapter year”), we see in the Cincinnati Marketing community a universe of opportunity and a force to be reckoned with.

In 2016, we invited you to join AMA Cincinnati on a new Brand journey, go deep exploring our shared Intellectual Agenda, and ignite innovation at the hub of our community. Not only did you come along and dive right in, but you co-created the experience with your passion for learning, your commitment to the community, and your sparks of creativity and fun.

PROGRAMMING & DEVELOPMENT

Our community has been buzzing with activity.  Whether at our monthly Signature Speaker Series, our Shared Interest Group meetings and social happy hours, or our Holiday Party featuring a Build-A-Bear workshop to create more than 50 stuffed animals to donate to St. Joseph Orphanage (a United Way agency), you showed up and made it happen through networking, conversation, feedback, partnership, and volunteering.

After our Magical kick-off event to launch the new AMA Brand with AMA CEO Russ Klein, we started our programming year strong, focused at your request on Insights, with some news from Google Surveys and a crash course on their See-Think-Do-Care Framework.  We also partnered once again with The Circuit to dig in on how Marketing and IT join forces to drive growth for the organization, and we got a taste for the dynamic global marketplace via our beloved Kentucky Bourbon industry. SPOILER ALERT: we will finish strong on Insights too, with a full day of content on Customer Experience in May – STAY TUNED for more on that soon!

Over the next several months, we will tackle omni-channel content marketing (REGISTRATION OPEN for JANUARY Content Marketing Month), the role of marketing in the C-Suite and the organization, the many hats Marketing wears from  internal branding and change management to sales support and strategic alignment, innovation and digital transformation, and as hinted above – customer experience. You won’t want to miss a moment, and we cannot wait to build the experience with you

RECOGNITION & REWARD

We win, you win. You win, we win. There’s no two ways about it – the force is truly strong here. The Chapter is a reflection of the marketing community we serve, so we strive every day to be the leading Chapter you deserve.

Chapter Excellence Awards

For the 2015-2016 Chapter Year, we received the incredible honor of distinction in all five categories covered by the Chapter Excellence Awards (CEA), an annual program recognizing the best across 75 professional chapters in the US and Canada. AMA Cincinnati ranked as a top 3 Chapter in three categories: Leadership, Programming, and Communications; and we ranked in the top 5 in Finance and Membership. Over the past 3 years combined, we have earned a total of 8 CEA awards. We hope you share our pride – you definitely share the credit! Check out our full and impressive CEA history.

Pinnacle Awards

Finally, it is not just AMA Cincinnati that is decorated with awards. Each year in June, we recognize excellence in marketing in the Cincinnati marketing community via our Pinnacle Awards. NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN, with several revamped categories and lots of chances to earn the recognition your work deserves. Check out last year’s winners here and in our Blog archives, and submit your outstanding work while 2016 is still fresh in your mind!

STEWARDSHIP IS THE FORCE

As you know, this Chapter is in constant motion – it belongs to us all, and it is the responsibility of each of us at any given time. It is our privilege as Members to volunteer, and to serve alongside the best in the business as sponsors, partners and collaborators; marketing, sales and communications professionals that hold the marketing community in high regard, and uphold its tradition and its future with high hopes, big plans and exceptional work. I invite and challenge you – engage with us in 2017, and you know it – the force is you!