A new AMA Omaha calendar year is upon us! We’re beyond excited to greet this new year with fresh ideas and new programming. SPOILER ALERT: be on the lookout for AMP – Actionable Marketing Podcast! But first… a look back at a fantastic year of programming.
July of 2018 marked the first year that local marketing and advertising groups – AMA Omaha, AAF Omaha, AIGA Nebraska, and PRSA Nebraska – came together as a team and delivered a seamless vision for the ON Brand Conference. This one-day conference combined influential speakers from across the nation, as well as major players in the Omaha branding community, all in one space. This conference was a great networking opportunity for those in the region and AMA Omaha is beyond excited to take part in this event again this year (July 18, 2019).
The 2019 Pinnacles marked our biggest and best awards reception yet. Major players from across 23 companies and varied industries came together for one beautiful night at Omar Events Center. This great community of marketers celebrated new wins, as well as continued successes. In addition to celebrating marketing campaigns across various mediums and the annual Marketer of the Year, AMA Omaha was also excited to introduce two NEW awards to celebrate the best talent in our community – Agency of the Year and In House Team of the Year. In all, 68 awards including Best of Show, Marketer of the Year, Agency of the Year and In House Team of the Year were bestowed to those marketers who demonstrated they had a winning entry with quantifiable success.
A new addition to 2018 was the addition of the new, skills-based Workshops series, which left attendees with takeaways that they could apply in their careers instantly.
Emily Redinbaugh of Bellevue University brought us a great tech talk about designing and launching a successful webinar. Lynn Schneider of Emspace + Lovgren offered actionable how-tos in a Photoshop 101 workshop. Andrea Trew of Trew Creative delivered a delightful workshop on the basics of stop-motion photography from your smartphone. Trew even provided the necessary tools for creation, so all attendees left at the end of the hour having made their own unique animation.
On the digital advertising front, Bret Dennis of Hayneedle gave attendees tips on how to achieve profitable Google SEO for 2019. Meanwhile, Eric Wallace of JM Web Designs took a deep dive into the future of Digital Marketing and how to make the most of your budget. We can’t wait to share what the rest of 2019 brings!
In addition to our new workshops, AMA Omaha is proud to have offered luncheons featuring unique brands, such as Pink Gorilla Events. Pink Gorilla Events gave us insight into their niche: running and athletic event production and marketing. Their races sell out and participants return year after year because of their attention to detail and the epic experience they create on race day.
Kelley Peterson of KidGlov gave an insightful talk on how to build a strong brand using brand archetypes. In her presentation, Peterson connected 12 brand archetypes to target audience as a way to drive strong engagement and return on investment. Thomas R. Marks also spoke on ROI and its connection to thoughtful leadership, showing how through the practice of thoughtful leadership, you can drive stronger sales, marketing and corporate ethics.
Randa Zalman, founder and CEO of social media and public relations group, Canary & Coal, delivered a buzzworthy talk, “7 Digital Marketing Trends That Will Carry You Into 2019.” Zalman passed along intuitive knowledge about what will be big in the upcoming year. As a great complement to this talk, Kate Richling of MediaMonks spoke on building a modern content marketing strategy.
Our annual Super Bowl ad review luncheon was again a crowd favorite this year. It brought together some big local players, including: Mary Ann O’Brien, Founder & CEO of OBI Creative; Michael Johnson, CMO of YMCA of Greater Omaha; and David Moore, Senior Account Planner at Bozell. The panelists gave their expert reviews on which Big Game ads were engaging and which were plain duds, plus facilitated discussion and interaction among the 50+ attendees.
One of our most popular luncheons this year featured Malorie Maddox, VP of Communications for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and former WOWT news personality. Her topic on the power of storytelling, drew from her years of experience in news and on the air, and she spoke on how to best make that special connection with your audience or customer – sharing some incredible pieces from her decades in news!
Programming in Nebraska could not be complete without a speaker from Husker nation. Our June luncheon featured Greg Sharpe, The Voice of Husker Nation; and Brandon Meier of Husker Sports Marketing. Brandon gave great insight on effectively managing different sub-brands via a litany of channels beneath an overall brand umbrella – in his case, Husker sports. He also identified the interesting niche of working with athletes who are already building their own brand online.
Thanks to our super star members and the entire greater Omaha area marketing community for all of your support in this last year. We look forward to seeing you as we move on to what’s new… Who knows!?! Maybe Laddan or Rachel, our Co-VPs of Membership, can treat you to ice cream? Take a look at our upcoming events, click here, and if you’re ready to join the fastest-growing marketing association in your community, click here!