A Successful Sales Certificate Program!

This past Thursday, December 1^st was the final day of the AMA Sales Certificate Program, where both AMA members and non AMA members alike congregated in Hyland Hall from 3:30 to 9:30pm to conclude the program and receive their certificates. The program officially started on Wednesday, October 19^th and spanned over the course of 5 meetings, where sponsors from the following companies all gathered in attendance: Milwaukee Tool, Direct Supply, Federated Insurance, Georgia-Pacific, SC Johnson, and Sherwin-Williams. Students involved in the program were educated on the various selling techniques of these companies and had the opportunity to network throughout the duration of the program. In fact, one of AMA’s own members was able to receive a job at Georgia-Pacific through the program, while many of the other students are currently in the process of interviewing with the various companies. The final day of the certificate program concluded with a small sales competition, where 6 finalists were able to show off their skills in front of the 6 companies and compete for a $50 prize.  Moreover, to participate in the program each student was required to pay $50, but was able to receive their money back in full if they attended each event. In total, 57 students enrolled in the program, making this year’s “Sales Certificate Program” AMA’s largest Certificate program yet.

Did you partake in the program? Why or Why not?

AMAzing AMA & CMU Opportunities

American Marketing Association (AMA) is one of the largest student organizations on UW-Whitewater’s campus. There are many different opportunities and aspects of AMA that a lot of students don’t know. To start, American Marketing Association is a national professional organization that represents one of the other 400 nation-wide AMA chapters. AMA not only allows members to network with business professionals and members from the regional are but also allows members to interact and network with other marketers nationwide.

UWW-AMA has both board opportunities for CMU(more information below) and AMA. Depending on what you would like to get experience in, applying and holding a position on either board is a great opportunity.

Unlike the application process for CMU there is not an interview process for AMA board. Students turn in an application in order to be a part of the consideration for AMA Executive Board. After the application is turned in the students develop a presentation to present and the general members vote on the next semesters board. This fall semester there were 18 board positions, which are listed below:

President

President Elect

Immediate Past President (2)

VP of Competition

VP of Community Service
VP of Technology

VP of Certificates and Workshops

VP of Communication

VP of Fundraising

VP of Membership

VP of Event Marketing

VP of Global

VP of Campus Involvement

VP of Professional Development

VP of Social Media

VP of Conferences

As the fall semester comes to an end it is always sad to see a board move on. But with each semester ending, AMA welcomes new board members that will keep the AMA traditions going. We have credited our success time and time again to the dedicated board and members of our organization. This semester is not different. There are many things that we couldn’t have done without our board!

Being on AMA board is a AMAzing opportunity and can offer as much experience as an internship. The projects given to each board member offers the chance to learn in a real life setting outside of the classroom. AMA will be working on developing new initiatives and strengthening traditional practices. If you are interested in joining AMA please e-mail ama@uww.edu for information on meetings.

Creative Marketing Unlimited (CMU), located on the UW-Whitewater campus, is a student run market research firm that works with real clients located around the United States but generally within the Midwest region. CMU works directly in line, acting a sister organization, with UW-Whitewater’s chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Students are interviewed and hired to the CMU board as either Assistant Account Executives or Account Executives. In order to be hired to the CMU board students have to show their involvement in AMA, other projects, or related class work. Students need to be knowledgeable of general marketing and marketing research as well as universal team work and professional business practices.

As the fall semester comes to a close CMU reflects back on the semester while also looking ahead to new projects and clients. CMU has been busy this semester and has worked on a number of projects including:

·      NueMedia - provides critical information for business decision making from the confines of physical (print) assets, transforming it into ubiquitous (digital) assets that are available to customers whenever and wherever they are needed. CMU has helped NueMedia change from the traditional print information over to the digital world.

·      Fort Health Care – strives to provide the best health care possible for Fort Atkinson and the surrounding communities. CMU creates surveys, collects the data, analyzes the data, and then creates reports for customer satisfaction in seven main areas of the hospital helping Fort Health Care provide the best customer service feasible.

·      The Graduate Studies Program - is one of a kind and people from all around the Midwest come to receive schooling at the graduate level from UW-Whitewater. CMU researched the potential for expanding the program out beyond the Midwest region. Surveys were sent out and a report was generated based on the survey as whether to keep the program as is or expand to other areas of the United States.

·      The Book Account - links back to a professor here at UW-Whitewater who actually wrote their own book. After getting a contract and having some troubles with the publishing company CMU has stepped in and done some creative research. Interviews and extensive digging online has help CMU revile some new and interesting ways to help market lesser known author’s books out to the general public.

·      W3 – is working for Whitewaters wellness and CMU is helping in any and every way possible to help. From creating slogans and volunteering to sitting in on committee meetings and participating in contests CMU is helping promote and market W3 mission to the Whitewater community.

Being on CMU board this is a fantastic opportunity and is in some ways an internship during the school year. The projects give individuals the chance to learn in a real client setting outside of the classroom. CMU will be working with some of the clients above but also a few new ones in the coming semesters. If you have any further questions concerning CMU please contact Austin Durham at durhamam17@uww.edu.

Regional Conference Recap

On November 11, 2011, the UW-W AMA hosted their 4th Annual Regional Conference in Timothy J. Hyland Hall.  The day kicked off at 7:30 am with a career fair in the Atrium, where students could speak with recruiters from local and regional businesses and enjoy a continental breakfast.  The presentations were lead by Katie Marty (Conference Chair), Chancellor Telfer, and Trey Schwab, who spoke about AMASavesLives, a campaign that aims to increase awareness about organ donation.  Three keynote speakers presented throughout the day from well-known companies Apple, AT&T, and Target.  Throughout the day, students could choose to listen to different presentations that interested them in the breakout sessions.  The day closed around 4:30 pm with a few words from Liz Bartlein (president) and Jimmy Peltier (Advisor), and through a raffle, many students happily walked away with gift cards, kindles, a mini, and iPads.  Overall, the conference was a resounding success with well over 400 students from regional colleges and high schools in attendance.  All proceeds from the conference will be given to Donate Life America, UW-W AMA's charity of choice.


How was your experience?

Branding Yourself For Regional Conference

This Friday, University of Wisconsin- Whitewater American Marketing Association is holding our 4^th annual Regional Conference.  To continue with the conference theme “Branding in a New Age”, here is a few simple steps that UW-Whitewater AMA recommends you do in preparation to brand yourself for this Friday’s upcoming conference. 

When attending a UW-Whitewater’s Regional Conference you never know who you will be networking with so make sure you take the time to polish up your resume, check for spelling errors and make sure your objective statement is in top shape. 

Create a SWOT analysis of yourself.  List all your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, not only with yourself but in your job industry as well, this way when employers ask you questions on the spot, you’re not caught off guard.  You can easily pull items you listed in your SWOT to answer and employer confidently.  

The elevator speech is a great way to introduce yourself on the spot and get a conversation started with employers you are interested in.  We suggest you write it down so it comes naturally.  Once it flows, you cannot only use it at this conference, but at career fairs, cold calls to employers and voice-mails. 

When networking, make sure you have a call to action and catch the employer’s attention.  Hand them a resume or business card and ask questions such as “May I have a business card?” “What advice can you give me and who do you suggest I call for employment opportunities?”  All are great ways to show the employer you are interested.  

UWW-AMA's First Blog Post

This year University of Wisconsin- Whitewater American Marketing Association has taken on a re-branding theme to our chapter; we have revamped many aspects of our chapter including board positions and activities in our chapter plans. To go along with UWW-AMA's rebranding, this year we have designed a blog that will be updated weekly by board members and general member volunteers that will highlight events going on in the organization, marketing trends, career related information and post about relevant topics throughout the semester.

We feel that by adding a blog to our webpage it will be able to strengthen our knowledge on relevant marketing trends, keep not only our board but our general members updated with current events in the organization and grant us the ability to open communication within our chapter through blog questions and comments as well as other AMA Chapters.  Making sure our executive board and general members are updated with upcoming events and marketing trends is the key to success in our chapter and blogging about these things is just an additional way to make sure our chapter is productive and successful.  If you have any questions about our blog feel free to contact us through commenting on the blog or emailing us at ama@uww.edu.