Blog

March 19th, 2018

by Becky McKendry, Senior Editor, Public Sector Consultants

You eat, sleep, and breathe your brand; you can recite your elevator pitch backwards; and no one knows your customers like you do—not even your customers themselves. From defining personas to mapping journeys, you and your team have painstakingly crafted a strong strategy and the perfect content to inspire your audience to engage with your company. But guess what? You’re still not done. You need an editor. To some, editing may seem like a luxury or, at a minimum, a relic reserved for scholarly and literary applications. But in an increasingly digital world, speed and quantity don’t set your content apart anymore. Everyone’s got something to say, and they’re saying it quickly. In this race to produce more content faster, quality is falling... Read More

February 14th, 2018

by Meagan Williams, Stevens Advertising, Production Lead/Account Executive

Think about your favorite brand. What draws you to them? Why is that brand top of mind? One of my favorite companies is Campbell’s. Now, while one of the reasons I buy Campbell’s soups is for their delicious flavor, that isn’t why they’re one of my favorite brands. I love Campbell’s, and many other brands, because of the emotional connections I have with them. Campbell’s commercials intentionally tug at the heartstrings. They incorporate every sense in their commercials; delicious looking soup, warm steam coming off of the bowl, calm music, and an “mmm” at the taste of it. Campbell’s is a Lovemark brand; it’s irreplaceable, their packaging is an icon of art, and people are loyal beyond reason. Because of this, when I... Read More

December 4th, 2017

by AMAWM

For far too long companies have focused on size. More profits. More subscribers. More customers. More leads in the funnel. Bigger, so the establishment believes, is better. I invite you to challenge that thinking for a moment. What if better were truly better? Charles Kuralt famously said, “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” He was right about Interstates, and if asked about business today, he might say, “Today, it is now possible to do business end-to-end without seeing or speaking to another human.” In many respects, technology has removed humanity from business and customer experience. I believe the most successful companies are those who embrace technology without losing humanity.... Read More

September 7th, 2017

by AMAWM

Welcome back to another great year with the American Marketing Association of West Michigan. Over the summer, the AMAWM board got together, reflected on the previous year, and got to planning. Based on some surveys, general feedback, and conversations from members, it was clear what changes needed to be made and what our audience really wanted. This year, we have made it our mission to engage our audience in luncheons, workshops, networking events, and other resources that provide the education and take-aways they need to get their professional marketing efforts moving in the right direction. We want you to take what you learned and be able to apply it to real life marketing challenges. With that, AMAWM is proud to announce this year’s... Read More

August 7th, 2017

by AMAWM

Whether you’re reading beachside, poolside or inside somewhere air-conditioned this summer, soon to be fall – here are a few book ideas from some of our own AMA of West Michigan Board Members.   Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, by Ann Handley Jason Dodge, Founder of BlackTruck Media + Marketing shares, “A little known secret at BlackTruck is that we have an expanding collection of business and marketing-related books on the shelf.” One of the books Jason recommends is Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley. He likes her fresh approach to online written content. “Ann’s insight on content is straight and to the point,” says Jason. Reading Everybody Writes is a great... Read More