Blog

In Customer Experience, Bigger isn’t Better; Better is Better

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

Marketing That Moves: AMAWM’s Mission for 2017 – 2018

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

Read and refresh! Good Reads for Marketers

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

The Role of Typography in Marketing with Terrance Weinzierl

April 4th, 2017

by Dan Gibson

At our most recent luncheon event we were lucky to have Terrance Weinzierl join us to explain the vital role typography plays in marketing. Below are just a few of the top take aways from his insightful talk: Type is everywhere. Every sign, billboard, shirt label, smartphone app, website, restaurant menu. Any one room/location can easily have hundreds of types. Every individual letter was created by someone. There isn’t some magical program that generates the rest of the alphabet, numbers, and symbols after you create the first one or two. Fonts (especially for Terrance) are created using a combination of pen and paper, and electronic tools. Typically starts on paper or bar napkins. Then moves to the computer to elaborate on. Type is... Read More

2016 Marketing Year in Review

January 10th, 2017

by Dan Gibson

You’ve probably noticed the vast amount of discussion around how terrible 2016 was. We lost several renowned actors, musicians, entertainers, artists, leaders, and innovators in a year that was also filled with many tragic events, and an intense, closely covered controversial political race. Did someone say downer? While we agree 2016 was rough, we want to take a look back at the bright side of 2016 from a marketing perspective, and kick 2017 off on a high note by sharing some milestones and exciting happenings the AMA West Michigan Chapter experienced. We also want to mention several marketing headlines, hot topics, and trends from that past year that we envision will continue to strengthen in 2017. AMA West Michigan Chapter Headlines: Welcomed our... Read More

Fantasy Brands That Will Lead You to a Championship

September 8th, 2016

by Dan Gibson

We’ve all heard of Fantasy Sports and we all know someone obsessed with their team, consisting of real life professional athletes. I’ve played fantasy football for several years (being called a nerd is nothing new to me) and I’m still hooked, excited, and hopeful to win the league I’m in and the cash prize that comes with the title. The NFL regular season starts tonight and right now, I’m confident my team is the best! Don’t ask me what I think next week though… As I was researching and preparing for my league’s draft this past week, I started to think of other applications for the “fantasy” concept and thought I would explore how it can relate to brands. Yes, also nerdy. As marketers, the wheels... Read More

Crafting Your Personal Brand

April 11th, 2016

by Felicia Rowley

Branding has long been associated with products and companies. It is the symbols, colors, wording, and even the emotions associated with it. Not only is a brand all of these things, but also how it is perceived in the mind. All these factors are essentially what differentiates each one from the other. That’s what makes branding so exciting! But what is personal branding? Although this might be unfamiliar to some, it is not necessarily for marketing professionals like ourselves. The real question is, are we taking full advantage of our own skills and expertise? As marketers, branding is a key skill that we should all be dedicated to and applying every single day.  Why? For one, we live in a competitive business environment.... Read More

Bold Moves with boldSOCKS

January 20th, 2016

by Dan Gibson

Desire transcends the idea of growing your business; desire is setting out to change the world or disrupt the current state of an industry. That is just one of the main themes that resonated with those in attendance for our January luncheon event, which featured boldSOCKS Co-Owner and Creative Director, Ryan Roff. Ryan took us through the process of how to tell your brand story using a well-known story arch. He used the boldSOCKS story as an example and took the audience on the boldSOCKS journey from initial concept to the current state, and even provided a sneak peak into the future for the creative and energetic brand. He outlined 5 story elements that will help with identifying the key moments of your... Read More