In late March, Portland State’s American Marketing Association chapter returned victorious from the 34th Annual International Collegiate Conference, placing in multiple conference categories and winning a $1,000 cash prize for the organization. The conference, which took place in New Orleans March 22–25, gave the small PSU team the chance to show off its skills.
The team was a third place finalist in the Pearson Case Competition, placed second in the Membership Recruitment Campaign Competition and received awards for Outstanding Chapter Planning, Outstanding Communications and Outstanding Professional Development.
“We are extremely proud of our success,” marketing and advertising junior Amy Vanditti said. “As a small chapter with only seven people compared to many of the other chapters, one of which had 42 people, we achieved so much—we really bonded as a team.”
The AMA ICC is held annually and attended by students from across the U.S. A conference record was broken this year, with 1,181 students from 142 universities in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico in attendance. This conference gives AMA collegiate chapters the opportunity to meet with each other, listen and interact with professionals in the marketing and advertising fields and gain skills through various workshops. This year’s workshops included lectures and activities on many current trends and issues in marketing, such as social media and online job seeking.
In addition, the conference hosted a number of activities such as a social scramble activity, a chapter T-shirt exchange and a career fair luncheon where attendees could mingle and network with professionals and recruiters.
This year’s keynote speaker was John Militello, group manager of Google and head of the Creative Content Development team, also known as the Zoo, which has become the advertising voice for the Google/YouTube Corporation. Other speakers included representatives from companies such McDonald’s, Harrah’s, Carnival Cruise Lines, Enterprise, Macy’s and Northwestern Mutual.
“Amazing! Five individuals working all night on a project that other schools had 20-plus students, [and] to bring home a third place trophy? [I] could not be more proud,” said marketing and advertising senior Lindsay Hofer. “To couple this with the timing of finals week for PSU and full class loads, you can only see that type of work ethic from a school that truly challenges team work and diversity in the classroom.”
Some of us will graduate and enter into the working force,” said management, marketing and advertising senior Natalia Callejas, an international student from Ecuador. “We are excited for this new facet of our lives where we can actually apply everything we learned, continue learning and experiencing and do work in what we love to do: marketing and advertising.”
Outside the conference activities, the group did get to spend time exploring New Orleans. Enjoying local restaurants, the French Quarter and the city’s night scene were just some of the unforgettable memories the PSU team made together. The group also got the chance to visit some of the most notoriously haunted places in New Orleans such as cemeteries and plantations. Additionally, they were able to see areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“We got to explore the city and explore its diverse cultural essence,” said PSU’s AMA chapter president, marketing and advertising senior John Chavez. “It was very nice to discover the city has recovered fairly well after Katrina and that its residents are as happy and welcoming as they have always been.”
The PSU chapter is planning on finishing up spring term with professional development workshops and fundraisers. On May 14 at the School of Business Administration, the chapter will hold a social media personal |development event. Additionally, a marketing storytelling session is scheduled for May 18. The National Student Advertising Commission team will be presenting its Nissan advertising campaign on May 23. The chapter is also gearing up to select new members for 2012–13 board positions.
“We definitely plan to participate in the case competition next year,” Chavez said. “One of our goals is to hopefully bring more people to the conference next year and increase our man power.”
Students interested in joining PSU’s AMA chapter are encouraged to contact Chavez at jchavez789@gmail.com. Those interested can also check the group’s Orgsync, Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates on upcoming events.