Why did you join the AMA? I felt it was important to become involved and networked with other individuals in the area who are interested in marketing. Having a chance to learn more about marketing through the luncheons, networking opportunities, and AMA events and classes are very valuable.

 

What’s the first marketing campaign that caught your attention? It’s hard to remember the first. I guess as a kid I was always drawn in to anything with free toys and prizes like cereals and Happy Meals. The lure of a free toy I’m sure played a role in some of my purchasing decisions (or more accurately my parents' purchasing decisions). It takes a little more to impress me these days. As a marketing professional, things like Amazon.com’s contextual advertising and trigger marketing efforts grab my attention now.

 

Which company’s brand do you most admire? Particularly in my line of work, I’m impressed at how quickly Google has become such an integral brand to the academic research culture. It’s often the first place academic researchers--particularly young researchers and students--turn to for their research needs. It’s been amazing to see the growth of search engine advertising as a new marketing channel, and Google’s made sure to brand themselves as one of the leaders and pioneers in this area. Anticipating new technology and trends has kept giving their brand a lot of strength.

 

What’s today’s most significant marketing trend? I think CRM has been, and continues to be, one of the most significant trends. With the amount of information overload that customers experience, I think CRM has proven to be a way to attract customer attention and encourage loyalty. Having a better CRM mindset has improved our marketing communications and lead to improvements to our services, user experiences, and products.