University of North Texas
American Marketing Association
The ART OF OPERATIONS
Leadership & Organization Sustainability
Project Brief
The American Marketing Association (AMA) is a professional association that connects and supports marketing professionals, academics, and organizations, fostering collaboration within the field of marketing. I took on the role of UNT AMA Vice President of Operations, working on process optimization, resource management, competition management, data collection, and analysis.
Tools
Google Forms, Figma, Miro, Zoom, Canva, Excel, Chat GPT
Industry
Marketing
Team
Barbara Lamont, President
Beatrice Mahiga, Vice President
Cody Havlice, Operations
Lailah Rodriguez, Advertising
Constance Padilla Housel, Membership
Brice Day, Finance
Laura Rengifo, Programming
Vrinda Balgam, Opportunities
Samantha McComas-Baker, Sponsorship
Semester Achievements
Many things were achieved within our semester, here are some of our greatest feats.
80
Total Members
$600
Total Money Raised
14
Weekly Meetings
Hosted
13
Social and Fundraiser Events
Situation
Our organization grew (a LOT)
We doubled (50% increase) our membership from the previous academic year, and with that growth, the executive board shifted our priorities to manage and maintain that growth. Our existing processes weren't built to handle this many members, and my job was to optimize our systems, manage those changes, and keep our organization running smoothly.
SWOT Analysis
We created a SWOT analysis to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, potential threats to be aware of, and opportunities to take advantage of. I bolded the key takeaways that were my priority.
Strengths
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Professional connections
-
Guidance from the faculty advisor
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A blend of new exec members and existing exec members
Opportunities
-
Sponsorships
-
Campus organization collaborations
-
Conferences & competitions
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Mentorship program using alumni network
Weaknesses
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Too many ideas, not enough time
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Campus visibility
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Little financial support/sponsorships
Threats
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Executive board burnout
-
Member time conflicts
-
Meeting locations; room availability is at a minimum
Goals
After analyzing the environment we were entering, I wanted to make sure there were actionable goals that I could focus my energy on and prioritize what was needed most.
01
Compete In National Competitions
Since COVID-19, UNT's AMA chapter hadn't competed in any nationally recognized competitions. We finally had the member resources available to join these nationally recognized competitions, and It was my task to manage them.
02
Keep Members Involved
To maintain engagement among our numerous members, we wanted to find effective strategies to encourage continued participation, incentivizing members to return after each meeting.
03
Build Community & Support Members
We needed to find ways to build our community and empower our members, giving them reasons why they would want to invest themselves in our organization.
ACTION
Competitions
GOAL
Have our AMA compete in fall competitions as well as competitions at the International Collegiate Conference. While we haven't competed in our spring competitions at ICC, there were some fall competitions worth noting:
Competition presentation I created to prepare members
MARKETING WEEK
Objective
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Showcase the significance of AMA for individuals engaged in marketing-related roles
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Inform individuals outside marketing about the global impact and importance of marketing
TASK
Devise a creative, attention-grabbing, cost-effective, and impactful method to promote our organization during marketing week.
RESULT
We had a jam-packed week to showcase our chapter while also using a guerilla marketing campaign to instill curiosity.
Idea
We created an event for each day of our marketing week, while also hiding rubber ducks all around campus. I created a QR code to put on the bottom of each duck, highlighting AMA.
Promotional TikTok video
Poster when scanning QR code
Marketing week Promotional Material
Created by: Lailah Rodriguez-Fournier
View Full marketing week report here!
T-Shirt COMPETITION
Objective
-
Design a Chapter T-Shirt that represents our college chapter/university
RESULT
I designed, ordered, and distributed our official UNT AMA T-Shirts!
Final Design
Point System
Objective
-
Keep members engaged by creating a point system to incentivize members to work towards being a top member within our organization
TASK
Create a system to track members within our weekly meetings
RESULT
I tracked attendance by using google forms to link to an excel sheet, taking attendance at all events
Study Sessions
Objective
-
We aimed to keep our members engaged in our community by organizing study hours. These study sessions will provide a platform for AMA members to come together, discuss assignments, assist each other with problem-solving, and ultimately achieve success.
RESULT
Reflecting on our study sessions, they weren't as successful as we had hoped. However, I believe with some minor readjustments, we can create better meetings to help everyone succeed after college.
Professional Development
Objective
-
We needed to give our members a way to learn outside the classroom, with engaging activities and guest speakers to give insight into their careers challenges and rewards.
Result
*Click to view Instagram recap
We created a career fair workshop to assist our members with an upcoming career fair, with LinkedIn advice, elevator pitch assistance, resume building, and professional headshots.
*Click to view Instagram recap
Derin Raji illuminated the incredible journey of being an entrepreneur, complete with the tough decisions and creative challenges that come with it.
*Click to view Instagram recap
Rick Ramirez came to talk with us about his successful marketing career in the media and entertainment industry.
Marketing Personas Workshop
*Click to view Instagram recap
We learned about how to create empathy maps, walk in the shoes of your users, and gain a more profound understanding of their needs.
Results
What I learned
Be adaptable
It was important to stay light on our feet, learning to pivot last minute
Be proactive
Planning ahead was our best tool for success
Use your strengths
leveraging what you do best is crucial for achieving goals, performing at your best, and ultimately achieving success in your endeavors
Communication is KEY
Open and clear communication was crucial to make sure our team was on the same page
Reflect
Next Steps
With the first semester coming to a close, I plan to re-align AMA within the upcoming semester. With the immense growth our club has obtained, we want to implement sustainable practices to continue to remain an influential organization, even after the executive board's tenure.
Situation
Setting Seniors up for Success
Our member demographic became mainly juniors and seniors. So how do we prepare them for graduation?
Director of Opportunities
Building on our commitment to member success, we created the Director of Opportunity position to assist our organization in giving our members more opportunities for personal coaching, networking, skill building, internship searching, and more. It's my job to manage that director and assist with creating ways our members could excel beyond our weekly meetings.
Student Success Sessions
We transformed our traditional study sessions into Student Success Sessions. These sessions are designed to prepare upcoming seniors for the workforce by focusing on building both hard and soft skills. This will not only assist our mass majority of seniors with preparing for graduation but also assist with boosting the skills of underclassmen.