Marketing week highlights important skills for students

Last year Lipscomb’s AMA traveled to the international conference for the first time and returned not only having placed in every category they competed in but, according to club’s president Jason Southall, with inspiration for expanding their club. 

AMA, short for American Marketing Association, is a largescale organization providing connections and resources for “marketers and academics” within the business community.

Marketing Week, which took place from Oct. 19-26, is one of the fruits of the Lipscomb chapter’s inspiration. Izzy Cantwell, Vice President of Communications for Lipscomb’s AMA, said the biggest challenge of the week was marketing for a marketing club. 

Dr. Joseph Bamber, AMA faculty advisor, explained the event’s main goal is to create ways for students of all majors to get engaged with other students, faculty, and outside guests to learn about marketing and business in general. 

The competitions give students the opportunity to practice for the real world, whether by building a website, developing a marketing strategy, an elevator pitch, or even something fun like a T-Shirt design. 

While it is an opportunity for students to build their resumes and skill sets, the winners will also get the chance to represent Lipscomb at the AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans next spring.

Competition and prizes will always make students excited and intrigued; Southall hopes it will not only encourage students to participate in events but also join AMA. 

But is it possible to get involved with AMA when you’re not even a marketing student? According to Cantwell, the answer is yes. 

“I always tell people when they think about joining AMA just that regardless of your major or what you want to go into, you're going to need marketing,” said Cantwell.

Cantwell is a Marketing major but plans to venture into law upon graduation. She explained the ability to market oneself could make all the difference between candidates when entering the job market. 

AMA kicked off their week-long event with a Sales Panel from guest speakers, but Bamber explained he’s been hosting the panel for about 7 years. 

“This panel is normally all about marketing and sales but based on a discussion with John Tougher (one of the panelists, a former student and Lipscomb accounting and MBA grad) and some conversations with other professors in the College of Business, I realized that Accounting and Finance students would benefit greatly from hearing about the importance of relationship building and people skills in their future professions,” said Bamber.

“So, I have re-imagined the panel and added John Tougher to represent Accounting and Winston Justice to represent Finance, in addition to Carli Anderson, who is in Sales, and Caroline Clark, who is in Sales Operations.” 

The goal of the Sales Panel was to connect students with established individuals with real-world experience. The nearly 60 students in attendance had the opportunity to gain inspiration and hear ideas from alumni representing different topics underneath the “Business” umbrella. 

 “Being a part of AMA gives students an outlet to put something on their resume and say they were involved and invested in their college,” said Cantwell.

“Things like marketing week show they took extra initiative not just to be involved, but to compete in competitions.”