We Did It.
The AMA International Collegiate Conference is a time for AMA chapters from all around the world to unite, sharing diverse perspectives with colleagues and navigating the future of the marketing industry.
With the theme this year being Redefining Possibility, the conference provided the opportunity to rethink what is possible...which proved a whole new meaning as our AMA at IU chapter redefined history with our awards & recognitions:
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Top 5 International Chapter
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3rd Place Collegiate Case Competition Team
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Student Marketer of the Year Runner Up - Avni Gupta
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AMA Foundation Social Impact Scholarship Recipient - Aahan Mehra
We are unbelievably proud of our members, leadership team, and advisors for all of the hard work and dedication that has been devoted to our chapter over the past, rather challenging, year. And now, a few words from our advisors...
A Word from Professor Riley Simone...
One new development for 2020-2021 year that helped our chapter rise into the Top 5 was the official launch of Candy Stripe Consulting, the re-envisioned consulting team for AMA at IU. The CSC Team rose to the challenge of essentially launching a new business. They developed a launch strategy, business processes and tools, hiring protocols, and internal and external marketing plans. Led by senior Ariana Huang and junior Aahan Mehra, the team of 14 landed three clients across varying industries, providing thorough marketing strategies, implementation plans and deliverables. The opportunity to manage the ins and outs of starting a business, as well as cultivating clients and then providing services, has provided business-world experience for our CSC members. I look forward to watching the team build upon this incredible foundation for years to come.
A Word from Professor Niedermeier...
The AMA at IU case team won third place in the Pods Moving and Storage/AMA Case Competition! This annual case competition is the most prestigious American Marketing Association Collegiate event with 67 schools entering this year. The team received a prompt for the case in September and worked the entire fall semester to put together a comprehensive 20-page solution. This solution included primary and secondary research, an original segmentation analysis, a comprehensive strategy, and a fully integrated marketing communications plan. Based on their excellent solution, the team was chosen as one of ten finalists to present to executives from Pods at the 2021 AMA International Collegiate Conference in April. The team leader was Maria Logue who presented along with Apoorva Kandra, Shane Alonso, Nipun Aggarawal, and Joshua Polansky. Professor Keith Niedermeier served as the team’s advisor. This is the second year in a row AMA at IU has made the finals and the team is already working on ideas for next year’s case competition client: Amazon Prime!
A Word from Kitz...
You did it. Some members reading this may wonder what you did, many of you know exactly. Everyone reading this email contributed in some way to place AMA at IU as one of the top American Marketing Association Collegiate Chapters. You have likely heard a phrase similar to, “zero to 60 in 8 seconds” as a measure of speed and performance. Our AMA chapter went from nothing, zero, to a Top Five chapter in ten years. Sounds slow? Not when you consider that your chapter earned this ranking among chapters that have been organized for years, some staying in the Top Five for 10 years already, at least one around for 30 years. This chapter has every right to be extremely proud to have earned this ranking. Even if you just joined this year, you are now part of the momentum that has not only built on the foundation laid by many former students before but is also one of the best marketing organizations in the world.
You also collectively gave me a great gift. While I remain involved with IU and especially AMA, I officially retired from teaching as of January 1, 2021. One of the best gifts I could have is for this leadership team and everyone to raise this chapter to a Top Five status AND win other awards in this, my last official year. I recall attending my first AMA International Collegiate Conference and listening, almost painfully, as so many university names were announced, some several times, but never IU. It was years before our chapter name was called for the first award. However, AMA at IU climbed to a Top 25 chapter just a few years ago, snuck into Top 10 once, and finally crossed into the Top 5!
One example of excellence is the award to Co-President Avni Gupta as runner up for Student Marketer of the year. This certainly is well deserved and is the first time an AMA at IU leader has secured such recognition. In my eyes, Avni one of the top young marketers in the world and importantly is a representative of the leadership of this chapter and of Kelley! Each of the top 4 executive leaders this year have made an outstanding leadership team and each excels! It has taken many great student leaders over the past years to get AMA at IU to Top Five and many of those are now in exemplary marketing positions such as Past President Yelean Choy who is a Global Consumer Insights Manager at Clorox, or Past President Emma Vaughn who is Associate Manager, Brand Activation at Newell to name just two of the many. Many other former students joined a social hour in December and revealed how much AMA has meant to their personal growth. Check out all our AMA Winners this year and from the past who make me super proud to be part of AMA and this chapter!
All of this not only proves that you all have built a super chapter, but also that every member in this chapter returning next year will be part of one of the top marketing organizations in the world. Take this as your golden opportunity to not only win awards but acquire keen marketing knowledge that only comes from beyond classroom experience with the American Marketing Association.