Many great thinkers, writers and communicators have been born in the month of April. William Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci and Noah Webster to name a few. It’s no surprise then that so many exciting AMA Toronto events are happening this month that will challenge and expand what we think and how we communicate.
Retail Media on the Rise
Marketers tell stories and share innovations that help retailers sell their products and build their brands. Many AMA Toronto members and leaders come from the retail and retail media sectors which is why we are thrilled to be partnering with Walmart Connect on a three part Master Connect Knowledge series. Our first virtual learning session was all about “Retail Media on the Rise” featuring Nancy Bevilacqua, Senior Director Sales and Client Services. This past week, Nancy led a discussion connecting brands with customers through retail media, a category expected to reach $50 billion in 2022.
If you missed the event, stay tuned for the event recap in an upcoming blog. And, mark your calendar for the next Master Connect event happening on May 18th at 1pm EST, featuring Sach Malik, Senior Director, Performance Marketing, Product and Ad Operations at Walmart Connect who will speak about Retail Insights & Analytics.
April is Volunteer Month
AMA Toronto simply would not exist without its volunteer members and all they do to support our chapter. This month, we recognize and honour their contributions during National Volunteer Week! Many of our volunteers have had new opportunities to empower their leadership potential, grow their networks and learn new skills all because of volunteering with AMA Toronto – and many of our volunteers will share their stories via blogs, videos and personal testimonials. So, stay tuned for more.
Check out our AMA Toronto volunteer page and listen and learn about all the opportunities available to AMA Toronto members. Connect with other volunteers via virtual and in-person events offered all year long by becoming a volunteer and serving the Toronto marketing community – we’d love to have you join us!
A huge shout out to Debbie Bolton our VP of Volunteers and her team for continuously supporting our AMA Volunteers, enriching our chapter. Speaking of volunteers, we’re so very proud that Craig Lund, our VP Mentorship and Secretary, long time Board member and past president has been recognized with the Ric Sweeney Chapter Volunteer of the Year Award by the American Marketing Association – the first volunteer from a Canadian chapter to be recognized for this coveted award. Congrats Craig and thank you for all you do for our AMA volunteer community.
Marketing for Startups + a new book from Dr. Alan Middleton
Many AMA Toronto members work for some of Canada’s largest and most established brands but many are also exploring opportunities with startups, small businesses or entrepreneurship. With its own jargon, expectations and marketing goals, startups are a different breed altogether and our recent Marketing Networking Group meetup event dedicated to “Marketing for Startups” featured three of Canada’s startup leaders who shared their insights and experiences in the pursuit of a startup!
On the topic of small and medium sized businesses and enterprises, stay tuned for an exciting new book that Dr. Alan Middleton is releasing as a follow up to his highly successful book on Mentorship published by the AMA Toronto. Coming this summer, his new book is entitled “Marketing Matters for Small & Medium Enterprise (SMEs) – Now More than Ever” and will feature the importance of marketing for SMEs and why Canadian organizations do not spend sufficient attention, time or money on it relative to US counterparts. The book will include 8 Marketing Planning tools along with case studies from various small and medium enterprises who have made it, like Harry Rosen, Nature’s Path, Sleep Country, and Umbra. This book will be available on Amazon this summer, and is a definite must read. Pre-orders are available now.
AMA Leadership Summit Recognition
This past week marked AMA’s annual Leadership Summit that took place in Chicago and was an exciting forum to celebrate AMA Toronto’s recent Silver Chapter Excellence Award and DEI Response Award recognitions with fellow chapter leaders across North America. It’s an event we look forward to annually, to network across the 70 AMA chapters.
This year, Craig Lund, Secretary and VP Mentorship and Chris Stathousis VP International, and Miglena Nikolova Past President all led key presentations iat AMA’s Leadership Summit with Barbara Boyd our President Elect and Santo Ligotti VP MarCom also joining in Chicago. Barbara accepted AMA Toronto’s Silver Chapter Award in Chicago on behalf of our team and Craig was recognized as AMA’s Volunteer of the Year – the first Canadian to win this prestigious award; It’s an international stage where AMA Toronto shines and we’re thrilled to have our Toronto chapter represented in Chicago – kudos to the team!
Gala to celebrate Marketing Greats
To celebrate Canada’s marketing leaders and trailblazers the industry, AMA Toronto’s Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends will honour a select group of winners who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of excellence in the field of marketing. We are pleased to return to live, in person events to celebrate both 2022 inductees and to award our 2020 and 2021 Legends with their trophies after 2 years of celebrating virtually. Our Gala MC will be the AMAzing Tony Chapman – a Marketing Legend inductee himself from 2008.
This year we are recognizing five 2022 Marketing Legends from global brands and from the film, law and sponsorship industries. We’re also celebrating our 2022 Marketer on the Rise for her entrepreneurship and accomplishments in marketing. Our chapter sponsor Mission Hill Family Estates, a BC based winery (who’s founder Anthony Von Mandl was also a 2020 Marketing Hall of Legend Inductee) will be providing exclusive wine from their winery to Gala attendees. Mission Hill Family Estates Winery is Canada’s only five-time “Winery of the Year” winner and currently recruiting for two key marketing positions – a Senior Brand Manager, and an Estate Brand Manager. Visit their website for more details. The countdown to our May 12th Gala is on!
Stay tuned for more exciting activities from AMA Toronto next month, including new Leadership Conversation interviews I’ve had recently – excited to share these with you. Thanks for continuing to support us as we empower leadership potential together in the marketing industry.
Cheers,
Tina
