One of the things I truly love about my job is getting to be part of AMA community and chapter events across the country. Talking to our members and sharing stories with our community of marketers is important to me and I want to be able to understand their needs, to see first-hand the passion they bring to our profession, and take the opportunity to encourage us all to think about the future. These events, like those hosted by AMA Colorado this summer, are the moments I love being a part of, the events where I get to see connections being built, and ideas growing.
Back in the summer of 2023, a new kind of conversation was on my mind. It’s around that time that we began talking about what a podcast could look like for AMA. Was there a place for marketing conversations that were not necessarily about marketing? We believed there was and we wanted this new podcast to be more than a marketing podcast—we wanted it to be about the conversation. About the ideas. About the aha moments. About the small moments that lead to big changes. About innovation and transformation. It was about marketing and…
Power of Conversation
One of the things I’ve learned from attending chapter events and meeting with members of the AMA community is that we need to create space for conversation. If we don’t understand the needs of our diverse community then we will never create new connections, we won’t be able to build awareness of the work we’re doing to expand the conversation around and about marketing. The podcast became an expansion of those conversations and a new way for us to build new relationships with those adjacent to marketing, those that are entering the profession, and those that are moving the profession forward.
Dynamism That is Marketing
We know that people come into the marketing profession in different ways and many are finding their way to the industry through the creator community and they are changing marketing in exciting and innovative ways. Their entry points may be nontraditional but they are creating new paths, showcasing entrepreneurial skills, and sharing new ideas that are challenging and changing the ways in which we work.
In season 3 of Marketing / And, we talked about the creator community and influencers. I was talking with the CMO of Pearpop, Alex Morrison, about influencers and how the social space is changing. I asked him to share what surprised him most about the creator community.
Alex said, “I am always blown away by how switched on, articulate, entrepreneurial, and incredible the average creator is. The degree of autonomy and self direction that creators have is mind blowing to me. I mean, there’s this word on the street that creators and influencers are shallow and all they’re thinking about is hawking fake supplements and this is the baggage that a lot of creators carry around with them. But in fact, being a creator is really the gateway to any entrepreneurial pursuit that a person could want right now. It’s really the best first step, the only first step to build a business in the consumer sphere.”
I love that the word marketer and entrepreneur are being used this way. That we are having this conversation about marketers bringing their all to the marketing table.
Truly Meaningful Conversations
At AMA, we talk about innovation and why in many ways, it’s truly in the DNA of marketers. In order to entice, you need to have something new. In order to create, you need to think in innovative ways. One of our season 3 guests, Clemence Sop who is the Head of Marketing Innovation at InterSystems, said, “I’m not afraid to find new solutions to solve existing problems because that’s how you innovate. It’s trying to find faster ways and new ways, easier ways to solve existing problems. And when you are innovating, you activate your creative mind and you find new solutions. And then that’s just my DNA. I’m a creative thinker. I like to find those challenges. When something is easy, I get bored and challenges push me to learn more, to explore and find new ways to solve problems.”
When I was talking with Erin Levzow, the Growth Advisor for Batch & Box, we got into the idea of human connection and how her work was about creating an environment where colleagues could bring a sense of play to their work.
Erin said, “I believe work should be fun. You spend more time at work than you do anywhere else. So we have to have fun doing it. And I surround myself with people who want to have fun.”
I believe that too. We all need to bring a sense of fun to the work we do, and I believe that being creative and exploring innovative paths can lead us to new places. Marketing should go beyond marketing, we should explore new ideas and spaces, and we need to think about the unexpected ways we make connections.
Art, science, and magic. It’s how I see marketing and it’s what keeps me thinking about the future of our profession, wondering how I can bring innovation to the work, and make it fun.
For me, it’s the conversations that can make that all happen. We can take a small seed of an idea and share it with others. That’s the strength of our community.
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Bennie F. Johnson, CEO, American Marketing Association
About Bennie F. Johnson
Bennie F. Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Marketing Association (AMA). As the leading global professional marketing association, the AMA is the essential community for marketers. From students and practitioners to executives and academics, AMA aims to elevate the profession, deepen knowledge, and make a lasting impact. AMA’s vibrant community of marketers spans more than 70 chapters and has a presence on 350 college campuses across North America. AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, five premiere academic journals, and industry-leading live and virtual training events. Bennie is the host of AMA’s podcast, Marketing / And.
About the American Marketing Association (AMA)
As the leading global professional marketing association, the AMA is the essential community for marketers. From students and practitioners to executives and academics, we aim to elevate the profession, deepen knowledge, and make a lasting impact. The AMA is home to five premiere scholarly journals including: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, and Journal of Interactive Marketing. Our industry-leading training events and conferences define future forward practices, while our professional development and PCM® professional certification advance knowledge. With 70 chapters and a presence on 350 college campuses across North America, the AMA fosters a vibrant community of marketers. The association’s philanthropic arm, the AMA’s Foundation, is inspiring a more diverse industry and ensuring marketing research impacts public good.
AMA views marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. You can learn more about AMA’s learning programs and certifications, conferences and events, and scholarly journals at AMA.org.
