MSU AMA makes splash at international conference

Students from the MSU Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) claimed the podium in five events, as well as finished in the top 20 out of 388 international chapters at the annual AMA International Collegiate Conference held April 11-13 in New Orleans. The 15 students from Montana State participated in 13 total competitions and received recognition in nine, including first place awards in Marketing Strategy and Marketing Research.

“The dedication to excellence of every member that participated in this competition was clear at the award ceremony this year,” said chapter President Krista Lauring, a senior, who was also named runner-up for National Marketing Student of the Year. “It was truly incredible to be a part of such a great team and earn so many awards.”

In order to earn the title of Top-20 Chapter, each chapter was evaluated in six areas of their annual report: (1) Professional Development, (2) Community & Social Impact, (3) Fundraising, (4) Membership, (5) Internal & External Communications and (6) Chapter Operations. The annual report was created and submitted to AMA Nationals earlier this year by Lauring with help from chapter Executive Vice President Lena Johansen, and Director of Graphic Design Siobhan Murphy.

In addition to earning the top 20 chapter designation, MSU also finished first in two competitions. Lauring and Johansen won the Marketing Strategy competition, a multi-round, multi-day event in which a two-person team is tasked with creating a marketing strategy for a fictional client in 20 minutes or less and then presenting their recommendations to a panel of judges. Lauring was also named winner of the Marketing Research competition, in which she presented a poster summarizing the consumer behavior research she has conducted as part of an independent study course under the direction of Eric Van Steenburg, Ph.D.,  assistant Professor of Marketing in the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship.

The chapter also received the following awards:

●  Third place National Sales competition, Emma Jacobs

●  Third place for Best Website, Brianne Meghan and Michael Kriegel

●  Honorable mention for Best Marketing Week, Paige Desatoff

●  Honorable mention for the Case Competition team

●  15th place SABRE Business Simulation competition, team of Cameron Erickson and Nathan Gardner, Maddie McCann, Megan Ringoen, Erin Brohoski and Desatoff.

●  Finalist in the Perfect Pitch competition, Isabelle Ivankovich

“I am incredibly proud of all the work that each student put into the AMA chapter this year,” said Van Steenburg, the organization’s faculty advisor. “It was amazing to see that work pay off and watch the students bring home all of these awards. They definitely deserve all the accolades they received.”

The International Collegiate Conference is held every spring in New Orleans, Louisiana, by the AMA. The AMA is an international organization of both marketing students and professionals. The conference provides chapters from all over the U.S. and the world to compete, build business skills, and network among other students and professionals.

The AMA at MSU is MSU’s student chapter of the AMA. They prepare students for their professional careers through empowering experiences that develop strong networks, personal growth and ethical leadership with a community-oriented focus. Membership in the AMA at MSU is open to all students of any major. For more information about AMA at MSU please visit: http://www.amamontanastate.org

Montana State AMA Contact:

Maddie McCann                                                     Eric Van Steenburg

VP of Communications, AMA                           Faculty Advisor, AMA

communications.msu.ama@gmail.com                 eric.vansteenburg@montana.edu