Kevin Hohnbaum
AMA President

President’s Message
There is an incredible amount of talented people and dynamic ideas in our creative community!  We have sent the entries for the annual Marketing Award of Excellence off for judging by a sister AMA chapter and are in the final stage of preparing for an incredible MAX award event on February 22. As we looked through the numerous entries, I was amazed by the variety of ideas, team sizes, company types and communication techniques involved in this year’s entries. I also had the privilege of spending time talking with many of the finalists and hearing some of the stories behind the creative genius. Cris Schulz, Ad Manager for the Daily Journal of Commerce and chair of the AMA Max committee, has planned a presentation that will give each of you the opportunity to hear those stories yourself.  The awards event is February 22 , 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Portland Art Museum. Hope to see you there. Be prepared to be WOWED!!

Eric Gregg
AMA President-Elect

Message From President-Elect
As we continue our transformation to a “You Tube” society of user-generated content and empowering consumers to impact the very core of the products and services they receive, I can’t help but draw comparisons to the Oregon Chapter of the AMA. For years, active board and committee members have worked diligently behind the scenes to provide exceptional opportunities for personal and professional growth for each other and their fellow marketers.

The results have been exceptional. AMA Oregon now boasts nearly 400 members, and more than 2,000 marketers have attended at least one of our events over the past three years. Satisfaction levels for luncheon and professional development events is at an all time high, MAX Marketing Award of Excellence entries increased for the third straight year, and this year’s conference will be one of the best in recent memory.

I encourage you to participate in creating the marketing association that best meets your needs. We are currently building our board and committees for next year, and welcome your involvement. Getting started can, at times, be daunting so please drop me a note at egregg@iloyalty.net, and I can help get you in touch with the right people to begin getting involved.

Best –
Eric Gregg

Chanin Ballance,
CEO, viaLanguage

About the Speaker:
Chanin Ballance brings a wealth of expertise in language translation services and multicultural marketing to viaLanguage. She co-founded viaLanguage in 2000 and served as the Chief Operating Officer prior to her appointment as Chief Executive Officer in 2003. Previously, Chanin co-founded The Language Company, a language and cross-cultural training school and translation service provider, where she was responsible for general management and finance before successfully selling the school to Berlitz.

February Professional Development Workshop Tuesday, February 6, 2007

How to Use Translation and Localization to Expand Your Marketing Reach

Chanin Ballance, CEO, viaLanguage

Time and Location
Registration and happy hour: 5:30 p.m.
Program: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Pizza and drinks are included
The Portland Ecotrust Building
721 NW Ninth Ave.
Portland, OR 97209

Topic:
As organizations continue to see the need to approach additional ethnic markets in the US or to expand internationally, the topic of translation/localization becomes highly relevant to the marketing process. Translation/localization is an important but sometimes little-understood topic since good translation/localization goes well beyond the translation itself. It means embracing the nuances of culture to successfully reach additional audiences.

Before setting the wheels in motion on a new marketing strategy, a number of things need to be considered along the lines of the translation and localization process. Where does one start, and what are the milestones along the way? What does a typical translation/localization process look like? What are the issues you have to deal with internally, and with your vendor? Who should be involved? How do we walk before we run? Are you including localization of your website parallel to other marketing incentives?

With the right translation/localization tools and resources, an organization can expand their market share considerably. This session will consider the process to make those projects successful.

This session will teach you how to:

• Overcome language and cultural barriers in order to relay the correct messages
• Plan your localization initiatives
• Manage the translation/localization project
• Choose a translation agency

Pricing:
Member - Regular Rate: $30
NonMember - Regular Rate: $45
Students - $15

Learn More & Register

Dan Harbison
Portland Trailblazers

About the speaker:
Dan Harbison turned his long-standing love of professional sports into his current position overseeing the online marketing and branding initiatives for the Portland Trail Blazers. This includes the Official Site of the Portland Trail Blazers: trailblazers.com, the first social networking site launched by a professional sports team; IAmATrailBlazersFan.com, direct email marketing, and a myriad of Web 2.0 applications including blogs and podcasts. Prior to his position at the Trail Blazers, Dan was an Interactive Project Manager at opus:creative and the Interactive Director at Entercom Radio Portland.

February Luncheon | Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Trail Blazers on the Courts – and on the Web
How the Portland Trail Blazers are Using Online Marketing to Reconnect with Fans

Dan Harbison, Internet Marketing Manager, Portland Trail Blazers

Time and Location
11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
The Benson Hotel
309 SE Broadway Portland, OR 97205

Topic:
Three years ago, the Portland Trail Blazers realized they had a serious problem. The organization’s reputation was tarnished and the team had lost much of the connection it had with its fan base. The organization needed to find a way to start mending these relationships and getting fans engaged again.

As the Portland Trail Blazers discovered, one of the most effective ways to start rebuilding these relationships has been through online marketing. Using everything from viral marketing to email marketing to social networking, the Portland Trail Blazers have begun to re-establish the bond they once had with fans.

Join Dan Harbison, Internet Marketing Manager for the Portland Trail Blazers, in this exciting luncheon as he explores a variety of online marketing strategies and discusses what’s working for the Portland Trail Blazers. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of how popular trends like podcasts and blogs can actually help with real world problems and translate into real ROI.

Pricing:
Member: Early Bird (Before 2/9/07) $25
Member - Regular Rate: $30
NonMember: Early Bird (Before 2/9/07) $35
NonMember - Regular Rate: $45
Students - $15

Learn More & Register

The MAX review committee had to make some tough choices.
"The entries for MAX were awe-inspiring," said Eric Gregg, AMA Oregon President-Elect. Eric and other review members braved snow and ice to look over the entries. Those that made it through the first round of eliminations have been sent to the Kentucky chapter of AMA for final review and judging.

We can't tell you who the winners are, but here's a sneak peek at the finalists:

Best ROI
Anvil Media - Smart Wool
Kent Lewis, Hallie Janssen, Mari Hickmann

Angel Vision - Impact Movie:Earth Mulch
Jeff Otis and Richell Wilson

Massini Group - Amex
Greg Hessong

Best PR Campaign
Interface Engineering-Engineering a Sustainable World
Melissa Crosman, Emily Foltz, Diane Dulken & Jane Pellicciotto

CMD- Jeld-Wen Reliable Light House Initiative
Darcie Meihoff

Leopold Ketel - Bic Yakka Kayak
Olga Haley and Gary Medley

JR&A Marketing Communications - The Rony Montalvan Story
Jim Rauh | Beaverton Rotary

Best Web Campaign
eROI- People's Choice: Passport to Flavor Kettle Brand
Ryan Buchanan

Cascade Web Development - Nordica Insider
Fritz Brumder

PopArt - Freightliner Market Development Corp. Selectrucks Center Project
Gillian Kennedy

Best Branding Campaign
Maxwell PR- Party Packs - Party Packs: Expanding on the Success of Kettle Foods’ People’s Choice Campaign
Jennifer Maxwell-Muir, Sam Burton

MacKenzie Marketing Group - 2006 Vigilan Rebranding
Jeni Walter

Best Integrated Marketing Campaign
Kineti Comm - Recycle at Work
Madeline Turnock

Street of Eames
Sherri Nee

Axium - Invasion
Andrea Ashley

Leopold Ketel - CLAWS!
Andrew Reed & John Russell

The Hasson Company Realtors - Green Team
Danyel Mele

What's new with MAX this year:

• The MAX awards will be celebrated during a late afternoon/early evening event
  
• The MAX award celebrations will be preceded by a fabulous networking period
  
• The MAX award celebrations will be in an all-new multi-media format
  
• The entire celebration and networking event will be held at the Portland Art Museum.

Here's your personal invitation to the AMA-PDX event of the Year:

What:
American Marketing Association's
2007 Marketing Awards of Excellence

When:
February 22, 2007 4:30- 8:00PM

Where:
Portland Art Museum

Pricing:
Member - $65
NonMember - $75
Students - $45

Learn More & Register

This is a Marketing event
you don't want to Miss!

For more information, visit the AMA website.

Thank you to this year's MAX Sponsors:

Alissa Barron Stranzl Communications Specialist , EasyStreet Online Services

Volunteer of the Month
Alissa Barron Stranzl

Alissa Barron Stranzl is a marketing/communications specialist for EasyStreet Online Services and a volunteer on AMA’s communications committee. Volunteering for AMA gives Alissa the opportunity to step outside of her usual world of high-tech marketing and gain real-world experience in a different style of communications.

Alissa helps the AMA Oregon chapter by writing and editing copy for newsletters, press releases and brochures. When asked to reflect on the value of membership and involvement with AMA, Alissa comments, “My degree is in journalism, so I am learning about marketing as I practice it. AMA in general, and volunteering in particular, has been a valuable educational resource for me.”

When she is not volunteering for AMA or working for EasyStreet, Alissa cites traveling as her favorite pastime. “Traveling is my passion, whether it’s close to Portland or in another hemisphere. I also love spending time with my husband, an editor who is a fellow 'word geek,' and our adorable Chihuahua, Muffin.”

Alissa’s writing and editing skills are greatly appreciated by everyone who works with her. AMA also appreciates the email addresses that Alissa’s employer, EasyStreet, provides to the association.

Thank you Alissa for sharing your time and talents with AMA!

Ryan Buchanan
CEO and founder, eROI

Guest Article
Ryan Buchanan, eROI

Late last year, AMA member eROI pushed www.dunderdon.com live. For those of you who don’t know, and that will be most of you, Dunderdon is a Swedish manufacturer of high-end rugged urban workwear. The company has a loyal following in Europe and is hoping to expand their market first into the US and then around the world. With the quality of their product, and now with their new website, they have a pretty good chance.

Upon first impression, the clean lines and simple design of www.dunderdon.com reflect the clothier’s emphasis on quality product. The look resonates with the companies target audience; the designer/artist/architect/arm tatted/”we’re too hip to wear suits” set. Influences for the design and the site came from Apple and the old Jack Spade site.

Hipsters can spot a fake and a salesman a mile away, so the strategy has been to drive sales in the most authentic, unforced way possible, and to build a community base of loyal Dunderdon evangelists. To that end, eROI dropped in a blog , written by the hilariously funny writer and illustrator, Rory Blyth , a Portland , OR local. They also put together a profile section, dubbed ‘ Workspace ’, which features local representatives of the Dunderdon audience. eROI has future plans to turn this portion of the site into a consumer-driven-content area where people in the Dunderdon community can communicate with each other and the brand. They will also be launching a newsletter that will highlight the site and goings on in the Dunderdon world.

The question is, Can building community equate to an increase in sales? eROI thinks so, in fact, they are betting on it with an industry disparaged pay-per-performance agreement.

In addition to creating community, the new site takes an aggressive approach to establishing web-prominence. By using static pages, driven by the eROI ecommerce engine, the site has found a way to achieve high search engine placement the organic way.

Check it for yourself, and you might still catch the 50% off winter sale: http://www.dunderdon.com

Marketing Moments

How Chocolate Manufacturer Brings Powerful Personal Touch to Generate 5X More Sales
If your company’s policy is offline-only in terms of direct sales, how would you effectively use the Web site to drive prospects to the call center and retail outlets? Just in time for all those New Year’s resolutions, see how one dieting program marketer is using a Web-to-phone system to not only dramatically improve conversions but also better track customers and prospects ... not to mention synching up national marketing with stores to give the campaign a truly local feel.

Click here to read the full article

How to Rev Value for Loyalty Program – 4 Strategies from Nascar
Sure, getting consumers to join loyalty programs by offering incentives is a proven tactic in marketing. However, making the program consistently meaningful is another hurdle altogether. After all, you want users to be active. Discover how a sports organization added a shopping platform and built hundreds of partnerships to keep their newly established loyalty program fresh.

Click here to read the full article

Announcements

Upcoming Events

Join AMA PSU at Paccini for happy hour drinks and food while we analyze the effectiveness of the top ads from the Superbowl XLI! The AMA PSU Board would like to invite the AMA Oregon members to attend our next social event on Tuesday, Feb. 13th.
Where: Paccini's Restaurant 1717 S.W. Park Avenue inPortland
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 13th
Time: 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

AMA March Luncheon
March 13, 2007
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | The Benson Hotel
Topic: Indispensable Webinars: Going from ‘Online Slideshow’ to ‘Killer Lead Generation’
Speaker: Roger Courville, Co-founder and principal, 1080 Group, LLC
Watch for details.

Joint Networking Events with AIGA
February 28 2007
Watch for details.

Coming in February - Marketing Extra e-newsletter that focuses on trends in marketing and local marketing action. Watch for details.

We value your opinion
The AMA strives to offer topical resources to help in your professional development and career advancement in today’s competitive environment. We want to make sure we are serving your interests and adding value to you. Tell us how the AMA has helped you and how we can improve. We would love to hear from you.

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