Fordham Marketing Association Takes Top 10 at AMA Conference

Marketing | May 03, 2021 | Gabelli School of Business

This year’s AMA Marketing Simulations competition challenged students to identify market opportunities, design new products, create ad campaigns, and manage a sales team. The simulation touched upon all areas that make a marketing plan as robust as possible, allowing for a full versatile experience.

Each spring, the American Marketing Association hosts an intercollegiate conference in New Orleans, a three-day conference designed for undergraduate marketing students seeking to learn more about the marketing industry from well-experienced industry professionals through professional development, career advice, networking, and competitions.

As a chapter of the American Marketing Association, the Fordham Marketing Association’s (FMA) executive board attends each year. One annual component of the conference is a Marketing Simulations competition, a two-day challenge that gives students the opportunity to compete against other collegiate chapters in analyzing market research, forming marketing strategies, and making tactical business decisions.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference shifted to a virtual format, yet the annual competition retained every bit of its rigor. In the months leading up to the event, the executive board – Davis Hechmer FCRH ‘21, Michael DeBoer, GABELLI ’21, Gabbie Rossi, GABELLI ’21, Sydney Kroll, GABELLI ’21, Grace Wellman, GABELLI ‘21, Amelia Still, GABELLI ‘22, and Samantha Wu, GABELLI ’22 – prepped and developed creative solutions to prompts through Zoom in a fast-paced competition environment.

For the actual competition, materials are distributed the day-of, given students just a half-hour to form a marketing strategy around a given challenge. Also, during the competition, as the simulation progressed, new concepts, decisions, and challenges were introduced. At the end of the simulation, with an estimated 50 colleges competing, FMA received recognition for their work and placed in the top ten. FMA also competed in the Marketing Strategy competition where their wit, speed and presentation skills were tested with developing a case solution.

Samantha Wu, GABELLI ’22, and Davis Hechmer, FCRH ’21, prepping for this year’s Marketing Strategy competition using Zoom.

Aside from the competitions, FMA was able to attend various networking and professional development events including a presentation from Carly Zipp Garbis, global head of B2B Marketing at TikTok, Digital Marketing Bootcamps, and Experience Speaks Session. These professional development and networking events were similar to the events that are held within the club, but on a larger scale, allowing the board to further their marketing knowledge.

President Davis Hechmer summed up the experience: “Throughout the weekend, the entire executive board performed with the utmost professionalism, skill, and determination. By engaging in these panels and competitions, our team was able to immerse in real-world marketing situations and further develop various skill sets. I am beyond proud of everyone’s tenacity and hard work. Not only did the conference build upon our knowledge about the marketing industry, but the learning experiences we had will provide immeasurable value as we continue to navigate our professional journeys.”