Congratulations to the AMA Iowa 2012 NOVA Award Winners! Our 7th annual NOVA Awards season wrapped with a retro-themed awards ceremony on May 10, 2012.

Award-winning teacher, entertainer and author Juli Burney emceed the event, which awarded more than 35 awards.  Best in Category winners included Aviva USA, Drake University, Lessing-Flynn Advertising, The Members Group (TMG), Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Iowa Lottery, Marsh U.S. Consumer and Newton Manufacturing.  View the complete list of 2012 NOVA Award recipients.

This year’s event marked the achievement of two broken records for AMA Iowa: a 33-percent increase in award entries for an all-time high of 82 entries; and ceremony attendance of nearly 120 marketers, the most ever to attend a NOVA awards ceremony.

Congratulations to all 2012 NOVA Award winners!

Don’t miss Juli Burney, our speaker for the 2012 AMA Iowa NOVA Awards!  Juli brings a unique blend of humor and motivation to our stage, and we’re thrilled to have her.  As a National Speaking Award Winner and author,  Juli has the gift of entertaining like a headline comedian while helping improve people’s lives through humor and effective use of communication tools.

With record attendance for this year, the NOVA Awards promises to be a great event!  See you there!

Mary Honeyman and AMA Iowa President, April Schmaltz

Congratulations to Mary Honeyman, Drake AMA Collegiate Chapter member and recipient of the 2012 AMA Iowa Collegiate Scholarship.

A junior marketing major at Drake University, Mary brings high academic scores, along with a passion for marketing—as shown through her work at Drake and during her different internships and job experiences—to the Drake AMA Chapter.  Her strong leadership has been an asset to the Drake AMA Chapter. Mary received $1,000 to apply to the cost of tuition.

Thank you to all of the excellent candidates who applied for the 2012 scholarship. Each year, AMA Iowa awards one collegiate member with a scholarship based on academic achievement, leadership and strength of their application.

The reservation deadline for the 2012 NOVA Awards is Wednesday, May 1, so click this link to make your reservation now!

Join us at the Windsor Heights Community & Events Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, for cocktails and dinner followed by an inspiring program where we recognize inNOVAtive marketing.  And new this year–The After Party Celebration at Raul’s in West Des Moines.  The fun continues!

Don’t miss out on this year’s event–register today!

Join AMA Iowa at the next monthly meeting, Wednesday, May 2, and learn how NBC approaches multi-channel marketing.

Mary Stenmark, senior director of NBC News Digital Network (formerly MSNBC) will share how NBC approaches multi-channel marketing – marketing where one media platform plays off the other to generate the highest brand lift and sales – and how the network measures success.  Ms. Stenmark will also discuss how she works with major brand marketers to create unique experiences that resonate with key target audiences across multiple platforms.

Key takeaways include:

• The good, the bad and the ugly about cross-platform marketing
• Seamless 360 degree selling approach with broadcast, digital, mobile, table and Xbox solutions
• Effective ways to communicate to consumers

Register here by Monday, April 30.

The invitations are in the mail, so now it’s time to mark your calendar and hit the vintage shops to gear up for the marketing event of the year–the 2012 NOVA Awards!  ’50′s period attire is encouraged, so go all out with skinny ties, pearls, and pillbox hats!

Join us as we celebrate this year’s marketing stars on Thursday, May 10.  This is the AMA Iowa NOVA Awards like you’ve never before experienced. After the Awards, come celebrate at the first ever after party  at Raul’s Mexican Restaurant.

Visit 2012 NOVA Awards for event details, and make your reservation now!

Mark your calendar and plan to attend a evening social hour co-hosted by AMA Iowa and AAF DSM on Thursday, April 26. This free event, which includes live music, will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Schade Creek Vineyard & Winery in Waukee, Iowa.

You’ll enjoy:

• Wine tasting from Schade Creek’s very own blends
• Live music entertainment
• Food to munch on
• Networking and socializing

This event is free, but please RSVP online. This event is open to the public, so feel free to invite anyone looking to connect with marketing and advertising pros!

AMA Iowa is lucky to have great volunteers who contribute their time and talents to the success of our membership. If you’d like to join the volunteer crew, get in touch with me and we’ll get you hooked up with the right committee.

Name: Jennifer Simpson

Employer and tenure: Learfield News Properties (Radio Iowa, Nebraska Radio Network, Brownfield Ag News)

Title: Account Executive, Division Manager

Education: Associates Degree in Graphic Arts

Favorite restaurant: Trostel’s Greenbriar

Best book that you have read: Humility, True Greatness by CJ Mahaney

When you are not working or volunteering at AMA Iowa, what do you do for fun? I sing on a worship team at Timberline Church, pay it forward as a kickboxing/resistance instructor at Goals In Motion Fitness Studio, and teach healthy cooking classes –not as a chef or nutritionist, but as someone who mentors people through their lifestyle transformation as The Food Mentor (www.thefoodmentor.com).

For those considering an AMA Iowa membership, provide some insight as to how the AMA and AMA Iowa have been valuable to you professionally. Knowledge and networking go hand in hand in developing and growing your personal and professional growth. AMA Iowa provides you access to top shelf educational programming and amazing social networking opportunities. Niche marketing professionals that span across in-house marketing executives to agency experts can all be found amongst the AMA Iowa membership roster.

How did you find out about AMA Iowa? An invitation by a trusted peer in the industry is how I was first exposed to AMA Iowa.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering? When you can use your industry connections and partnerships to further advance our industry everyone wins.

What volunteer projects have you worked on? I have been a sponsorship partner providing hotel rooms for out of town speakers and assisted in transportation needs as they arose.

Which volunteer project did you get the most satisfaction and why? Having one-on-one time with some of the speakers while serving as their airport transportation has afforded me the opportunity to continue in depth conversations that might not have been available at the close of a meeting and I appreciate every opportunity to help the AMA leadership.

If you could select one topic for an AMA Iowa luncheon or special event, what would it be and why? How does PR/Media/Marketing all live under the same roof in building a brand.

What have you learned that surprised you about AMA Iowa that other members or non-members should know? I have been impressed with the in-kind sponsorships that help propel AMA Iowa. Each member of AMA Iowa is able to reap the rewards of these sponsorships and may not realize it. Members benefit by seeing low priced access to educational opportunities and in most cases free social networking events, just to name a few member benefits.

Speaker/event you enjoyed the most and why? I enjoyed the agency crawl events. What a great way to connect and network while relaxing and sharing conversations with peers in the marketplace.

What is your favorite marketing channel and why? I am a partial to radio, as it is the media vehicle I represent. I think that tapping into the news partnerships Radio Iowa (www.radioiowa.com) offers across Iowa allows access to radio markets that wouldn’t otherwise be utilized as a marketing channel. There are so many consumers sitting in non-metro counties across the state that rely on their hometown radio stations and I help reach into those markets via my favorite marketing channel, radio.

Don’t miss out on today’s deadline for submitting your marketing project for the 2012 AMA Iowa NOVA Awards!  The deadline is midnight, Friday, April 6.

We have three new categories this year: Black Hole, Copywriting and Nonprofit Marketing. Check out all of the categories and descriptions at http://www.amaiowa.com/nova2012/.

It’s quick and easy to submit your project. Simply follow these steps:

1. Review the category descriptions and determine where your project best fits.
2. Read through the submission requirements.
3. Complete the entry form.
4. Submit your project.

That’s it! Then join us Thursday, May 10th for the 2012 Nova Awards to see the best of the best!

Owner Tamara Kenworthy, PCM, PRC, describes On Point Strategies two ways:

1. A strategic marketing firm with expertise in market research.

2. A research firm that thinks like a marketer.

The unique combination of proficiency in both strategic marketing and market research has driven the success of Des Moines-based On Point Strategies, which will celebrate five years in business this May.

The firm works with organizations to prioritize and captivate their target audiences to produce loyal advocates, strong brands and measurable results. “We get to the voice of the customer,” says Kenworthy.  

With more than 25 years of experience in marketing communications, Kenworthy founded the firm after spending the first half of her career on the client side and the second half on the agency side. She first “became intrigued” with market research while in Cincinnati and earning her MBA. “I wanted to develop expertise in that area, allowing me to view marketing in a much broader, more strategic way,” she says.

Kenworthy has been a member of the American Marketing Association for 23 years, five of which she spent on the board of AMA Iowa. She credits the organization for consistently providing superior programming and networking opportunities.   She also has received the Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) designation from AMA and the Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) from the Marketing Research Association.

As a small-business owner, Kenworthy doesn’t spend a lot of dollars on traditional marketing and advertising. Instead, she spends a lot of time building her professional network and her own personal brand.

“You’re never too young to start building and nurturing your personal network,” says Kenworthy. “Maintaining strong connections with current and former clients, colleagues and others can come back in spades through positive word-of-mouth and referrals.”

Kenworthy also emphasizes the need to possess “soft skills” such as integrity, ethics and first-class customer service to excel in any professional environment.

For more about On Point Strategies, call Kenworthy at 515-314-6568 or visit www.on-pointstrategies.com/.