The Sparks Awards program is underway and heating up, and Charleston American Marketing Association is accepting campaign entries through August 20. We have sharpened our pencils and finetuned the categories a bit. The Firecracker Award now applies to excellence in interactive media to include websites, email marketing, banners ads and search engine marketing. The newly added Blaze Award highlights excellence in social media to include social networking sites, blogs, wikis and video networking sites.

Those who enter the 2010 Spark Awards have a unique opportunity to be recognized as marketing innovators throughout the state of South Carolina. Promotion for the 2010 AMA Spark Awards will reach members of statewide media and an extensive database of statewide marketing professionals through a thorough communications plan that includes event publicity, public relations, the AMA website, AMA newsletter and direct email promotions. For 2010, Charleston AMA Spark initiatives focus on increased statewide visibility, substantial marketing of the event and a significant rise in attendance from previous years. This presents a unique opportunity for companies and people like you to reach the decision makers in the marketing industry – all benefiting you and your company.

Quick link to Spark webpage: http://www.charlestonama.org/events/awards/entry-form/

If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Garrigan at 843.693.4183 or info@charlestonama.org.  Good luck to you!

This year’s event has all the makings of an incredible party–open bar, an exclusive guest list (that includes YOU!) and two of Charleston’s hottest DJs ready to battle it out on the turntables.  Duvall Catering is bringing the food, so you know it’s going to be good, and NV is serving up a brand-new signature drink, just for our event.

Kick back in the VIP lounge with an NV mojito…just like the original, but with dark rum and brown sugar…need we say more?  Come mix and mingle with Charleston’s most creative marketing talent, and make some connections that will help you keep your business booming long after the hot Charleston summer.

Tickets are $25/members and $30/non-members…that includes all you can drink, all you can eat and meet some of the most creative professionals in the Lowcountry.

Don’t wait! Register today!

Check out photos of NV, here.

Tell us in three sentences your about nominee’s involvement in the marketing community, commitment to results and effectiveness as a leader. Email your nomination to info@charlestonama.org.

• Nominations will be accepted until July 15, 2010.
• The Charleston community will vote on all nominees.
• Finalists are determined by the top five nominees that receive the most votes from the Charleston community.
• Finalists will then be contacted by August 1, 2010 and the following information collected: Place of Business, Signature Project, Project Goals, Project Results, Nominee’s Role in Project.
• A panel of judges from another (out of state) AMA chapter will then review and score each of the finalists’ submissions and select one Marketer of the Year.
• The Marketer of the Year will be announced at the Charleston AMA Spark Awards in late September 2010.

Contact:
Nicole Garrigan, Director of Awards
info@charlestonama.org
843.693.4183

Name:

Company: Bartles & Associates

Title: Business Management Consultant

1) Two sentences about your company/position.
We are a company that helps businesses run their business from strategic planning to execution and project management. So many businesses go into business because they do something really well, which isn’t necessarily running a business and that is where we come in to help.

2) What is the best advice you could give a younger marketer?
Always know and understand your client’s target market as well as their competitors. Research.

3) What is your favorite website or who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter?
Website: marketingprofs.com
Twitter: My friends

4) Why are you a member of Charleston AMA?
I work with my clients in a holistic approach to their business which entails everything from Human Resources to bookkeeping to vendor/project management and especially marketing and marketing strategy.

As a member of the AMA it helps me keep up with marketing trends and innovative ideas to help my clients have better strategies than their competition as well as get to explore resources we can utilize in strategic planning.

Check out Ronii’s website Bartles & Associates, here.
Follow Bartles & Associates on Twitter.
Find  Bartles & Associates on Facebook.

Carolyn Lagarenne

Name: Carolyn Lagarenne

Company: Freelance Public Relations/Communications Professional

Title: Public Relations & Communications Specialist

1) Two sentences about your company/position. I manage and provide extensive public relations, communications, and marketing support to top executives. Services include but are not limited to copywriting; editing; managing promotions, fundraisers, and media relations; and event planning.

I am currently seeking a full-time public relations/communications position.

2) What is the best advice you could give a younger marketer? Network. Continue to learn. Know your audience.

3) What is your favorite website or who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter? The Southern Casting Call is my favorite Web site. I check it daily for audition and casting call information.

4) Why are you a member of Charleston AMA? I am an active member of Charleston AMA to network and to stay abreast of marketing topics.

To learn more about Carolyn, please visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynlagarenne

Name:

Two sentences about your company/position.
I am a Marketing Manager for the employer-focused business segment of Benefitfocus, located in Charleston, SC. I specialize in campaign development and am always looking for new and interesting ways to reach our target audience of Fortune 2000 companies.

What is the best advice you could give a younger marketer?
Never give up! You will have to face obstacles and adapt to changes you never saw coming, just try to deal with it in the best way you know how, do the right thing and trust your gut!

What is your favorite website or who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter?
ChasCityPaper is great for local news, Your HR Blend in my favorite for interesting tidbits and random facts about HR, workplace trends, etc.

Why are you a member of Charleston AMA?
It’s a great way to meet people in the local marketing community and learn about what they are doing. There are also several opportunities to listen to fascinating people talk about their marketing careers and experiences during the monthly luncheons.

Name:

Two sentences about your company/position.
Whether in print, web, video, audio or tweet, at HK we are masters of creating compelling messages. From the ground-up, we’ve built small companies into renowned brands.

What is the best advice you could give a younger marketer?

There are many ways to skin a cat.

What is your favorite website or who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter?

@imabug

Why are you a member of Charleston AMA?

It’s the cool kid’s table.

Name: Ted deLoach
Company: Crowson Stone
Title: Vice President

Two sentences about your company/position.
Crowson helps marketers integrate technologies and efficiencies into their planned or existing print communications strategies. With a pure focus on execution, we help reduce costs, improve working capital efficiency and accelerate speed to market. My role is to consult with business leaders and help assess which of our tools will create the greatest return for them.

What is the best advice you could give a younger marketer?
Get connected. Be patient. Keep learning.

What is your favorite website or who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter?
I’m on Twitter, but don’t really follow anyone too closely…
As for a website – I like howstuffworks.com

Why are you a member of Charleston AMA?
As my company has grown and evolved over the years, I have always felt it was important to get involved in local associations. I have been a part of several area organizations as time permitted, but I think the focus on measurement of results really got my attention at AMA.

Justin Rockwell, Owner, Web Strategist, OIR Interactive
Teri Backfield, E-mail Marketing Specialist, OIR Interactive

Justin Rockwell, Owner and Web Strategist of OIR Interactive, LLC an interactive marketing agency in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. and OIR’s E-mail Marketing Specialist Teri Backfield will dive into the world of mobile and e-mail marketing. They’ll be taking a look beyond basic digital marketing and focusing on what new digital methods marketers can use and the analytics that go along with them for the best possible impact and return on investment for your brand.

While mobile marketing is still in the beginning stages as compared to the more mature advertising mediums such as television, radio, print and even the Internet, mobile is quickly emerging as an advertising channel with full-impact. Rockwell will explain the various methods of mobile marketing, who is currently using them, and what works and what doesn’t so marketers can get started with mobile today.

Backfield will take a personal approach to interpreting e-mail marketing analytics and reading between the lines to maximize your e-mail marketing exposure. We have all sent an e-mail for a business, now it’s time to do it right by following examples of industry leaders and encouraging you to create new trends for your brand’s e-mail marketing messages to grow.

Thanks to our monthly sponsor:

Register

Renew your relationships and build your business in 2010! It’s a great time to reconnect with old contacts, and with 43 new members joining the AMA in 2009, it’s an even better time to connect with new ones!

Join us on January 7 from Noon-1:30 at the Charleston Marriott for our January Luncheon, “Creating New Connections for the New Year”.

We will facilitate a speed networking session that will reconnect you with your marketing peers. Share experiences and successes, discuss challenges and identify opportunities for collaboration in to the year ahead.

Don’t miss this chance find out how your business, service, or expertise can contribute to your peer’s marketing goals, and how theirs can do the same for you!

It’s all about creating synergy in our industry as we take on the next year, and the Charleston AMA want to help facilitate your connections! Bring a big stack of business cards and come ready to network.

Register Here