On Friday, October 27, 2017, Temple University American Marketing Association (TU-AMA) hosted the 5th Annual Regional Marketing Conference, where the theme was “Adapting Content to the Future.” The sold-out event was attended by over 170 people, including collegiate members of AMA from the College of New Jersey, West Chester University, Pennsylvania State University, Virginia Tech, and Lehigh University. Also in attendance were industry professionals from Burlington, Merck, SideCar, Horizon Media, Publicis Groupe, Kantar Health, AmerisourceBergen, Mangoes, and Ipsos, many of whom were Temple alumni.

Fara Warner, vice president of custom content at The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), was the keynote speaker. Her presentation addressed the changing demands of media toward millennials and how content needs to be delivered to adapt to evolving preferences.

WSJ also collaborated with TU-AMA to offer a case competition. Seventeen teams submitted a written case memo, and the top eight teams were selected to present to WSJ professionals. A TU-AMA team of sophomore Anastasia Postolati, freshman Emily Allocco, and freshman Anjali Sachdeva won the case competition with their recommendation to implement a student blogging page, “The Wall,” designed for college students to interact on WSJ through publishing stories and commenting on news articles with other millennials. The team also recommended the adoption of “Street Team,” a WSJ student ambassador program on college campuses. The winning team will travel to New York City to work for a day with WSJ professionals to create the ideas presented in their case.

Speakers from Vox Media, the Brownstein Group, and Chatterblast Media also presented, focusing on the ever-changing growth and demand of digital marketing and provided guidance for millennials to adapt to these changes to succeed in the field. A brief Q&A followed each presentation to engage attendees eager to discuss these ideas.

Anastasia Postolati, Anjali Sachdeva, Emily Allocco

The conference provides a unique opportunity each year for students to network with professionals, students from other AMA chapters, and Fox alumni. The Fox School’s Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management and TU-AMA will host the 6^th annual conference again next October.

Students were enthusiastic and pleased with this year’s conference. Here are some of their comments:

“It was awesome to hear from a wide array of professionals from different fields and stages in their career. Zach Khan, from Vox Media, talked about his ‘go-get-em’ mentality and it was inspiring to hear as an upperclassman who is looking for future careers.” – Elliot Barbell (Junior, Marketing major, Digital Marketing minor)

“I liked the variety topics talked about by the speakers. Matthew Ray [from Chatterblast] was hilarious yet informative and relatable at the same time. It was fun to watch him throw an entertaining twist to marketing.” – Amna Mahmood (sophomore, kinesiology major)

“From a film perspective, the conference helped out with networking and allowed a great atmosphere for learning from very experienced professionals.” – Steven Aronow (sophomore, marketing/media and production major)

“It was interesting to hear from professionals in the industry about the new ways they’re marketing to different demographics. Specifically, how The Wall Street Journal is attempting to target the younger demographic.” – Patrick Lavelle (junior, marketing major)

TU-AMA graciously thanks their conference sponsors for their support: DVIRC, Harmelin Media, Mikey Robbins, Pita Chip, Saxbys, Temple Book Store, Under Armour, WaWa, WSI, The Wall Street Journal, and of course, the Marketing and Supply Chain Management Department.

Learn more about the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management.

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