Refreshed events program draws strong support

President's Report
By Roger Powell, AMI Victoria President

Welcome to our second newsletter for 2011. The year is flying by and we have certainly entered winter based on the chill in the Melbourne air! Your State Council has been ‘hot’ and hard at work developing programs and services for you.

The CEO breakfast series seminars have been outstanding and I really encourage everyone to come along. Not only is it a great way to catch up with colleagues and friends, but the content has been outstanding and highly educational. You can read reports on the April and June seminars in this issue.

The first of our networking and drinks meetings at Sloaney Pony exceeded our expectations and all who attended have indicated what a great event this was. We hope to see you at the next one on 23 June. Go to details and registration

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Snap marketing poll: please take part

Communications subcommittee member Martin Wells (pictured) is conducting snap polls for the Council through the Survey Monkey site to get data on members' views. This month's poll requires two minutes (at most) to tell us what you think. To participate in the AMI Victoria poll, click here.

How to spend a $72 million advertising budget

CEO Breakfast Series Report
By Anthea Cherednichenko AFAMI CPM

If you call yourself a marketer and have not heard of Russel Howcroft, then you must be living under a rock. With a hit show on the ABC and heading up one of Australia’s most renowned agencies, Russell oozes advertising. It is no wonder, then, that his keynote presentation at AMI Victoria’s CEO breakfast series sold out.

The expectations were high and Russel did not disappoint. With humour, humility and honesty, Russell shared his hard-earned and well-respected view of the advertising and marketing world.

Inspiring marketing creativity was shared through the likes of the Wicked Sick project; the integrated 'It’s no Picnic' campaign, where consumers were encourage to try and eat a whole picnic bar in 30 seconds … and film it; and Just Car Insurance taking modification to a whole new level – with a hotted up car and campaign that included a TV program to boot. If you have not seen any of these, do google them and watch with your marketing friends for a giggle and some motivation.

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Members embrace networking evening

Networking Evening Report
By Christine Walker AMAMI

Everybody who turned up to the first Victorian networking function at the Sloaney Pony in Port Melbourne on 12 May got the idea – lots of introductions and lots of exchanges of business cards. The volume of chatter was high all night and everyone left having met someone they had not met before.

There was a great mix of members, with students, young marketers and the somewhat older coming along. We even had a bit of ‘structured networking’, where everyone had to find the person whose card they pick out of the prize bowl. The noise level in the room went up a level again as we all tried to find each other and ended up meeting pretty well everyone in the process. When it came to the fabulous Arid Zone door prize there were not any cards left in the bucket, but it was soon refilled and the prizes flowed.

Arid Zone also provided a gift pack, so no one went home empty handed, and everybody went home with some new marketing friends. I can’t wait for the next one – it was a great, relaxing way to meet a real diversity of people in marketing.

View photos from the networking evening

The next networking evening will be on 23 June – go to details

Back to basics for Bang & Olufsen

CEO Breakfast Series Report
By Dianne Gardiner

On the first day of winter, as guests arrived bright and early for the third breakfast in our CEO series, they looked longingly towards the stage at a beautiful Bang & Olufsen Beosound 8.

Alas the audience’s hopes died quickly when Victorian president Roger Powell announced the display was not today’s door prize!  But we were not disappointed, as Julian Kipping, CEO, and Tyler Mathes, Marketing Manager, shared their journey of how they took a luxury brand through the GFC and beyond to come out better on the other side.

Now, if you know anything about Bang & Olufsen, you know it is anything but basic.  But through their case study, Julian and Tyler illustrated how getting back to basics and focusing your efforts on what really counts can result in a more efficient and effective marketing program. 

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Market research: what do members want? 

In the April newsletter we announced that market research into the Victorian membership was under way. Christine Walker AMAMI shares key insights that have been revealed.

You have just got to love the way research can open up a topic and make the unseen obvious. The Victorian Council’s recent qualitative research with members (and some lapsed members) was looking to understand the value of AMI membership to marketers.

The three key member requirements that emerged were recognition, networking and knowledge.

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Corporate member profile: Ego Pharmaceuticals

Stephanie Clayton is a member of the Victorian communications subcommittee and this month she talked with Caroline Hounsell (pictured left), Marketing Manager, Ego Pharmaceuticals, about its AMI corporate membership.

Ego Pharmaceuticals has had a corporate membership with the AMI for more than 10 years. Under the guidance of Caroline Hounsell, the Ego Pharmaceuticals marketing department has five brand managers, a marketing coordinator, marketing assistant, a marketing services manager, an artwork team and a demand planning function. The international division also includes a small marketing team that is able to benefit from AMI membership.

Ego Pharmaceuticals is a family owned company that manufactures and distributes quality pharmacy skincare products worldwide.

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A confident introduction to the real world

Emerging Marketers Victoria Report
By Stefan Bugryn

Stepping out of university and into the real world can be daunting for young people. No more wagging classes. No more Wednesday night drink-ups. No more weekday sleep ins. It’s time to knuckle down, find a real job and become a valued contributor to society.
Emerging Marketers Victoria (EMV) is dedicated to helping these young marketers to change the pace and launch their careers. The EMV Committee is the largest and longest running of the Emerging Marketer groups across the Australian Marketing Institute. Its success is further highlighted by the largest number of dedicated followers.

Each year, we organise events and programs that enlighten Victorian students and young markets on various aspects of the marketing industry. These include presentations from respected marketers and companies such as L’Oreal, TAC, Foster’s Group, BMW and World Vision (among many others.) Two of our most recent events are reported below.

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Fast Facts – did you know ...?

• Victorian members comprise 30% of the AMI membership.
• Another record number of new members from a wide range of industries joined AMI Victoria in April 2011, reflecting a growth of nearly 15% compared with the same period last year. Students represented 73%, with the majority from Deakin University. (Other student memberships included Monash, Melbourne, La Trobe and Australian Catholic universities.)
• CPM is the peak professional benchmark for marketers in Australia. CPMs represent 25% of AMI Victoria members with two new CPMs awarded during April.
• 54% of Victorian members work for organisations with a turnover greater than $5 million.

(Figures as at April 2011)

— Compiled by Bruce Croad

What’s On in Victoria?

• 23 June: drinks and networking at Sloaney Pony, Port Melbourne. Go to details
• 13 July, CEO breakfast series seminar, speaker Daniel Leesong, CEO, The Communications Council. Venue: Zinc at Federation Square. Go to details
• 4 August, evening networking. Venue: Sloaney Pony, Port Melbourne
• 10 August, national-level conference, Brand Finance Forum. Theme: Digital Media: Building or Eroding Brand Value? Venue: Sydney Harbour Marriott. Go to details
• 22-26 August, national-level conference, Marketing Week. Pre-conference master class on 22 August. Venue: Hotel Grand Chancellor on Hindley, Adelaide. Go to program preview
• 24 August, CEO breakfast series seminar. Speaker: Amanda Gome, CEO, Smart Company. Venue: Zinc at Federation Square

Upcoming training in Victoria

• 16 June, Master class, Managing Marketing Communications in a 'Push and Pull' Marketplace
• 22 June, Advanced workshop, Measuring Marketing Performance
• 29 June, Advanced workshop, Market Research for Marketers
• 26 July, Foundation workshop, Principles of Media Release Writing
• 27 July, Foundation workshop, NEW! Media Release Writing Extension
• 3 August, Master class, NEW! Brand Architecture
• 8-9 August, Foundation workshop, Principles of Marketing
• 10 August, Foundation workshop, NEW! Segmentation for Competitive Advantage
• 16 August, Foundation workshop, Principles of Digital Marketing
• 23 August, Master class, NEW! Customer Management

Go to Victorian events calendar