I also wanted to let you know that our Signature Lunch events are planned through June. 

• In January, Hala Moddelmog, the President of Arby’swill speak. Hala was formerly the CEO of Susan G. Komen. Prior to Komen, she was CEO of Church’s Chicken. You will definitely want to hear what she is doing to grow the Arby’s brand. Plus, there will also be some yummy gifts! We have already sold lots of tables and this one will definitely sell-out.
• In February, Sara Beth Zivitz will speak to us from Groupon. Sara Beth previously lived in Atlanta and worked for Pink Magazine before she moved on, went to Harvard Business School and then to Groupon. I can’t wait to hear what is new with this exciting company!
• In March, one of my favorites, J. Walker Smith is returning to speak to the AMA by popular demand. Walker has been a member of AMA for many years and currently serves on our AMA executive advisory board. He has written many books and articles on trends. These books include: Generation Ageless, Rocking the Ageless: The Yankelovich Report on Generational Marketing and Coming to Concurrence: Addressable Attitudes in the New Model for Marketing Productivity.
• I am happy to say in April, my mentor, Nancy Gibson, Global VP of Shopper Strategies and Solutions at Coca Cola will present to us. I have known Nancy over 16 years. Nancy is smart, sassy and is the leading global authority on shopper marketing. Read about her in our Tribute to Mentors at http://tinyurl.com/3lcnkxg.
• In May, Kat Cole, the President of Cinnabonwill be in the house. Kat is the young, brilliant and beautiful leader of Cinnabon. Kat is someone I’ve also known for many years and admire greatly. Imagine someone who looks like Angelina Jolie, has the global-view of Bono– all combined with the brains of Warren Buffett—and then you will understand why I like Kat so much.
• In June, Del Ross, VP at InterContinental Hotelswill speak to us. He will give us insights on the Holiday Inn rebrand success.
• Sign up on our site at www.ama-atlanta.org

Happy 2012 all. Can’t wait to see you in the new year.

All the best,

Jo Ann  Herold

watercolor of my favorite journals

I love the new year. It can be the first day of the rest of your life. Every year, around this time, I write-out my resolutions using a brand-new journal.

On the top of the list this year:

1. Spend more time with family. Especially with my daughter, Lily. We are going to take more trips this year–including going to the MSU bowl game in Nashville this week. Go dawgs.

2. Continue to grow sales and profits @arbys.com. Love this brand and the delicious products. Also want to continue to do good work with No Kid Hungry. We are working with Share Our Strength to eradicate childhood hunger by 2015.

3. Have a fun end-of-the-year celebration for AMA on the Rooftop at the W Hotel (hint: we need a sponsor). We have so much good momentum with this smart group. Membership  and sponsorship has grown by leaps and bounds. We are working towards winning the chapter of the year! Check us out @ www.ama-atlanta.org

Happy New Year. Hope it’s filled with health, wealth and the time to enjoy!

So, what do I mean by this?

1. Do what you love, love what you do. I try to find jobs or work that don’t feel like work. Even if the project or job feels daunting in the beginning, my recommendation is to dive in, understand what needs to be done and own the project. I often ask others for their advice if I am not sure how to get something done. I receive great input and my advisor’s really appreciate being asked for their opinion.

2. Over-deliver on the deliverables. Exceed expectations when asked to do something. Most important, make sure to do the full-time job with excellence. Once that is mastered, go beyond what was asked and look for areas that could be improved. Don’t wait for someone to ask you about the project–be proactive in giving updates and calling a meeting to showcase your work. Get others inspired by what you are doing.

3. Give back and be there -People who volunteer are truly the cream of the crop and the top 10%. The first step of accomplishment is simply being there. Volunteers are the people who want to learn new things and have their fingers on the pulse. These are the people with whom I like to be around and learn from.

4. Good things will come. When the passion and the purpose are evident, the plum assignments will follow. What gives me energy is loving what I am doing–and being able to do great work. And isn’t that the key?

• In January, Hala Moddelmog, the President of Arby’s will speak. Hala was formerly the CEO of Susan G. Komen. Prior to Komen, she was CEO of Church’s Chicken. You will definitely want to hear what she is doing to grow the Arby’s brand. Plus, there will also be some yummy gifts!  We have already sold lots of tables and this one will definitely sell-out.
• In February,  Sara Beth Zivitz will speak to us from Groupon.  Sara Beth previously lived in Atlanta and worked for Pink Magazine before she moved on, went to Harvard  University and then to Groupon. I can’t wait to hear what is new with this exciting company!
• In March, one of my favorites, J. Walker Smith is returning to speak to the AMA by popular demand. Walker has been a member of AMA for many years and currently serves on our AMA executive advisory board. He has written many books and articles on trends. These books include: Generation Ageless, Rocking the Ageless: The Yankelovich Report on Generational Marketing and Coming to Concurrence: Addressable Attitudes in the New Model for Marketing Productivity.
• I am happy to say in April, my mentor, Nancy Gibson, Global VP of Shopper Strategies and Solutions at Coke will present to us. I have known Nancy over 16 years. Nancy is smart, sassy and is the leading global authority on shopper marketing. Read about her in our Tribute to Mentors at http://tinyurl.com/3lcnkxg.
• In May, Kat Cole, the President of Cinnabon will be in the house. Kat is the young, brilliant and beautiful leader of Cinnabon. Kat is someone I’ve also known for many years and admire greatly.  Imagine someone who looks like Angelina Jolie, has the global-view of Bono– all combined with the brains of Warren Buffett—and then you will understand why I like Kat so much.

More to follow, but did want to let you know. I also wanted to alert you that our events have been selling out. I would suggest reserving your seat now at www.ama-atlanta.com

Speaking of events that sold out, were you able to attend the panel on Marketing 20 / 20? It was an all-star panel that received rave reviews. Thanks to LaserStream video, one of our newest sponsors, you can view the panel on our AMA You Tube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqg4iztvG4Y. Also, read a great recap from Louise Mulherin in her blog http://tinyurl.com/7jbrc5v. In this blog, you can also find a link to white paper.  We set a record for number of Tweets and #amaatl was trending in Atlanta.

I really enjoyed the holiday party and would like thank Marion Yoder for planning it.  A big “shout out” to YuMe for sponsoring the event. It was great to spend time Caitlin Borgman and her dynamic YuMe team. There was lots of great buzz about YuMe—and we are excited to get them more involved in AMA. We are also delighted to have Definition 6 and Michael Kogon in the AMA family. It was fun seeing John Levinson from the AJC and meeting new friends, such as Erin Perez from Arke. We are working with Cynthia Good and Pink Magazine on a collaboration. Moreover, we have lots of new group members including the Cartoon Network, Moe’s, Georgia Pacific and others. Needless to say, our chapter is growing by leaps and bounds.

Finally, the AMY’s are coming up @ the Fabulous Fox. I love the chicness of the AMY’s and think it’s the Oscars for the Atlanta Marketing crowd. Check out the site at http://www.amyawardsatl.com/

You will definitely want to start thinking about which campaigns you want to submit in our call for entries (maybe all of them?!). Kudos to our AMA Marketing geniuses, including Jennifer Beech, Angad Chera, Teresa Caro, Bottlecap, Modo Modo and the AMY committee for their heart and soul that go into planning the AMY’s .

 Happy holidays y’all!

 I feel fortunate that I found a career in marketing where I can pursue both my passions and purpose. AMA has helped in so many ways.

Here are the 5 C’s of why I love AMA:

1. Connections: Some of my best friends are volunteers for AMA. Volunteerism is a wonderful way to give.
2. Collaboration: The board members meet and collaborate at 7:30 am (yawn) to develop relevant and fun programming for its members.
3. Curiosity: Always with an intent to learn, the AMA programs and events are designed to provide current, timely events that keep our members ahead of the curve.
4. Courageous: As marketers, we are always asked to take risks. The happiest people are those who jump off the side line, jump-in and participate. AMA provides opportunities to try new things that you might not be able to do at work.
5. Communications: AMA is a great way to hone communications skills.  Whether it’s writing a blog, tweeting, or speaking—AMA can help you try out new things.

Our upcoming winter schedule is packed with great speakers. Hope to see you at the Twisted Taco on December 1. Also, don’t forget to sign up to see Hala Moddelmog for the January luncheon. This event will sell out—and you won’t want to miss it. Sign up at www.ama-atlanta.com

So, what did I do?

The first thing I did was join AMA. www.AMA-Atlanta.com
I went to hear the AMA’s speakers and continuing education. The programs opened my eyes to how smart marketers think and gave me tools and insights on what is the latest thinking in business and marketing. I also went back to school later and earned an MBA.

Second, I discovered that most successful people have strong mentors. I have been so lucky to have several mentors. I want to give them a shout out and express my gratitude.

Nancy Gibson was my first mentor.  She and I worked together for 10 years while at HoneyBaked Ham. Whip-smart, strategic, loyal to her people and irreverent are traits that I love about Nancy. She was formerly the Global Director of Diet Coke in the 90s. While working together @ HoneyBaked, she taught me about brand management and the importance of listening to the consumer. She is back at Coke and continues to be a rock star. She heads up global shopper marketing and serves to inspire others at Coke. www.coca-cola.com

I think about Nancy almost every day. I often write down WWND…code for What Would Nancy Do?! Her fun personality–coupled with her wit and wisdom always are in style.

Ken Bernhardt is another person for whom I would walk through fire for. For those who don’t Ken, you should. He has been involved in AMA for 30 years. He was President 20 years ago. He’s a Professor at Georgia State and has taught and mentored many people. Ken helped me grow as a young chief marketing officer at HoneyBaked. He introduced me to the Georgia State Marketing Roundtable and helped provide further education on what successful marketers do to grow sales and profits. Ken is always willing and able to lend a hand. Moreover, Ken recently won AMA’s Lifetime achievement recognition and helped raise over $100,000 for AMA scholarships. He helps Atlanta and marketers in so many ways. www.gsu.edu

I have the privilege to work with one of my mentors while I am at Arby’s. Hala Moddelmog is Arby’s President. I reached out to her over a decade ago when a read an article about her in Nation’s Restaurant News. I cold called her and asked her to go to lunch.  I was surprised  when she said, “yes.” She didn’t say yes because she had lots of free time. At that time, she was CEO of Church’s Chicken. She said yes because she believed in the value of helping others grow. From there, Hala went on to become CEO of Susan G. Komen. Lucky for me, Hala is now President of Arby’s and is successfully growing sales for the Arby’s brand. Through the work at Arby’s, and its Foundation, we are also working to End Childhood Hunger through Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry initiative. I am lucky to work with Hala on a daily basis and help drive profitable sales for the iconic and beloved Arby’s brand. www.arbys.com

I feel fortunate to have such tremendous resources and mentors.  Curiously, do you have a mentor? If so, who is it?

1. Conviction-If you can conjure up conviction, you can use disaster as an opportunity for growth, and turn loss into challenge.

2. Breath-There is nothing more practical than breath, and nothing more mystical. Breath is the bridge between body and mind-you too can cross it.

3. Longevity-  The goal of life is to die you-as late as possible.

4. Be present-Show up and be present. Being present allows us to access to power,  presence and clear communication. Live in the now.

5. Have fun-The best part of the trip is hanging out and connecting with my best buddies and laughing on our morning walks.

Sign the Pledge

It is truly our members that make us what we are, so we are excited to warmly welcome all those new members who have joined us since the Spring Membership Drive earlier this year, and continue to be appreciative of those who continue to remain with us year after year.

We are thrilled to announce that AMA Atlanta was recently awarded the national honor of having the most new members during our Spring Membership Drive – more than any other chapter across the country!

Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers on the Membership Committee for helping to make the Spring Drive a success.

Amazing facts about Southwest Airlines:
4th leading brand in the world
The only airline to be profitable for 38 years straight
No layoffs in 38 years
Employees come first:
“Happy employees –> happy customers –> happy shareholders”
Their flight attendants used to wear hot pants
Southwest Airline has three core values:
Have a warrior spirit (work hard), a servant’s heart (treat others as you’d like to be treated), and a fun-loving attitude (take work seriously but not yourself).
It’s easy to be cheap or to be really good; it’s challenging to be both inexpensive and good.

To be successful, you have to be two things – the first to get in the game and the second to stay in the game:
Smart – good strategy, marketing, operations, etc. – “all the MBA stuff”
Healthy – minimal politics, strong understanding of the mission among employees, an organization that lives the mission.
An injection of the human spirit into a bad product delivery (e.g. a canceled flight) can convert it to a good experience that inspires repeat purchase.

Don’t practice random acts of kindness – practice routine acts of kindness.

Good culture starts with how you hire. You can’t train for happy and nice – you have to hire for it. Hire for attitude, train for skill.

Ask front line employees like receptionists and security guards to weigh in on prospective hires: how someone treats the people on the bottom of the hierarchy tells you all about their true character.

Leadership trumps all: leaders must model the kind of customer service they want employees to deliver. Lead with an “other” orientation.

If you’re in a job where you have to sweat over things like “lid slosh” in the margarine tub, find a new job.

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