The University of Maine American Marketing Association (AMA) travelled to New Orleans from April 3 to April 5 to compete in the 2025 International Collegiate Conference (ICC) for the first time since 2019. The large event featured several prominent speakers, networking opportunities and competitions related to product marketing for members of the attending chapters.
AMA is a national organization for business students in higher education. Its UMaine Chapter offers a range of experiences, from guest speaker series of local alumni and people in the field to networking opportunities and personal development events such as visits to marketing firms. Furthemore, UMaine AMA hosts LinkedIn, resume and Canva workshops. Events are open to all interested students who want to learn more about marketing.
Andie Lovejoy is a second-year student majoring in business administration marketing. She has served as president of AMA since the former president graduated last spring. Lovejoy shared that there were a total of five continuous student participants as of last year. That number has since increased to 28 active members.
“This conference a year ago was pretty much just a dream, and we made it happen within the last year. We brought seven of us to the conference. That’s two more people than we even had at meetings last year,” said Lovejoy.
Elaina Eves is a second-year business management and marketing student. She serves as AMA vice president. One of her projects involved introducing two new positions in Fall, which were director of social media and marketing and director of fundraising and philanthropy.
Lovejoy’s main responsibility as AMA president is to envision how the club might expand and grow. She encourages other members of the team to contribute ideas as well. Eves, as vice president, focuses on operational matters related to some of the new initiatives and programs. Both Lovejoy and Eves mentor board members who are newer to the Maine Business School.
According to Lovejoy, preparations for the ICC began a year ago with a written chapter plan. A board of three people considered the factors of going to the conference. Interested members submitted applications to be considered for attending, and all seven of them were eligible. The next step was figuring out the budget of a costly trip. The majority of it was funded by a partnership with a local tourism group. In return, UMaine AMA offered a package of four marketing projects.
Once a new board was elected this past December, more specific planning was done, such as deciding on a hotel, travel methods and event registrations. Lovejoy and Eves gauged which members were interested in which competition options, and what best fit their strengths. They also created an Itinerary packing list. According to Lovejoy, since the students and faculty adviser who attended the 2019 conference are no longer at UMaine, the organization was “brand new” in a sense.
The ICC included multiple sessions led by professionals in the field. Other chapters from across the country were present and provided insights that can be applied at UMaine AMA. There was also an organization fair for students to meet hiring employers and a keynote speaker on each day of the conference. Two of the speakers included Announcer of New Orleans Saints Mike Hoss and Marketing Director for Minnesota Vikings Martin Nance.
Much of the programming was interactive for attendees, specifically the marketing-based competitions. Lovejoy competed in a marketing simulation with three other members. While the competition was five-hours long, she felt that it flew by due to the spirited intensity.
In many cases, the competitions were not only sponsored by well-known companies, but actually run by their marketing departments. Eves also competed in a competition judged by a representative from the JBL company.
“I competed in the design lab competition, which essentially was another version of a marketing strategy competition. It was a partnership with JBL which is super cool. JBL has an influencer program already set up called JBL Campus and we were tasked with creating a marketing campaign for the product launch of their new pair of headphones,” said Eves.
There were also connecting events for AMA chapters to socialize with one another, such as musical chairs, a DJ party and custom t-shirt exchanges. Lovejoy and Eves described the value of networking as pivotal to marketing students, as it lays the foundation for a successful career.
The ICC helped UMaine AMA members gain confidence in networking skills due to the opportunities to approach new people. All attendees were encouraged to participate in at least one of the many program options. According to Lovejoy, the students seemed most excited about the leadership speakers from other chapters because they inspired club ideas.
“There’s nothing to lose. It’s ultimately just a lot of fun. It gives you hands-on experience as well, which a lot of our members haven’t gotten a chance to do yet,” said Lovejoy.
To join UMaine AMA, students can start by attending a meeting, then access the email list through their Instagram. The organization leaders send weekly message updates on what is coming up and what events were recently offered. Dues go toward the AMA national membership. Lovejoy and Eves are available to help with the registration process.
