Marketing Forward

In a marketing world that never stands still, staying ahead means thinking differently. Join the Southwest Michigan American Marketing Association on Tuesday, April 15th in Kalamazoo for Marketing Forward—a conference designed to challenge your approach and inspire your strategy. From the ethical trade-offs of AI to the power of cross-functional alignment, you’ll have an opportunity to network with local professionals and gain insights that will sharpen your skills. Don’t miss the marketing event of the year.

We have three AMAzing presentations lined up:

Marketers have fallen hard for generative AI hype. Nothing more than, as one scholar puts it, algorithms that “haphazardly [stitch] together sequences of linguistic forms … ersatz fluency,” gen AI requires a steep price for participating in an illusion of value: We're displacing marketing talent while polluting the channels we rely on to help businesses find our brands.

There’s also an ethical price: It's a biased system that causes harm to many (“the civil rights issue of our time” as one scholar puts it), using precariously employed—if at all—data workers, with an unprecedented environmental impact, while stealing content.

This against-the-grain, controversial session asks marketers to face this difficult reality and consider steps to wrestle back value.

SPEAKER:

Aaron Templer, Founder + Strategist, Three Over Four

Owner + Author + Publisher, Templer Tantrums

In today's business environment, where every action influences the bottom line, collaboration between sales and marketing is essential. Yet, many organizations struggle with misaligned goals, misused resources, and missed opportunities when these critical teams fail to connect. Emily Krause, Founder and Chief Marketing Strategist of Amped Up Marketing, delves into the transformative power of aligning sales and marketing to drive growth and profitability.

This session will explore how breaking down silos between sales, marketing, and other departments fosters a cohesive, cross-functional environment that elevates organizational success. Emily will highlight practical strategies for forging stronger relationships across leadership, sales, compliance, product teams, IT, HR, and more. Attendees will learn how cross-departmental collaboration ensures alignment with organizational goals, enhances customer relationships, and drives both individual and collective success.

Join to discover actionable ways to build alignment, improve communication, and create a seamless experience for your team and customers—proving that when sales and marketing unite, the entire organization wins.

SPEAKER:

Emily Krause, Founder and Chief Marketing Strategist, Amped Up Marketing

What did it take to lead and help launch the biggest Jesus

campaign in history? Come get insights into Bill McKendry's personal journey before he was asked to spearhead the He Gets Us effort as well as professional insights gained through the entire process.

3-5 Main Takeaways:

1. Proven processes drive progress and success.
2. Powerful problem statements shape powerful solutions.
3. Identifying moveable and non-movable audiences supercharges focus and efficiency.
4. Changing behavior is key to changing attitudes.
5. Continuous improvement requires continuous monitoring and willingness to change.

SPEAKER:

Bill McKendry, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, BrandHaven

MASTER OF CEREMONIES:

Eric Hultgren, Midwest Director of Marketing, Advance Local

Host or Publisher AMA Southwest Michigan