Hampton Roads AMA Mission:
The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association strives to be the premier marketing organization in Southeastern Virginia. We will serve our members needs and the marketing profession via networking opportunities, professional development, and the opportunity to contribute to the Hampton Roads community.
Hampton Roads AMA is the oldest and largest professional association of marketers and the key supporter of the marketing community in Southeastern Virginia and Northern North Carolina.
HRAMA serves product and service providers, educators, students and practitioners at all career levels in such diverse fields as media, federal government, associations, universities and non-profits. We represent a highly professional group of marketing men and women in Hampton Roads, the 27th largest MSA in the United States.
HRAMA represents over 1,000 active participants including more than 100 members from organizations such as The Virginian-Pilot, Cox Communications, Nauticus, Old Dominion University, Smithfield Foods, AAA Tidewater, City of Virginia Beach, Teledyne Hastings Instruments, Zim America Shipping, WTKR-TV, and more.
The Hampton Roads Chapter is part of a respected international society of 38,000 members. The American Marketing Association is the only professional marketing organization to focus on the practice and teaching of marketing. Effective marketing requires the understanding and integration of all disciplines from research to advertising and communications to web marketing.
Your Hampton Roads Chapter board, members, committee volunteers and sponsors are committed to fulfilling our mission.
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HISTORY OF THE AMA
The AMA was founded on January 1, 1937, through the merger of the National Association of Marketing Teachers (NAMT) and the American Marketing Society (AMS). NAMT was essentially an organization of marketing educators and AMS was composed primarily of marketing practitioners with a majority interest in marketing research.
The AMA's original predecessor group was founded in 1915, under the name of the National Association of Teachers of Advertising (NATA). The organization grew out of a conference held by 32 teachers during the annual convention of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World in Chicago in June 1915.
In 1926, NATA added the term "Marketing" to its name in response to an influx of marketing teachers and in recognition that advertising was actually a part of marketing. The name was changed again in 1933 to the National Association of Marketing Teachers (NAMT) in order to shorten it and bring it more in line with the names of other societies.
In the mid 1920s, a second organization in marketing began to develop. Practitioners in marketing and marketing research did not yet have an Association; in 1927, they organized in New York as the Market Research Council. In New York on September 17, 1931 their affiliation resulted in the formation of the American Marketing Society (AMS). The purpose was:
- The advancement of science in marketing by providing for the systematic study and discussion of marketing problems;
- The formulation of standards or principles in this field.
An important AMS provision authorized the organization of regional Chapters. The first was organized in Philadelphia on December 11, 1931. Thus began the movement that has led to the AMA's 74 professional Chapters throughout North America.
Both associations keenly felt the need for an official journal, which would publish material of lasting interest and value to the members. The two associations considered cooperatively publishing a journal, but they could not agree on an acceptable joint program. Each association continued on its own, hoping to be the first to publish a journal in the field.
AMS won the race bringing out the American Marketing Journal in January 1934. The National Marketing Review, published by NAMT, followed in the summer of 1935. These two journals later merged to form the Journal of Marketing with the 1936 summer issue. Late in 1935, each organization appointed a committee to explore consolidation. These two committees prepared a proposal for the merging of the AMS and NAMT to create the organization known as the American Marketing Association. The proposal was approved by a combined 97% of the membership of the two associations, and the consolidation became effective
January 1, 1937. Frank R. Coutant was elected as first President of the merged organization. At the time of the merger, the two associations were of roughly equal size, each having about 300 members. By the late 1970s membership had grown to approximately 22,000. The AMA is one of the largest marketing societies in the world today with approximately 46,000 members.
Early association leaders recognized that marketing educators and practitioners working together in one organization toward common goals could be a powerful force. This important step has proven to be the source of one of our greatest strengths and unique characteristics as an association.
