AMA Triangle board members serve one-year terms, from July to the following June. This series is meant to introduce the folks who do the behind-the-scenes work of our chapter: those who dedicate a large amount of their free time to this group of crazy, passionate marketers.
We sat down for a brief Q&A with our board members, asking about their day jobs, favorite marketing tips and tricks, and more! First up, Ben Ross, our current VP of Communications.Ā
AMA Triangle: Hi! Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi! Iām Ben. Currently serving as the VP of Communication for AMA Triangle. In my non-AMA life, I work at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a higher-education consulting company. Iām in RNLās digital agency division working on a combo of client service and agency operations. Iāve been in the digital marketing field for longer than I care to admit, and love that itās still a field where I can learn something new every day.
AMA Triangle: Favorite marketing campaign or project?
Ben: OK, so this oneās an oldie. Itās a commercial for the VW Jetta from 2002, where the protagonist is reading the ownerās manual and finds an amazing (to him) feature, then runs excitedly to tell his partner about it, as if heād had the next billion-dollar idea. You have to see it for the full effect: https://youtu.be/CttdIFVusqg — Never has a marketing campaign pulled something so directly from my brain and made it into a commercial. It may or may not be a coincidence that I then owned a 2003 VW Jettaā¦
AMA Triangle: Tell us about your marketing experience. What do you love? What do you wish was better?
Ben: Like I said earlier, Iāve been in the digital marketing field for longer than I care to admit (letās just say pushing two decades), and love the fact that I can always learn something new. That being said, I wish feature sets between multiple tools that are crucial for day-to-day work had a bit more parity so that things could be more efficient. But, getting several multi-billion-dollar corporations to play nice is a challenge.
AMA Triangle: What tools/technologies are you using today that are game-changers?
Ben: Microsoft Teams. Itās brought my officeās collaboration and communication to a new level, and integrates seamlessly with the entire Microsoft suite.Ā
AMA Triangle: What do you do in your free time?
Ben: Lately Iāve been doing a lot of exploring of walking paths/Greenways in Cary, trying to stick to the Stay-At-Home order as much as possible. Iāve also been trying to work out at home — so if you see me jumping around my living room looking like a flailing rag doll, youāll know whatās going on.
AMA Triangle: Why are you part of the AMA Triangle Community?
Ben: I joined as someone new to the Triangle looking to make connections in the marketing field. Iāve stayed because of the true community this organization created and continues to foster.
AMA Triangle: What is your AMA volunteer team working on right now?
Ben: We manage the communications across the chapter. E-mail? Us. Social? Weāre on it. Web? Check. Keeping our members and community informed is what we do!
AMA Triangle: Why do you volunteer for AMA Triangle?Ā
Ben: This community has given me so much, and Iām thrilled to give back to it!
If youāre interested in joining our community of marketers, check out our membership options.
To amplify your membership, take a look at our open volunteer opportunities.
