Tag Archives: AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed Chicago

A Repulsive Ice Cream Treat

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When I lived in Myrtle Beach and was part of our local Knights of Columbus chapter, I volunteered with my brother Knights at a concessions stand inside the city’s minor league stadium. The name and theme of the stand—Windy City Wieners—played off the parent club of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans—the Chicago Cubs.

The signature item we served at the stand was the Chicago Dog. The Chi-Town staple consists of a hot dog placed in a poppyseed bun topped with mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, spicy sport peppers, and celery salt. I got pretty good (and fast) at making Chicago Dogs for customers but I never had the desire to try one.

So when people found out I was going to Chicago they naturally asked me if I knew what a Chicago Dog was and whether I was going to order one while I was there.

Yes and no.

While I definitely knew what a Chicago Dog was after making so many of them with my own two hands, the last thing I would ever want to do was eat one. I am not a fan of most condiments, especially ones of the mustard and relish varieties.

However, if there was ever a possible exception to my Chicago Dog disdain, it was presented to me last week.

On Monday night, a vendor that attended the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education held a social at Chicago’s Ice Cream Museum. I wrote about our visit and shared some photos in a blog post from last week. However, in that post I refrained from sharing one of the more eccentric offerings in the museum.

In a corner of the facility was a young woman behind a cart offering ice cream Chicago Dogs. I know what you are thinking…What? How? Why?

This isn’t a joke! They make ice cream Chicago Dogs at the Ice Cream Museum.

I guess in the spirit of one of Chicago’s most beloved food items, the thought was that there should be an ice cream version. But to be honest, I think it was more repulsiveness than actual ice cream. This is how it is made: They take a poppy seed bun from a local Chicago bakery and fill it with hot dog-flavored self-serve ice cream! They then top it with the actual Chicago Dog toppings…well at least the mustard and relish from what I saw. Then people actually eat it!

Did I try it? Heck no! And that’s coming from an ice cream and hot dog lover like myself who would do just about anything for this blog. I did watch other people try it though. Cara and I observed one guy grimacing in genuine disgust as he tried to eat his. After that, I stopped watching people try to eat the monstrosity because it was just too weird and disgusting.

So there you have it, a true example of me giving a hard pass on “ice cream.” Would you try it?

Chicago Thursday Rundown

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If you notice a couple extra typos and grammar mistakes in tonight’s post you can chalk it up to jet lag. I am still trying to adjust after arriving back home from Chicago yesterday afternoon. So as long as you can tolerate that, let’s proceed with my latest five topics.

Hello, Chicago – What better way to really feel like you are in Chicago than to have this view from your hotel room? Each night I went to bed I marveled at the hustle and bustle of Downtown Chicago seemingly right beneath me. On the two full days we were there, I also found a couple moments to sit on the chair by the window and just really soak in the magnificent Chi-Town scene while listening to my “Catechism In A Year” podcast. So much appreciation and energy!

A look at the view of Downtown Chicago from my hotel room.

Ice Cream Museum – On Monday night, one of the vendors at the AMA Higher Ed Symposium hosted a social at the Ice Cream Museum in Chicago. They had me at “ice cream” as I told Cara that we HAD TO go. The museum was decorated in a way that made it a selfie paradise. It also boasted plenty of ice cream trivia, a sprinkle “swimming pool,” and unlimited ice cream. The Ice Cream Museum was definitely the cherry on top of a fabulous day in which Cara and I presented earlier. Thanks to Open Fortune for hosting us.

A few shots from our Ice Cream Museum experience in Chicago.

Deep Dish – Besides ice cream, I also had the chance to eat famous Chicago deep dish pizza. Cara and I went to Giordano’s on Sunday night as I ordered a chicken pesto pie. Because deep dish pizza takes a little longer to cook than other pizzas, it gave us time to soak in the restaurant’s busy atmosphere and to watch the Seahawks defeat the Commanders on a last-second field goal.

On Sunday night we ate deep dish pizza at Giordarno’s.

Taylor Swift Experience For Sloan – This past Saturday Sloan was over the moon stoked when she was invited to go to the movies to see “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” Adding to the excitement was that our friend, Fidela, asked her to go. Fidela is the same friend that went with Sid to the Jonas Brothers concert and someone who Sloan looks up to. Our daughter made it through the entire three-hour movie and loved every moment of it. Thanks for taking her, Fidela!

Sloan walking into the theater to watch the Taylor Swift movie.

Baby Poll – This showed up in my Timehop from seven years ago and it just reminded me of an exciting time. We were close to learning Sloan’s gender and my University Marketing and Communication colleagues at Coastal Carolina University decided to create this poll. How can you not notice the “social media” onesie they included on the sheet? Interestingly enough, the office sided with “boy” by a 10-9 vote. Sloan had other ideas.

This was the baby poll that my office did while working at Coastal Carolina University in 2016.

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That will wrap things up for this Chicago-themed rundown. I may be back from the Midwest but things are just going to get even busier. Hold on! Don’t Blink.

Crushing It In Chicago: Our 2023 AMA Higher Ed Experience

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The stage was bigger and the pressure a little greater at this year’s American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. The AMA organizers didn’t hesitate to point out a couple impressive facts. First, it was the largest AMA Higher Ed Symposium in the history of the event. This year’s conference eclipsed 1,500 people! Second, and perhaps even more daunting, was the acceptance rate for speaking proposals: Just a mere 11% of the proposed sessions submitted for the conference were accepted. And with such a slim acceptance rate, you could imagine that the organizers had no problem reiterating that all sessions would be amazing.

A lot to live up to, right?

On Monday, Cara Hoag and I presented “Not Your Parents’ YouTube” to a 300-person packed conference room in the Sheraton Grand Chicago. We came prepared.

Cara and I presented “Not Your Parents’ YouTube” on November 13, 2023, at 3:45 p.m.

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This AMA speaking opportunity was a little different from my previous two. When it came to this year’s conference, I had both experience under my belt and control over our presentation. In 2019 I was an AMA newcomer and when I presented last year I was collaborating with co-presenters from different states. So to be an AMA vet and to have the luxury of serving as the project manager for this go-around was fantastic.

After submitting our proposal in April and receiving news of our acceptance in June, Cara and I dialed ourselves in from August through November to prepare for our presentation. Over the course of that timespan, the two of us strategically spaced out the selection of content, outline of the presentation, construction of slides, rehearsals, and implementation of feedback. Because of our planning and pacing, we were prepared and confident when our plane touched down in Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

But that’s not to say that I still don’t get nervous. 😊

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Because of preparation, a crowd-pleasing intro video, and rich content our presentation went off without a hitch and was enthusiastically received. We had the pleasure of answering questions that reached the double digits during our allotted session time and then were swarmed at the stage afterwards with more questions. It was gratifying to field inquiries from major institutions like the University of Florida, Clemson, and Oklahoma State about how we managed to transform our YouTube channel from a lifeless communications landing spot into a Gen-Z marketing vehicle.

Cara and I all smiles after we answered the final question that put a cap on our AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed presentation.

Cara and I both breathed a sigh of relief that our presentation was scheduled for Monday. Not only did it ensure that more marketers could attend our presentation (attendance tends to dwindle on Tuesday and Wednesday) but it also allowed us to relax for the rest of the conference. Presenting on Monday relieves the presentation burden that no one wants to carry deep into the symposium. Also, presenting early allows other people who attended the presentation to approach us with questions they weren’t able to ask while we were on the stage. And, not going to lie, it is kind of nice to feel like a low-key celebrity.

Being a speaker at a big conference can bring a lot of anxiety. It is preferred to present early so the burden is eased.

Our AMA experience wouldn’t be possible if not for others. Thank you to the AMA Higher Ed committee for choosing us out of so many proposals and to AMA manager Christine Lucenta for helping us with logistics both prior to/during the conference.

Big thank you to our boss Holly Sitzmann for helping us with our proposal and for giving us honest feedback when we rehearsed for her. Much appreciation to our creative director Eric Limburg for creating our Powerpoint template. Our presentation would not have been the same without the intro video produced by Andrew Botterbusch of Peak Visuals. And, most important of all, thanks to our #WSU video team for making the topic of our presentation even possible. If it wasn’t for the talent, effort, and buy-in from Jason Refsland, Kara Billington, Rhynne Lee, and Devon Lockard-Dodd (along with WSU video staffers before them), our YouTube re-launch would not have been possible.

Last but not least, I would like to give a special thank you to Cara Hoag. It was such a pleasure to work with her throughout the entire process. We made a strong team and she did such an incredible job while presenting. There is nothing better than having a partner who is the ultimate team player, dependable, and talented.

What an honor it was to present with Cara Hoag. She made me look good.

I am leaving Chicago happy and fulfilled. It is always good to step outside your comfort zone and show what you know. I think it is safe to say that Cara and I made the most out of our opportunity. Don’t Blink.

In Chicago For AMA Speaking Opportunity

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As I write this, I am about to depart on the first leg of a flight itinerary that will take me to a familiar conference in a new place where I will do something that never gets old.

I am on my way to Chicago where I will present at the American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. This will be my second consecutive speaking opportunity at AMA as I presented at the 2022 conference in National Harbor and my third overall as I also presented at the 2019 conference in Las Vegas.

I am thrilled and honored to speak at the 2023 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed.

However, this won’t be a rinse and repeat exercise. After presenting with colleagues from two other Pac-12 schools and TikTok in 2022, I will share the stage on Monday with my very own co-worker and friend, Cara Hoag. The two of us will present about how our WSU University Marketing and Communications team transformed our YouTube channel from a communications platform into a Gen Z-first marketing tool. It has been a lot of fun working with Cara the past few months on this presentation and we are looking forward to delivering it to the brightest minds in our industry.

Can’t wait to present with Cara Hoag on Monday.

The conference is taking place at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk as I am psyched to visit one of our country’s largest and most famous cities. It is in this heart of downtown Chicago where I will have the opportunity to learn about the latest trends in higher ed marketing, catch up with friends in the industry, meet new university marketing professionals, and of course leave it all on the stage when Cara and I present on Monday afternoon. I also plan to at least get a peek of what Chicago looks like outside the walls of the Sheraton Grand.

Looking forward to learning and presenting at the Chicago Sheraton.

If you are attending this conference, make sure to check out “Not Your Parents’ YouTube” by Cara Hoag and Brent Reser at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13. If you are a regular Don’t Blink reader and couldn’t care less about higher ed marketing, you can still send good vibes our way 😉. Thanks to Washington State University for this opportunity! Don’t Blink.