Category: Mission to Meet AZIMA Members

May AZIMA Member Spotlight- Mark Goldstein

A Look Inside:

Q&A with AZIMA member and volunteer Mark Goldstein

Mark Goldstein, AZIMA member, volunteer and event photographer, offers his pro bono photography skills as a gift within the Arizona technology community. As the current President of International Research Center, Goldstein runs a technology industry oriented research and consulting practice and has done so for the past 24 years.

What is your Current Title?

 President, International Research Center

Tell us more about your day job

We provide consulting, custom research, business development, and strategic support for business, legal, and public policy clients in a variety of high-technology disciplines and arenas, harnessing global information resources for informed decision making. I build and manage virtual teams of professionals with various skills and competencies to meet clients’ needs. See http://www.researchedge.com/.

What do you do for AZIMA?

 Event Photographer

How did you get involved with photography?

My college degree is in cinematography. Even though that’s never what I did for a living, I remain an avid shooter for pleasure.

What is the best thing about being involved with AZIMA?

I learn so much at the monthly dinner meetings. Speakers are top notch and truly help extend my appreciation for and understanding of social media and various interactive technologies. Always worth the time and often quite illuminating.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new AZIMA volunteer, what would it be?

Keep an open mind and open heart. As you join long time volunteers, there are historical precedents and ways of doing things, but plenty of opportunity to contribute and move the ball forward. Relationship build too, there can be quite beneficial to your visibility in the organization and hopefully lead to new opportunities and friendships.

Teresa Taylor - Mark Goldstein AIIP Headshot 01 04_18_15 Crop

If you’d like to learn more about AZIMA and ways to volunteer or become a member, please visit our website http://joinazima.org/

January AZIMA Member Spotlight – Michael Arce

Breaking the Mold: How One Man Carved His Digital Career

“What do you do?” and “What did you go to school for?” are two overarching conversation starters at nearly every networking event and cocktail party. The real question is, do those two things have to be the same? According to Mike Arce, founder and CEO of Loud Rumor, if you love to learn and embrace constant change anything is possible.

For more and more professionals, finding the right career fit for their talents is more important than ever. Here is the story of an AZIMA member who decided to stop looking for a job to fill, and instead created a career that he finds fulfilling.

Being the founder of a swiftly growing internet marketing agency wasn’t always in Arce’s career plan. In fact, after leaving Arizona State University and owning his own personal training company, delving into the digital realm was arguably one of the farthest things from his mind.

It wasn’t until Arce’s cousin approached him to lend a hand in some business development efforts for her startup agency Crespo Designs, that the seed was planted.

(Enter Loud Rumor.) After falling in love with the industry, Arce and his wife, Marjon, started an internet marketing agency focused on helping small businesses gain new customers and grow their business. Loud Rumor originally found success as a web design company, they then developed a deeper passion for marketing websites, rather than creating them. With the addition of services like SEO,PPC, Facebook Ads, and YouTube Ads, Loud Rumor helps clients utilize their online presence to see real results.

While finding your niche is the first step, it’s certainly not the last on any professional journey. It’s also essential to stay on top of every trend in your industry. According to Arce, modern SEO has changed quite a bit and continues to adjust constantly. In fact, it used to be the main component of marketing plans for Loud Rumor clients.  While it’s still a component, more attention has to be put toward other adapting avenues.

Bringing on the right people is another thing that has kept Arce and Loud Rumor on track for success.

“The wrong people will demotivate you, and make you feel like nothing is going right.  I’ve been there. The right people keep you charged, hungry, and positive,” Said Arce “This includes the people you associate with outside of work. Make sure your circle is a positive one that loves to talk about ideas and creativity.”

Arce also recommends getting mentors, working on people skills as much as marketing skills, and overall taking care of your physical well being.

“If you don’t understand people, it’ll be very hard to find ways to attract them,” said Arce “Whether it’s clients, team members, vendors, or partners.”

Looking for a great place to network and meet like minded professionals in the digital marketing industry? Click HERE to join AZIMA today.

Mike Arce

Mike Arce
Title: Founder and CEO of Loud Rumor
Contact: [email protected]

Why Real People Like AZIMA

AZIMA Members

You’d expect our official site to talk about the benefits of joining the Arizona Interactive Marketing Association, right?

But the people whose opinion matters more aren’t the official ones. They’re the people like you — who don’t automatically believe the marketing story.

Here are the four biggest reasons those people, the real ones, are excited about belonging to AZIMA:

 NETWORKING

Mark Knoles of Gate6 singles out the opportunity to meet fellow professionals as his primary benefit from joining the group, and David Knight of Republic Media agrees. “I can sum it up in one word: networking,” he says.

“It’s a great way for people in the Phoenix metro area to connect with other marketers,” notes Paul Borselli of Ethology.

Networking includes promoting expertise built through association with the group, which can boost credibility for individuals as well as companies.

Joanne Levin, who joined as a Mesa Community College student, refers to her AZIMA activity on her LinkedIn profile. “I promoted that I was coming tonight,” she said at a recent event. “It’s a great organization.”

There’s also the prospect of networking leading to new business, as it has for Cody Landefeld of Mode Effect. “We’ve worked on website projects with other member companies,” he says. “I like the collaboration with folks in the marketing world.”

Jackie Wright of Rainmaker Integrated uses AZIMA meetings as a way to introduce new concepts to people who may not be familiar with every aspect of interactive marketing. “I enjoy bringing digital marketing players into our business model,” she explains.

Equally enthusiastic about spreading the word on digital marketing is Lisa Owen of G/O Digital. “This is a great resource for our account managers and fulfillment team to stay up-to-date on trends,” she says.

LEARNING

Lisa isn’t the only one who appreciates AZIMA’s monthly programs on a variety of topics. Makinzie Loeffler of Medical Marketing Solutions confirms, “I’ve enjoyed learning a lot from all the speakers.”

“The headline grabbed me,” says Clay Hanawalt, a visitor who received an email about a recent program. “I’m interested in Facebook and Pinterest marketing.”

That same event drew the attention of Alexandria Marlar, whose co-worker at Spooner Physical Therapy suggested “this might be beneficial to what I do in my job, which encompasses social media.”

Programs change from month to month, always focusing on different aspects of internet marketing.

Tessa Barrientos of Cramer-Krasselt cites the educational opportunities as one of her reasons for valuing AZIMA. “I’m brand new, and excited about learning,” she says.

“I always come away with inspiration and ideas for marketing our company better,” notes Paul Capodanno of Gate6, and Sean Rogers of Republic Media concurs that membership is a great way of “staying abreast of what’s current, the way the industry is unfolding.”

SOCIAL

While learning from experts is always popular, learning from fellow members is another benefit. “Everyone shares their knowledge with each other,” says Natalie Barreda of Vertical Measures. “You can share ideas and grow, and help each other grow.”

Mixing and mingling before dinner and the program makes it easy to strike up new relationships. “You can meet a lot of people here who do what we do,” observes Andrew Tamm of The Lavidge Company. “You don’t get to do that often.”

That’s true for veterans as well as for new members like Carrie Morgan of Rock The Status Quo. “I joined six weeks ago because I do a lot on the national level but wanted to do more locally,” she explains.

David Knight confirms the value of coming face to face with others in the business. “I’m new here,” he says, “and this is a wonderful way to meet people.”

Of course, there’s more to enjoy than just great conversation by the bar. “I’m here for the food!” jokes Cody Landefeld, and Jorge Tobar of eBay Enterprise expands on that theme. “There’s a cool menu — the speakers and the dinner.”

VARIETY

One reason for the cool menu of programs is that AZIMA is focused on serving so many different aspects of the internet marketing community.

“There’s a wide variety of speakers from around the industry,” observes Sarah Schager of Vertical Measures. “There’s paid advertising, and social, and everything.”

Austin Leonard of eBay Enterprise agrees. “We’re seeing the full Phoenix digital community here,” he says.

“I like the variety of speakers and topics,” says Kathy Morgan of Ethology, and her co-worker Paul Borselli concurs: “It’s important to understand how all four pillars of the industry work together — branding, agency, media and marketing technology.”

Jackie Wright, an AZIMA board member, explains that the blend of perspectives is deliberate. “The business model is fully integrated; you get a 360-degree view of all the facets of marketing,” she says.

Variety also figures into what Roger Hurni of Off Madison Avenue views as the group’s mission:

“Having been one of the founding companies of AZIMA, I’m often asked why it’s beneficial to be a member of it. The reasons are numerous. To start, the value of the membership fee to the number and quality of monthly events is the best educational deal I’ve ever seen — bar none.

“That said, the real value is in the connections you can make with other members. My comment isn’t about the networking, that’s a given. It’s about the conversations you have with other members that can provide you with new insights into new strategies and practices that would be difficult to find elsewhere.”

MEMBERSHIP

If any of these reasons for joining AZIMA resonate with you, you know what to do — click here!

Mission to Meet AZIMA Members: 33

This week’s featured member is Chris Epper from P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. While April’s AZIMA event was his first, we sure hope Chris will be back!

Thanks for joining us, Chris! Hope to see you at the Online Marketing Summit! Don’t forget to register for Online Marketing Summit in Phoenix June 15-17! Register with promo code IMA15AZ, as a friend of AZIMA and  save 15 percent!

Mission to Meet AZIMA Members: 32

This week, I’d like you all to meet Michael McEuen from GannettLocal. Michael said he likes attending AZIMA events to meet others in the interactive and online industries in the Phoenix area.

Thanks for coming, Michael! Hope to see you at the Online Marketing Summit! Don’t forget to register for Online Marketing Summit in Phoenix June 15-17! Register with promo code IMA15AZ, as a friend of AZIMA and  save 15 percent!

Mission to Meet AZIMA Members: 27

This Friday I would like you to meet AZ Lacey French Brown of Agency Side.  Lacey said she loves AZIMA events for all the networking opportunities!  Glad to meet you, Lacey, and hope to see you next week!

It’s almost that time again – time for AZIMA’s monthly social event!  David Szetala will be talking Pay Per Click marketing next Tuesday, March 8th. Register today! Hope to see you there!

Mission to Meet AZIMA Members: 26

Hope you all are having a wonderful Friday! This Friday, I would like you to meet Libbie Miller from Sitewire.  Libbie tells us about her interest in content marketing — one of the things that draws her to AZIMA!

Thanks, Libbie!  Hope you enjoyed last month’s presentation with Joe Pulizzi!  Next month’s event is right around the corner, and you won’t want to miss David Szetala talking Pay Per Click marketing. Hope to see you there.

Mission to Meet AZIMA Members: 25

Hello and happy Friday!  I hope you all enjoyed Joe Pulizzi’s presentation on content marketing.  At the event my colleague, Michael Schwartz took over for me in our video series as I was part of a round table discussion with Joe.  Michael got some great footage and I’d like to share it with you!  I’d like you to meet Martin Zwilling of Startup Professionals Inc. Martin said he works with Start ups and wants to learn more about marketing… making AZIMA events the perfect place for him to learn!

Glad you could make it, Martin!  And don’t forget to mark your calendar for next month’s social event featuring David Szetala talking Pay Per Click marketing.

Mission to Meet AZIMA Members: 24

TGIF! It’s Mission to Meet AZIMA members time. And this week, it’s Sonia Bradley Gleason’s time to shine! Sonia, who works at azcentral.com, she said enjoys attending AZIMA events to network and socialize with other industry professionals.  Also, she loves to learn best practices in the industry and learn trends at the forefront of the interactive marketing space.

Glad you enjoy the events, Sonia! Hope to see you next week at AZIMA’s monthly social event featuring Joe Pulizzi!  And don’t forget, for an added bonus, AZIMA is now offering VIP tickets, which give you the chance to be seated as his table! For details on printing VIP wristbands and tickets contact [email protected].