Extra-Curriculars: NAMA - 6:1

NAMA: What Is It?

NAMA, or National Agri-Marketing Association is a club here at NDSU that connects with other similar clubs across the nation. We are a network of individuals in an ever-evolving world of Agri-Business, with a focus on marketing and creativity. The goal of NAMA is to develop marketing plans, learn the different languages of networking and to work alongside professionals while creating a competitive marketing strategy over the course of the semester to be judged at a national competition against other universities.

The Project & Process:

First, all members divide themselves into groups dedicated to research, creativity, and strategy. We research products that could be made out of a certain element of agriculture, and go from there. Last year, we unanimously decided on creating and marketing oatmilk-based ice cream to the West Coast, as we had all noticed a rise in Veganism there and a surplus of oat production in the midwest. We formulated a product and began working on a plan. Marketing and Economic majors gravitated toward numerical research and planning, Agriculture majors had a tendency to research the effects that our plan would have in the Midwest, and Sociology majors researched the general populations of the West Coast to better understand the habits and traits of the people we were marketing the product to. I was part of the Human Research team and was one of the main writers and editors for the 5 page plan, and I do believe that was one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I have ever done on campus.

Accomplishments:

After our hours of research, collaboration and writing, half of the team traveled down to Kansas City, MO, to present our marketing plan to several panels of judges. The competition consisted of several rounds - the first two based primarily on the writing portion of the plan. Although I could not attend the competition, I was accoladed for my contribution and my excellent writing skills, which were said to have carried the project all the way to the third round with ease, which made me quite proud. There were still three hour rounds to be overcome. These consisted of presenting and explaining our plan, strategy, budgetary breakdowns and the main populations we would be targeting for the product. We narrowly made it to the final round, and just when we thought a previous long-time champion university had beat us, we won! Winning is a prestigious achievement - and many corporations in the Agri-Business industry keep a close eye on the winners, and offer them incredible job opportunities within hours after the competition results are announced.

Although I could not attend the competition last year, I am still a proud and dedicated member of NAMA, and plan to be there in person this year! More to come in the next post.