Once again NAMA is pleased to report that we exceeded last year’s attendance numbers and brought even more agri-marketers to Kansas City for the 2013 national conference with a total of  1,248 professionals and students from across the country.  This is the highest attended conference since 2000!

Anders Sorman-Nilsson kicked off the conference with a discussion of  his concept of “digilogue.”  Simply stated it’s taking the measurability of digital communications and combining it with emotion and accountability of more analog style outreach.  Analog is needed for transformation, digital for information.  He urged conference attendees to take advantage of new media tools to embrace the transparency being demanded by customers and use them to tell the real story of American agriculture.

Josh Linkner explained the virtues of creativity calling it the “currency of success.”  He noted creativity is 85% learned and shared simple ways to nurture creativity in the workplace.

Throughout the rest of the conference, agri-marketers enjoyed time to meet face-to-face with clients, attend breakout sessions on diverse topics like developing web content and monetizing social media and walk through the Connection Point Trade Show.  Attendees were encouraged to visit each of the 65 exhibitors to enter to win great prizes.  Congrats to Teresa Roof, Rosemary Schimek, Cait Schneckloth and Justina Frost, who each won an iPad Mini.

The Closing Brunch speaker, Damian Mason, had the audience laughing out loud with his special brand of humor.  Each attendee received a special departing gift from Mason – a bumper sticker carrying the words, “Agriculture: Because Starvation Sucks.”

During the conference, NAMA presented two distinguished awards. Thad Simons, President and CEO, Novus, accepted the 2013 Agribusiness Leader of the Year.  Steve Vandeberg, Director, Edectocide Marketing, Merial Limited, was named 2013 NAMA Marketer of the Year.

Congrats to  Best of Show Winner – Advertising, Beck’s Hybrids; and Best of Show Winner – PR, Minnesota Pork Board and Minnesota Pork Producers Association! Click here for a complete list of winners.

Visit NAMA on Flickr to see the full Agri-Marketing Conference album.