A special note from our Membership Director

This city, these cities we get to call home, (Charleston and Mt. P, West Ashley, N. CHS, the Ilsn) we are so lucky to live in, to grow our businesses and raise our families here. The livability is unlike any other place I’ve been. It’s a place where we can all grow up and live happy healthy, active lives, especially our kids of which as you see, I have twin boys Henry and Jackson, who are living their best lives in Kindergarten at Laurell Hill right now. 

But anyway, I really do feel that we have something special here and the CDC is proof. So, now, we need to do our part to keep us on the map, we need a full team effort. We are known for other industries as well, tourism, hospitality/ culinary, foodies are loving it here. Justin Beiber got married here… you know this is a cool spot then. 

Speaking of super influencers, whether you realize it or not, you are representing our city in every piece of content you share. Are there any lawyers reading this? I’m speaking directly to you. I want to share our city in the best way possible.  I want our soul to shine on the map, not just be there. 

The Coffee Talk I presented at the Charleston Digital Corridor is what I love about being on the board of the American Marketing Association. I got to present some best practices from my World to hopefully make someone else’s World that much better. It was cool because the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce was there as well as the Library. Like Ernest had his goal to bring a diverse workforce here, it’s my goal to help amplify it. At rūmbo, we like to say we help amplify a brand’s soul. This is exactly what I’m asking us to do. With your help, we can do exactly that. Attached to this email is the deck I presented at the Coffee Talk, use it to help up-produce your next piece of video content you share for your brand on social media. 

Don’t blink, half the year will be over before you know it. Maybe in the very near future we will be doing a halfway through the year status on our vision board or mission map for 2022. I had the goal to write more content and do my best to give as much value as I can from day to day, person to person. Maybe you have the same goal in writing and you maybe wanted to do a speaking engagement? This is a great outlet for doing so. In light of adding value to our membership, we thought, why shouldn’t you get the same opportunity? I’m inviting you to be a guest writer for our quarterly newsletter. This is your time to check off that goal you created to be a part of something bigger and an easy way to get your name out there as a thought leader. 

I encourage you to reach out to me if you want to connect, become a member or have questions about video production!

Mike Compton
Membership Director

Compton’s Corner- October Edition

As I’m delivering the last Spark! Awards to our winners, I’m fortunate enough to see these companies with fresh eyes as I’m still learning all that Charleston has to offer. Each company I stop by has its own story, its own KPI’s, its own clients, and most importantly: their own teams filled with HUMANS. They are so very unique and different from each other, yet they all have more things in common than you’d think, the Charleston lifestyle and AMA are the easy ones to point out. I’m sure we can all agree that they all have another major common denominator in creating the best work for their clients so that they keep coming back. This is where I love the Spark! Awards, the best in CHS shine and CAMA gets to brag about it.

Once we dig in, we also find that there are a lot of things we have in common along with the reasons why we should come together as a community. There, I said it, this is our call to action, this is our north star, we are calling for our members to support CAMA with our mission to bring our community together and find growth, together, in our local economy because of it. Look at what the Tech industry is doing with The Charleston Digital Corridor. We can do that with advertising and marketing.

We need to come together and share each other’s stories, for reasons I don’t have to mention (2020 did happen).  

CAMA is in the beginning stages of this Community > Membership campaign. You may have heard that Zuckerberg might famously close his meetings with the mantra “Company over Country” with his fist-pumping in the air. We are taking a different approach, one would say, the opposite approach.

CAMA feels the need to come together as one to put CHS on the map as a creative hub that knows advertising and marketing, not only in the hospitality and tourism industry, but also with the big brands in technology, healthcare, and nonprofit industries. We further lift Charleston as a lifestyle destination for: 

  • Marketing execs that want to escape their (mostly) cold headquarters
  • Recognize and capitalize on the plethora of talent (it is vast!)
  • Charleston’s ever-expanding HQ hub of major brands who continue to build and expand 
  • The booming diversity of small startups, new boutique shops and independent entrepreneurs

The workplace is so remote these days that the HQ or the CMO can be elsewhere and you can still build a prosperous business with a rich marketing strategy. Charleston has so many ties to large organizations or remote workers who are here because they choose to be. People are moving from all over to grow our community. 

I realize I may be alienating or making some execs (SUITS!) feel uneasy with this campaign of Community > Membership, but that’s where I believe we grow. Within these uneasy feelings, begins new conversations, real conversations about corporate consciousness, connecting to the next generation, driving authentic experiences, and truly reaching out for diverse POV’s. 

Technically, I am one of those suits, and as an agency owner, I feel that it’s important for us to constantly be putting ourselves and our businesses out there with authenticity and a touch of vulnerability that will help our culture thrive along with our KPI’s and ROI. This is not a new concept, but it’s finally getting the respect it deserves. Be HUMAN, put people over profit, share your stories, share your strategies, be vulnerable, your brand will grow and you’ll help your client’s brand grow with you, instead of the other way around. Beiber sings about it, lol, you’re the BRAND now!

For that to happen, we have to start by being the change, we have to be the voice and complacency is not an option. Know that when you join CAMA you aren’t just joining a club, a grocery store coupon list, a gym or just paying a yearly subscription to discounted CAMA events – you’re joining our community. Our growing, thriving, interesting Charleston marketing community.

Community > Membership.

Email me if you want to participate in this campaign with us: mike@charlestonama.org

Mike Compton
Director of Membership