Standing: Clyde Allen, NAMD Exec Director, Deborah Crable, Past NAMD Chairman, Norm Bond, NAMD Chairman. Seated:- NAMD Award Winners, Alvin Hartley (for Andrew Morrison); Howard Buford, Ken Smikle
The National Alliance of Market Developers, Inc. (NAMD) held its 59th Annual Marketing Conference in Harlem, New York at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture. The theme, “The Future of Black Advertising” set the tone for this year’s conference for marketing and advertising professionals.
The conference started off with a “Meet and Greet” continental breakfast for all sponsors, speakers and attendees. This proved to be a great warm-up for this year’s attendees. The opening session included a retrospective of “Black Advertising Past and Present” by Dr. Joel P. Martin, President of TRIAD West, a snapshot of “The Urban Consumer Market Report” by Clyde Allen, President of Allen and Partners, Inc. and a review of “The 21st century Black Consumer” by Crystal Barnes, Director of Industry Relations Global Marketing of The Nielsen Company. With over 125 attendees throughout this one day summit, NAMD continues to provide qualitative data and vital consumer research information on the African-American market and the impact of this segment on the current economy.
The highlight of the conference was “The Future of Black Advertising: Town Forum” that provided some great information and dialogue for all the attendees. Sponsored by The Nielsen Company, the moderator Pepper Miller, President of the Hunter-Miller Group opened the session for the distinguished panel. The panelists consisted of Alfred A. Edmond Jr., Senior Vice President/Editor-at-Large of Black Enterprise; Larry Woodard, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Graham Stanley Advertising, Inc.; Teneshia A. Jackson-Warner, CEO of Egami Consulting Group; Sherman Wright, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Commonground Marketing and Floyd W. Green, III, Head of Community Relations and Urban Marketing for Aetna Inc.
The finale of the conference was the NAMD Marketing Awards luncheon with Shaw for 98.7 Kiss FM as the master of ceremonies. The Awards and awardees were as follows: the Moss Kendrix Marketer Award was awarded to Howard Buford, President and CEO of Prime Access, Inc.; NAMD Entrepreneur of the Year Award was awarded to Andrew Morrison, Founder of Small Business Camp; the NAMD Communicator of the Year Award was awarded to Ken Smikle, President and Founder of Target Market News. The awards show wrapped up with a strolling lunch, networking amongst attendees, and a general meeting session for members, which included national elections
NAMD conference sponsors included Aetna, Inc., The Nielsen Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Reynolds American, Allen and Partners, Inc., and the Southern Heritage Foundation. Media sponsors include Black Enterprise Magazine, The Atlanta Tribune, WNYC, The Black Professional News and the Chicago Defender.
The National Alliance of Market Developers, Inc. (NAMD) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 1953 by Black marketing specialists. It pioneered the research, development and economic insights into the Black consumer market. We remain dedicated to promoting the value and impact of the Black consumer market and fostering business growth for African Americans by serving as a conduit for learning, teaching and networking.
For more information visit our website at www.namdntl.org For more information on the NAMD conference, contact Norm Bond, NAMD Chairman at (215) 796-0206 or Clyde Allen, Executive Director at 908-561-4062 or visit the organization’s website at www.namdntl.org.
