Letter from the President
October 2026 | Charlotte AMA
One of the things I love most about marketing is that you can never really know it all.
There’s always something new to discover whether a technology changing the way we work, a consumer behavior we didn’t see coming, a campaign that makes us stop and think, or an unexpected idea from another industry that sparks a completely different way of looking at a problem.
That’s why I believe one of the most important qualities a marketer can have isn’t a specific skill or even a certain number of years of experience. It’s curiosity.
Curiosity pushes us to ask why. Why did that campaign work? Why did consumers respond the way they did? Why is one brand connecting with its audience while another is struggling to break through? And perhaps most importantly, what can I learn from it?
As marketers, we have an incredible opportunity to be curious about the world around us. We can look beyond our own industries, job titles, and areas of expertise to find inspiration. A conversation with someone in a completely different field can lead to a new idea. A brand you’ve never paid much attention to can suddenly make you rethink how you approach your own work. Even something as simple as noticing an interesting ad while scrolling through your phone, listening to a podcast, or walking through a store can make you stop and think about what made it effective.
Curiosity also means being willing to challenge what we think we already know.
And in a marketing landscape that continues to evolve so quickly, that mindset has become even more important. New tools and technologies are changing how we create, analyze, and connect with audiences. Consumer expectations continue to shift. The channels we use today may look very different a few years from now.
We don’t have to have all the answers. But we do need to keep asking questions.
That’s one of the things I value about being part of the AMA Charlotte community. Some of the best learning doesn’t happen in a formal presentation. It happens in the conversations we have with other marketers. Sharing an idea over coffee, meeting someone new at a happy hour, talking about a challenge we’re facing at work, or simply hearing a perspective that makes us look at something differently.
You never know which conversation might spark your next idea.
So this month, I want to challenge you to stay curious.
Read something outside your usual area of expertise. Pay attention to the brands and campaigns you encounter every day. Try a new tool. Ask your customers or colleagues a question you haven’t asked before. Connect with someone whose career or industry looks different from yours. And when you find something interesting, share it with someone else.
You never know where the next great idea will come from.
As we move through the fall, I hope you’ll make time not only to keep growing as a marketer, but to stay curious about the people, ideas, and experiences around you. And, of course, I hope you’ll join us for one of our upcoming AMA Charlotte gatherings and bring that curiosity with you.
Because sometimes the best ideas aren’t found by looking harder at what we already know. They’re found by being curious enough to look somewhere new.
See you around Charlotte!
