The ABEF Online Media Package auction is underway! The auction started on Wednesday, April 7 and will continue until 5:00 p.m. on April 14. New packages have been added, so don’t miss out on the great opportunities!

To view the online auction media packages visit, http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/bidco.htm.

Note: If a bid is received on an item within the last 30 minutes of the auction, the auction will remain open on that item through the next business day until 5:00 p.m. (central time). This process will continue until no bids are received within 30 minutes of the bid closing.

ABEF Silent Auction – Donations Still Needed!

Please join your agri-marketing peers in supporting this worthwhile effort by donating to the auction. Click on the Pledge Form to indicate your donation and/or interest in the project.

Any worthwhile product or service will be gratefully accepted. Some of the most popular items auctioned in past years include:

* Framed and limited edition artwork
* Media packages for broadcast, print & Internet
* Professional services
* Premiums and wearables
* Collectibles
* Sports tickets and memorabilia

Thank you for help in supporting the ABEF!

NAMA is excited to announce some new social media tools that will be implemented at the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference!

Text Updates – Text updates will be available to those who sign up to remind you of what events are happening prior to the start of them.  To sign up for the text updates at the 2010 conference please visit http://www.nama.org/amc/index.html. Thanks to Commodity Update for providing the text updates!

New Digital Signage will be provided courtesy of AGCanada.com Network.

Mobile Program – You will have the opportunity to get the conference program on your phone to better help direct you to sessions, the Connection Point and other conference activities so you don’t miss out on important events. Sign-up information for the mobile program will be provided in the upcoming weeks. The Mobile Program is courtesy of Farm Progress Companies, powered by iNet Solutions Group.

NAMA Blog – in keeping with tradition, the entire conference will be blogged. If you are unable to make it to the conference or if you just want a recap of the day’s events at conference, just visit www.namablog.org. The blog is sponsored by Successful Farming and maintained by AgWired.

The 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference is a little over a week away, but you can get started on who you want to visit in the Connection Point.

Determine where booths will be located and find out more about the exhibiting companies before the event by taking a trip through the Virtual Trade Show at http://www.nama.org/amc/ts/virtual.htm. (Please note: It is best to view the Virtual Trade Show with Internet Explorer.)

Connection Point Hours
Wednesday, April 21
6:00-7:30 p.m. – Best of NAMA Celebration Reception courtesy of Pfizer Animal Health & Woodruff Sweitzer

Thursday, April 22
12:30-2:00 p.m.-Trade Show Luncheon courtesy of Furniture Row Racing/Car of the Heartland
12:30-1:30 p.m.-Student Mentor Luncheon courtesy of SFP
3:00-4:00 p.m. – Ice Cream courtesy of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine
5:00-7:00 p.m. – Trade Show Closing/ABEF Silent Auction courtesy of NAFB & John Deere

Midlands NAMA chapter members and guests held their March meeting at the ConAgra Foods Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. The meeting began with a tour of the ConAgra Foods campus followed by a presentation by John Lindell, brand manager for Healthy Choice.

Lindell gave a general overview of ConAgra’s strategic priorities and then an in-depth look at their frozen foods business, primarily focusing on the Healthy Choice brand. In the past year, Healthy Choice has re-invented itself with a new look and new recipes. Lindell said the brand had been over-extended, so the company reined it in before reinventing. He shared the market segmentation approach for Healthy Choice, their strategies in social media and how they conducted market research in Seattle, where people are least likely to buy frozen meals. Lindell said he still has a lot of faith in TV advertising, where they spend $30M of their $100M advertising budget for the brand.

ConAgra Foods is a Fortune 500 company with 25,000 employees worldwide.  ConAgra Foods brands are found in 97 percent of U.S. households under consumer brand names of Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice, Hunt’s, PAM and Reddi-Wip.

A special thanks to John Lindell for his insight into marketing Healthy Choice as well as Kari Gehling at ConAgra for helping coordinate the meeting.

Former NAMA employee Janet J. Welch 58, passed away April 4, 2010.  Jan worked as a meeting planner at NAMA for 16 years and enjoyed traveling the world with her family. She is survived by her husband, Terence Welch; son, Matthew Welch; mother, Jewel Waid; sister, Kristy Johnston, brother Steven Waid. Fond memories and condolences may be left at www.porterfuneralhome.com.

We’re excited to announce that the registration numbers for the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference are up compared to previous years. Don’t hesitate, register today!

The early registration deadline for the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference is Wednesday, March 31. Please register by March 31 to receive the early registration rate for the conference.

To register for the conference visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=8.

Hotel Cut-Off Date
The Hotel Cut-off date for making reservations at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center is Tuesday, March 30. Reservations made after March 30 are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability.

With our registration numbers being up, the block is filling up fast, so please make your reservations today! Reservations can be made by calling the Hyatt at (816) 421-1234, please mention NAMA when making your reservations. You can also reserve your room online. We have 2 room blocks at the Hyatt, one for professionals and one for students.

Professionals online reservations – http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknagr2010

Student online reservations – http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknags2010