exper i e nc e e me r g e :
Expand you r n e t w o r k – a n d your sk ills
ANDREA MERRITT
MARKETING
COMMITTEE
CHAIR, EMERGE
Florida Southern
College
C
] O N N E C T
EMERGELakeland.com
If someone had told
me five years ago I
would be the Marketing
Committee Chair for
EMERGE Lakeland, I
wouldn’t have believed
them. In fact, I may
have laughed because
I hated marketing. At
least, I thought I did. I
would tell colleagues at
my previous company,
“If I wanted to do
marketing, I would
have gone to school for
marketing!”
Little did I know, I
would end up loving it,
thanks to EMERGE. It
all began in 2013 when
I wanted to help with
some of the marketing
pieces at work, and
began to dabble in
graphic design. In
exploring this new
4 | FORUM FOR BUSINESS
world, I discovered
two things: 1) I loved
graphic design and
never imagined work
could be so much fun.
2) I had a long way
to go if I ever wanted
to be good at this. To
further my knowledge
and experience in the
subject, I utilized the
only resource I knew of
and joined the EMERGE
Marketing Committee.
I quickly learned
the crucial importance
of this committee,
as the people in this
group are essentially
the only reason our
members know about
our monthly events. As
Steuart H. Britt once
said, “Doing business
without marketing is
like winking at a girl
in the dark. You know
what you are doing,
but nobody else does.”
EMERGE could plan
events all year long,
but the attendance
wouldn’t be what it is
without marketing. This
committee produces
graphics that are
attention-grabbing
and tell a story about
EMERGE and its events.
They draw people in
and encourage them to
click the “RSVP” button.
EMERGE Marketing
committee is more
than the graphics it
produces, however.
We also manage the
social media pages
for EMERGE on
Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram to
connect with members,
potential members,
and other people in
our community. We
produce monthly
newsletters that
are emailed to
EMERGE members
and subscribers. We
produce flyers and
manage advertising
for EMERGE, among
other small marketing
activities. I am so
thankful for the
knowledge, experience,
and relationships I
have gained through
EMERGE and this
marketing committee.
Each graphic I create
teaches me something
new, and I’ve even
gained some experience
working with email
campaigns and
managing a website.
In addition to
increasing skill sets,
EMERGE is a great
place to expand
your network. I
now have contacts
from a plethora
of industries: law,
banking, investments,
moving companies,
therapists, higher
education, healthcare,
hotels, restaurants, and
more! I even found my
new dentist through
someone I met at an
EMERGE event.
No matter what
your personal and
professional goals are,
EMERGE is a great
resource to help you
fulfill them while
simultaneously getting
involved with your
community.