Since taking the step to join national board I have been really looking forward to working with my co-director, Kate Senter, to organise the 2012 JCI UK Marketing Academy. As part of our commitment to raising the profile of JCI UK we have spent the last three months organising a jam packed weekend. To say we were excited was an understatement!

The 19 delegates at this year's academy had a really broad knowledge of knowledge of marketing which created a fantastic opportunity for members to come together to learn and share our combined experience and knowledge of marketing. This can benefit each of us as individuals, our local chambers and the organisations we work for.

The training sessions covered by Kate, Claire and Lisa Price (2009 President, JCI Sheffield) included PR, branding, stakeholder engagement, the marketing mix and measuring our successes. We were also lucky to have local multi-media business, Oxyfire, and social media guru Kym Hall, from iheartbusiness, to join us to share their insights into their areas of specialism.

Oxyfire delivered a fun and interactive session on how to produce short promotional clips for use online and it was great to see members practising interviewing each other and filming at the same time.

Kym Hall has the most amount of energy I think I have ever seen, certainly for 9:00am on a Sunday morning! She delivered a whistle stop tour of her amazing journey to setting up her international social media company, giving members lots of hints and tips along the way.

So what did the delegates really think? When I got home on Sunday evening nervously read all the feedback forms but I think some of the comments we received speak for themselves really:

"It was really amazing. I really enjoyed it and learnt a lot that I can use in the chamber and in my life. Thank you very much Kate and Claire."

"Really well done, very organised, great content and tasks. Lots of passion from Kate and Claire (and advanced knowledge of the subject)."

"As a new member I was made to feel really welcome - thanks!"

 "I have really enjoyed the academy, lots of ideas to take back to my chamber."

WOW - we were blown away! Thank you to the 19 graduates and all the trainers who made such a fantastic contribution to the weekend.

Claire Evans
Communications Director, JCI UK

PS - We've already been asked if we would consider delivering the academy again in the south, something we are really excited about. If you would be interested in attending the JCI UK Marketing Academy then add a comment to this blog to help us to get the ball rolling.