New Mexico State University’s National Agri-Marketing Association team competed and made it to the semifinal round at the National NAMA competition in Kansas City, Missouri, April 6-8. The team was in the top 10 and recognized for its marketing work on the producer product, “The Gateman.”
NMSU NAMA is a team of undergraduate students that works to create a successful marketing plan for a new-to-market or under marketed agricultural product. Students learn first-hand on the process of developing and marketing products. The program also provides students with the opportunity to develop professional networks, collaborate with peers and business professionals to obtain information, get experience in leadership roles, establish relationships and foster career development through research and personal growth.
“NMSU NAMA provides students countless opportunities, from career and professional development to networking skills to actual hands-on marketing knowledge,” said Chadelle Robinson, NMSU NAMA adviser and Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business assistant professor.
The team worked along with PensAgro to assess the market potential and develop a three-year marketing plan. NMSU NAMA worked through all the stages of planning including market research to product development and presentation. This year the producer product was “The Gateman,” an automatic polywire lifter used to assist United States livestock producers in meeting growing conservation and grass-fed market demands. They won an award for their product’s tagline, “Let the Gateman Do the Lifting.”
According to Lexi Montgomery, NMSU NAMA president, the development of this year’s marketing plan included conducting a livestock producer survey to gather and organize data, which helped the team identify promotional strategies for their product.
“We conducted market research to direct our promotional spends, which were reflected in our income statement to our promotional budget,” Montgomery said. “We also identified current market trends to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for our plan; each of these components are closely integrated and took a great deal of time and consideration.”
The team received numerous awards. Robinson received the 2022 National NAMA John B. Reilly Outstanding Advisor Award Recipient. The NMSU NAMA team were 2022 semifinalists and won the 2022 “Most Likely to go Social Media Viral” award, 2022 “Best Product Tagline” award and the 2022 National NAMA “TikTok Student Orientation Challenge.”
“NMSU NAMA fared well yet again at the national level in Kansas City, Missouri, the team’s hard work paid off,” Robinson said. “Students were able to witness a range of presentation styles from fellow top-tier universities.”
“I am thrilled to have brought home many awards,” Montgomery said. “NMSU NAMA loves to have fun and work hard and it showed.”