The American Marketing Association now offers group memberships for four or more people who receive a paycheck from the same employer, even if they work at different locations. Those eligible include marketers, researchers and academics* from the same entity located anywhere in the United States and Canada.

Each entity must have one main contact who manages the relationship with the individuals in the group, completes the group applications, and coordinates and submits the group membership dues.

Rate Structure
Fees for group membership are as follows:

For each group member, the fee includes:

• Membership in one local AMA chapter
• A subscription to Marketing News magazine
• A subscription to one other AMA magazine or journal
• Subscriptions to any of AMA’s electronic newsletters
• Membership in one Special Interest Group (SIG)

Members may purchase additional magazine subscriptions, chapter memberships and SIG memberships for an additional fee. (All e-newsletters are free.)

* Group membership is available to MN AMA and Academic members. Collegiate, Doctoral, Young Professional and Emeritus members are not eligible. Membership is not transferable within an organization. If an individual leaves an organization, membership accompanies the individual.

How to Register for a Group Membership
Group membership registration is coordinated through the AMA Customer Service Center. The process works as follows:

Application
The Organization Key Contact (OKC) downloads and completes Group Membership Application (an editable PDF) from MarketingPower.com. Next, the OKC sends the application via mail, fax or email, or phones the information to AMA Customer Service. At this time there is NOT an online application for group membership. AMA Customer Service receives and processes the application.

Process
AMA Customer Service sends a Membership Preferences Form to each group member. Members will have up to 7 business days to complete and return it to AMA Customer Service. Should AMA Customer Service not receive a new member’s Preferences Form, default preferences* will apply. Upon receipt of all Membership Preferences Forms, AMA Customer Service enters/updates member profiles and calculates the total group membership cost.

Payment
AMA Customer Service sends an itemized invoice to the OKC including the order details for all members in the group. The total amount will include any additional publications, SIGs or chapters selected. Next, OKC submits dues payment via phone or mail. AMA accepts the following methods of payment: check, American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa. AMA Customer Service processes the payment, activates membership, and sends member confirmation to the OKC and the individual members.

Prorated Membership
If an organization already has one to three AMA members, it may add new members to take advantage of the group discount. Since all members of a group must have the same expiration date, existing memberships are extended to correspond to the group expiration date, with the additional months prorated at the group rate. The organization is then invoiced accordingly.

Steps for calculating dues for groups with existing members:

• Determine the group membership expiration date. Membership is for one year and expires on the last day of the month of expiration.
• Determine the number of months the existing membership(s) will need to be extended.
• Multiply that number by the appropriate monthly group rate.
  • 4–9 members — $18.75 ($225/12 months)
  • 10+ members — $16.67 ($200/12 months)
• Add that prorated dues amount to the dues for each new group member.

AMA Customer Service is available to discuss prorated group memberships and assist with any questions or concerns. Contact us at info@ama.org or 1.800.AMA.1150.

Example:
Organization A has one existing member, Suzie Miller, whose membership expires on September 30, 2010. Three co-workers—John Jones, Sally Smith and Jim Clark—decide to join AMA. Their group membership is processed on November 12, 2009. The group expiration date then becomes November 30, 2010.

This chart illustrates the calculation of Organization A’s group membership dues.