AMS clients nominated for national agri-marketing awards

Ag Management Solutions (AMS) and its roster of clients are up for 13 awards across a range of categories at the National Agri-Marketing Association’s annual awards April 26 in St. Louis, Mo.

“We are thrilled to represent our clients at this year’s NAMA alongside the best of the best in our industry,” said AMS CEO Tom Slunecka, who will be attending the ceremony on behalf of AMS. “To be recognized across many disciplines – from publications to events to public relations campaigns – is enormously validating to our team.”

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) – which, along with the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, owns AMS – is nominated for several checkoff-support projects, including:

• An August 2022 press release detailing a soybean checkoff investment that led to the first-ever shipment of U.S. soymeal to Uzbekistan;
• the Stepping Up: From Farm to Frontline campaign;
• the Council’s 2021 Annual Report;
• its Minneline newsletter, which is co-published by MSR&PC and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA);
• The Future of Soybeans retreat;
• Minnesota Soybean’s Game of Soy booth at Farmfest, which also earned NAMA’s Best of Show in the Advertising category at the Region 3 awards.

MSGA, a nonpartisan organization that advocates on behalf of Minnesota’s 27,000 soybean farmers, is once again a finalist for its bimonthly magazine, Soybean Business. MSGA is also nominated for a membership advertorial featuring Vice President Darin Johnson that ran in the September-October 2022 issue of Soybean Business.

In 2019 and 2021, Minnesota Soybean earned first-place NAMA honors in the public relations category.

After earning a merit award last year, the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) also earned three entries at the 2023 regional NAMA event, including:

• The U.S. Identity Preserved website
• SSGA’s biweekly enews
• The 2022 Transportation Go! Conference

AMS is also up for client work on behalf of Clean Fuels Alliance America, which is nominated for a public relations campaign highlighting the environmental benefits of biodiesel. AMS Director of Marketing Kristeena Thisius will also receive NAMA’s prestigious Next Gen NAMA Award.

“AMS has a come a long way in a short period of time, and our industry peers are beginning to notice,” said AMS Sr. Director of Integrated Marketing Doug Monson, who also serves as art director of Soybean Business. “Like all the other NAMA nominees, we’ll keep challenging ourselves to raise the bar.”

Founded in 2017, AMS is a skilled, dynamic workforce for small associations and agriculture groups. Directors from both MSR&PC and MSGA serve on the AMS board. In 2022, AMS moved into its new offices in Mankato, Minnesota, and will soon begin constructing a multi-purpose event center at its headquarters.