During the mid-1930s, the American Marketing Society (organized in 1931) and the National Association of Teachers of Marketing (founded in 1915) arrived at two realizations: both organizations held common interests in marketing, and many of their publications and memberships overlapped. Following such realizations, the idea of merging the groups became a reality in 1937 with the inception of the American Marketing Association (AMA).

AMA is a professional, nonprofit organization for marketers with more than 500 North American professional chapters and worldwide membership (in ninety-two countries) in excess of 45,000. AMA also furthers students' professional development through approximately 400 collegiate chapters globally.

AMA was organized to advance marketing science and has always emphasized improving marketing management through marketing knowledge gained through researching, recording, and disseminating information. Today, AMA strives to encourage greater interest in and concern for education, to assist marketing professionals in their efforts toward personal and career development, and to promote integration of ethical considerations and general marketing practices.

In 1938, AMA agreed to work with the U.S. Bureau of the Census to unify government agency marketing definitions. The AMA board debated appropriate definitions and, in 1985, approved definitions for marketing ("The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives)" and marketing research (the "function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information.") (AMA, Definitions, 1999).

AMA disseminates information through four scholarly journals, which provide forums for sharing marketing research efforts; three business magazines, which provide discussions on emerging marketing issues for senior-level marketing executives; and one newsletter, which addresses all aspects of marketing, including insights on ethics, new products, and more. Online versions of these publications are available at www.ama.org/pub. More information is available from AMA at 250 South Wacker Dr., Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois 60606; (312) 648-0536 or (800) AMA-1150; or, http://www.ama.org.

Bibliography

American Marketing Association (AMA). "AMA at a Glance." Archived at: http://www.ama.org/about/ama/atglance.a sp. 1999.

AMA. "Contacts at AMA." Archived at: http://www.ana.org/contact/. 1999.

AMA. "Definitions." Archived at: http://www.ama.org/aboutama/marketdef.a sp. 1999.

AMA "Six Decades of Leading and Learning American Marketing Association 1937 to 1997." Archived at: http://www.ama.org/about/ama/sixtieth/i ndex.asp. 1999.

AMA. "About Us." Timeline. Archived at: http://www.ama.org/about/ama/sixtieth/t imeline.asp. 1999.