SIG Leader Resources

AMA Academic Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are communities of primarily academic members with common scholarly interests looking to share ideas, knowledge and experiences. This page is intended to be a resource to SIG Leadership teams to guide them in the day-to-day management of their Special Interest Group.

Important Timeline for SIG Leaders

July 1: Start of the New Fiscal Year
August: AMA Summer Academic Conference
September 15: SIG Leadership Updates are Due to AMA Support Center
December: Winter AMA Award Orders + Reception Details Due
February: MA Winter Academic Conference
June: Summer AMA Award Orders Due
June 15: Due Date for Fiscal Year Spending

SIG Guidelines and Reporting | SIG Processes | SIG Documents | SIG and AMA Branding Guidelines | Pop-Up SIGs

Can’t find what you are looking for? Please do not hesitate to reach out to membersupport@ama.org for help.

SIG Guidelines and Reporting

SIG Processes

Many SIGs offer awards to recognize excellence in their area of the discipline. Currently, SIGs manage their own awards processes from forming awards committees to announcing recipients. The AMA does offer the following guidance and support:

Award Development and Creation
SIGs can develop a new award at any time, though there are some considerations to make. SIGs typically grant awards for: lifetime achievement (10+ years of service), emerging scholars (3+ years of service), outstanding papers or dissertations, mentorship, or other service. While some awardees are recognized with a plaque or award, others, especially doctoral students and early career recipients may receive a financial award paid for by the SIG. A small number of SIGs have sought outside funding from a university or company to fund awards. See the section on invoicing below for more details.

Ordering Awards
The AMA has an outstanding relationship with Classic Design Awards who can generate plaques, engraved glass awards, and more at a highly competitive rate. SIGs who want to order awards through Classic Design should do the following:
1. Email Riley Fickett, Manager of Academic Communities (rfickett@ama.org) with the full text that should appear on the award and a description of the plaque if it’s a new award.
2. Within 1-2 weeks, the SIG will receive a proof of the award to approve and will need to confirm whether the award should be shipped to the site of the next conference or to the recipient directly. Please note that shipping to the recipient will add extra cost and for recipients outside the US, we will also need a phone number with the recipient email.
3. The cost of the award and shipping will be paid directly from the SIG’s account and will require no additional steps.
If a SIG chooses to use an outside vendor to purchase awards, please note that the AMA will need to be able to collect an invoice, a W8 or W9 form for the company, and their banking/ACH information.

SIGs who have granted awards should notify the AMA Support Center to allow for new awardee information to be added to your individual SIG webpage.

SIGs can spend their allocated funds in a number of ways, including paying for conference receptions, awards, dispersing grants, paying conference fees or membership fees, and sponsorships. See the steps below for different types of funding dispersal:

SIG Receptions Hosted as Part of an AMA Conference – These funds are transferred directly from your SIG account to the hotel bill.

SIG Awards – SIGs can purchase awards independently and be reimbursed or send an invoice for payment along with a W9. Additionally the AMA works with an awards company and can order awards on your behalf and transfer payment.

Disbursing Grants – In order to disperse funding to an individual in the form of grants, the AMA will need the recipients name and email to contact them for a W8/W9 and wire/ACH information. Funds are dispersed 4-6 weeks after this information is submitted.

Conference Fees and Membership Fees – SIG funds can be used to pay for AMA Memberships and Conferences. Please email rfickett@ama.org with the names and emails of the SIG Leaders or awards recipients you would like to purchase registration or membership for. These requests are generally processed in 1-2 weeks.

Conference Sponsorships – Some SIGs choose to sponsor smaller conferences. In order to transfer funds, the AMA will need an invoice with both AMA and the SIGs name on it as well as a W8 or W9 form from the entity the funds will be transferred to. Funds are dispersed 4-6 weeks after this information is submitted.

Reimbursements – If a SIG Member makes a purchase on behalf of the SIG to be reimbursed, please instruct them to complete this form. If the reimbursement is for more than $500 in a calendar year, we will also ask them to fill out a W8/W9 form. Please note that it may take 4-6 weeks to receive funds.

SIGs are encouraged to host receptions during the Saturday evening of the Summer and Winter AMA conference. Approximate 3 months prior to the conference, the AMA Support Center will start to finalize details about catering menus for SIGs to make plans. The AMA encourages SIGs to do the following to make the most out of their reception:

SIG Documents

Every SIG has a personalized SIG Overview Document. These documents include important dates, a live budget, a list of active academic members, and a list of contacts who have previously been members or affiliated for wider outreach. Since these documents have individual budget information, they are not linked on this page. If you are a SIG Leader and need access, please contact rfickett@ama.org to resend you your SIG Document link.

SIG and AMA Branding Guidelines

Pop-Up SIGs

Pop-up SIGs are temporary entities (formed for a period of one to three years) created to address emerging topics in marketing that typically fall at the intersection of existing SIGs or around new substantive/thematic developments in the field. The Organizational Frontlines group has been successful in holding programming and attracting members from diverse SIGs in the past and that is the pilot as a Pop-up SIG. These may transition into SIGs of their own if they have enough members at the end of three years or may be folded into existing SIGs (provided the SIG agrees to merge with the Pop-Up). It is a way for AMA to promote new topic areas within marketing, and to highlight topics at the intersection of different sub-fields in marketing.

Pop-Up SIG Applications are approved by the Academic Council, and Pop-Up SIGs may receive a budget of up to $1,000 per fiscal year to support their efforts and programming.

The Academic Councils reviews Pop-Up SIG applications at their quarterly meetings.