The Transportation Marketing and Communications Association, an organization that has served transportation marketing and communications professionals since 1924, announced it has changed its name to the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association, effective immediately.
The evolution of the name reflects a strategic direction the organization initiated in 2010 to widen the focus of the association beyond integrated disciplines of marketing and communications to encompass transportation sales professionals. In a phased approach over the next six months, the newly-named organization will begin using a new logo that incorporates four gold arrows converging at a central meeting point, representing the association’s four core benefits to all of its members: knowledge, connections, recognition and solutions.
“Our new name and brand reflect what our members have told us,” says Dick Metzler, TMSA president and chief commercial officer at Greatwide Logistics Services. “The coordination between marketing, communications and sales is becoming more and more important to driving growth. TMSA will always deliver value to our marketing and communications professional’s business lives. However, we believe that by greatly increasing our emphasis on sales, we will help further enrich the careers of all of our members.”
The association says it will continue its tradition of providing actionable tools and trend insights, and by augmenting the Annual Conference agenda, the Compass Awards and other member programs to be more appealing to the sales professional and encourage the interaction between marketing, communications and sales disciplines.
“As a sales professional, I applaud the effort to take a more holistic approach to serving the needs of members,” says Matthew Menner, senior vice president of sales and alliances for Transplace and TSMA Education chair. With the change to TMSA, we more clearly reflect how our members and their companies operate and succeed in this economy.”
Culminating at the association’s annual conference on June 5-7 in San Diego, the association will cascade the new brand and expanded value proposition to its members. Member and industry professionals will see a redesigned website, growth of sales-related content and continued efforts to share best practices from across the sales and marketing disciplines in the transportation industry.
“This is the only group of its kind where different disciplines within the industry can share knowledge and exchange new ideas,” says Hernan Vera, Ryder vice president of business development and chairman of the association. “I’m proud of the progress TMCA has made and I have no doubt we’ll continue that tradition as TMSA.”
