Privacy Policy
Last Updated: June 2024
The American Marketing Association (“AMA”) believes in protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your Personal Information. The AMA website and other Products are designed to be robust portals and collaboration tools that allows for the free flow of information between the AMA, its partners, its members, and visitors to the Site. We acknowledge that you may have privacy and security concerns with respect to the information we collect, use, and disclose to third parties for the purpose of allowing us to offer and provide our products and services to you. To this end, we have developed this Privacy Policy to balance the functionality of our Site and other Products with your control over your Personal Information.
Personal information is any combination of information, in the possession of or likely to come into the possession of AMA, that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a discrete individual (“Personal Information”) and will be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Any information that cannot be used to identify a discrete individual (such as aggregated statistical information) is not Personal Information.
By using this Site, or providing your Personal Information to the AMA via other Products, you hereby consent to the transfer of your Personal Information to the United States, for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
PURPOSE FOR COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
AMA collects, uses, and discloses your Personal Information in its normal course of business. The information may be used to plan new products or services, gauge customer satisfaction, measure awareness of products or services, or to test reaction to products, services or communications. The American Marketing Association is committed to respecting and protecting your privacy as a research respondent who is participating in a study. This policy explains how AMA collects and uses data that AMA obtains via surveys and other primary research methods that AMA uses. If you are participating in one of AMA’s research studies from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. Below are the primary uses of this information supplied to us:
Establishing and maintaining communications with you;
Providing requested content or services from AMA;
Responding to your inquiries about content and other services;
Making proposals for future service needs;
Allowing our partners, affiliates, and local chapters to notify you of certain products, services, or events offered by them;
Making your resume available to prospective employers;
Processing transactions through service providers;
Registration for conferences, training, and other events;
Meeting legal, security, processing, and regulatory requirements;
Protecting against fraudulent, suspicious, or other illegal activities; and
Compiling statistics for analysis of our sites and our business.
WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT
The information gathered by AMA from this Site falls into two categories: (1) information voluntarily supplied by visitors to our Site and other Products, and (2) tracking information gathered as visitors navigate through our Site.
Information Voluntarily Provided by You
When using this Site, you may choose to provide us with information to help us serve your needs. “Personal Information” or “PI” is information recorded in any form that identifies an individual or can be used to identify an individual. It includes an individual’s name, identification numbers, date of birth, gender, mailing address, phone numbers, email address and other similar information. It may include information about an individual’s personal opinions and preferences.
You provide “PI” to the AMA in the course of participating in research directly to the AMA and utilizing AMA products and services. In such cases, AMA will comply with the contact limitations and data protections to which you agreed when you provided that permission. The AMA may collect and use PI obtained from publicly available sources, where this is permitted by law. Most research surveys include demographic questions such as racial or ethnic origin, age, gender or income. AMA uses these questions to help confirm that the research reflects a representative sample of the population the AMA is studying. The AMA also automatically collects information that is made available by the device you use to access AMA’s website for system administration, surveys, service improvement, data analysis, and data integrity purposes to ensure that survey respondents do not impermissibly duplicate participation in the same survey. The information automatically collected for this purpose, as well as other “PI”, may be shared with third parties for the purposes of detecting and preventing impermissible duplicate participation in the same survey.
Your participation is voluntary. You are entitled at any stage of the interview or survey, research, or afterward, to ask that part or all of your personal data be destroyed. Wherever reasonable and practical, we will carry out such a request.
Below are some additional ways we collect data:
When you request content
If you request content (e.g., best practices, research) or further information from us, we require you to submit your name, email address, the name of your organization, and the country in which you are based so we may send you the material you have requested and to enable us to identify if you are an existing client of AMA.
Following an inquiry into receiving content or services from us, if you decide to proceed, we will collect Personal Information necessary to proceed with the transaction, such as your name, address, post code, contact telephone number, email address, billing address, or payment details, as relevant to the product. We will use your Personal Information to administer your account, fulfill registrations, and generally manage your relationship with us.
When you register with us and/or join the AMA as a member
If you register with the Site, request a service available on the Site (such as registration for a conference), or become a member of the AMA, we may ask you for your name, email address, country, telephone number, and the reason for your communication, as well as information about your position and organization and such other information as is reasonably necessary so that we can provide you with the service or identify what would be of most interest to you. On the data submission form, we shall indicate by way of an asterisk which information is optional and which information is mandatory.
Any Personal Information that you send us will be used for the purpose indicated on the Site or in this Privacy Policy.
When you submit content
If you submit content through our Site, we will ask for your name and email address, so that, if you choose, we can update you by email when others also comment on the content and also so that we can manage the content in line with our Statement of Ethics. You should be aware that the information you provide there will be made publicly available to AMA employees, AMA members, and other users of the Site.
When you submit a resume
We operate a Career Center that enables you to store your resume in our database. When you create a resume, you have the option of making the resume searchable or nonsearchable and confidential or nonconfidential. Not allowing your resume to be searchable means that you can use it to apply for a job online, but employers and recruiters will not have access to search it through our resume database product. If you choose to make your resume searchable, then all employers and recruiters who pay for access to our resume database product will have access to your resume. In addition to making your resume searchable or nonsearchable, you may designate specific information contained within your resume as confidential. Such confidential information will not be shared with employers and recruiters who search the resume database or to whom you deliver your resume.
We use our best efforts to grant access to the resume database only to paying employers, recruiters, hiring managers, and human resource professionals, but we cannot guarantee that other parties will not, without our consent, gain access to this database. You may remove your resume from our searchable database at any time. However, employers and recruiters who have paid for access to the database, and other parties who have otherwise gained access to the database may have retained a copy of your resume in their own files or databases. We are not responsible for the retention, use, or privacy of resumes in these instances, or for the use or privacy of resumes by any of such parties while resumes are in the database.
Website Navigational Information
As you navigate the Site, we may also collect information through commonly used information-gathering tools, such as cookies and web beacons (collectively “Website Navigational Information”). Website Navigational Information includes standard information from your web browser (e.g., browser type, browser language), your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, and the actions you take on the Site (such as the web pages viewed and the links clicked).
Use of Cookies
Like many companies, we may use cookies on this Site. Cookies are pieces of information shared between your web browser and a website. Use of cookies enables a faster and easier experience for the user. A cookie cannot read data off your computer's hard drive.
There are different kinds of cookies with different functions:
Session cookies: a session cookie is only stored on your computer during your web session. They are automatically deleted when the browser is closed. They usually store an anonymous session ID allowing you to browse a website without having to log in to each page. They do not collect any information from your computer.
Persistent cookies: a persistent cookie is one stored as a file on your computer, and it remains there when you close your web browser. The cookie can be read by the website that created it when you visit that website again.
First-party cookies: the function of a first-party cookie is to retain your preferences for a particular website for the entity that owns that website. They are stored and sent between AMA’s servers and your computer’s hard drive. They are not used for anything other than for personalization as set by you. These cookies may be either Session or Persistent cookies.
Third-party cookies: the function of a third-party cookie is to retain your interaction with a particular website for an entity that does not own that website. They are stored and sent between the third party’s server and your computer’s hard drive. These cookies are usually Persistent cookies.
We use cookies for the following purposes:
Where strictly necessary: These cookies are essential to enable you to move around the Site and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the Site. Without these cookies, services you have asked for, such as obtaining a quote or logging into your account, cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.
Performance: These cookies collect information about how visitors use a Site (e.g., which pages visitors go to most often, if they get error messages from web pages). They also allow us to record and count the number of visitors to the Site, all of which enables us to see how visitors use the Site in order to improve the way that our Site works. These cookies do not collect information that identifies a person, as all information these cookies collect is anonymous.
Functionality: These cookies allow our Site to remember choices you make (e.g., your user name, your language, region you are in) and provide enhanced features. For instance, a Site may be able to remember your login details, so that you do not have to repeatedly sign in to your account when using a particular device to access our Site. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, font, and other parts of web pages that you can customize. They may also be used to provide services you have requested, such as viewing a video or commenting on an article. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymized. They do not gather any information about you that could be used for advertising or remember where you have been on the internet.
This Site does use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity, and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage for AMA and its affiliates. Google may also transfer this information to third parties when required to do so by law or when such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser; however, please note that if you do so, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
Advertising: We use cookies and tracking technologies to help us develop our understanding of your interests and what content and services may be relevant to you. In addition, we have a number of partners that also use cookies and similar technologies to determine which of their products and services may be relevant to you.
The major browsers have attempted to implement the draft “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) in their latest releases. As this standard has not been finalized, AMA’s Sites are not compatible with DNT.
Use of Web Beacons
The Site may also use web beacons (including web beacons supplied or provided by third parties) alone or in conjunction with cookies to compile information about users’ usage of the Site and interaction with emails from AMA. Web beacons are clear electronic images that can recognize certain types of information on your computer, such as cookies, when you viewed a particular Site tied to the web beacon, and a description of a Site tied to the web beacon. We use web beacons to operate and improve our Sites and email communications. We may use information from web beacons in combination with other data we have about our clients to provide you with information about AMA and our services. We will conduct this review on an anonymous basis.
Use of IP Addresses
When you visit our Sites, AMA collects your IP addresses to track and aggregate non-Personal Information. For example, AMA uses IP addresses to monitor the regions from which users navigate the Sites. IP addresses will be stored in such a way so that you cannot be identified from the IP address.
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO OTHERS
We do not disclose any Personal Information about you to any third parties except as stated in this Privacy Policy, as otherwise permitted by law, or as authorized by you.
Third parties to whom we disclose information are required by law and contractual undertakings to keep your Personal Information confidential and secure and to use and disclose it for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, in compliance with all applicable legislation, which purposes are as follows:
To provide the products and services you have requested from us;
To notify you or allow our affiliated companies to notify you of certain products or services offered by our affiliated companies;
To process transactions through data processing service providers;
If the information is a credit card number, to process credit card payments—through third-party payment processing, clearing, and settlement systems in association with various banks; and
To fulfill joint marketing agreements with affiliates and partners.
If these third parties wish to use your Personal Information for any other purpose, they will have a legal obligation to notify you of this and, where required, to obtain your consent. Contact us on info@ama.org for more information on these third parties.
Affiliate Sharing
In the normal course of performing services for our clients, Personal Information may be shared within AMA and its affiliates for research and statistical purposes, system administration, and crime prevention or detection. When you supply us with information containing third-party Personal Information (names, addresses, or other information relating to living individuals), we will hold and use that Personal Information to perform general insurance and other services for you on the understanding that the individuals to whom the Personal Information relates have been informed of the reason(s) for obtaining the Personal Information and the fact that it may be disclosed to third parties such as AMA, and that they have consented to such disclosure and use.
No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
Service Providers
Because many of the service providers we use are located in the United States, including certain AMA affiliates, your Personal Information may be processed and stored inside the United States, and the U.S. government, courts, or law enforcement or regulatory agencies may be able to obtain disclosure of your Personal Information under U.S. laws.
AMA's service suppliers adhere to the same protections regarding the collection, use, and retention of data as we do.
Business Transactions
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy assets. In such transactions, user information, including Personal Information, generally is one of the transferred business assets. In addition, if either AMA itself or substantially all AMA assets were acquired, your Personal Information may be one of the transferred assets. Therefore, we may disclose and/or transfer your Personal Information to a third-party purchaser in these circumstances.
Other Legally Required Disclosures
AMA preserves the right to disclose without your prior permission any Personal Information about you or your use of this Site or other Products if AMA has a good faith belief that such action is necessary to (1) protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of AMA, employees, or other users of this Site or the public; (2) enforce the terms and conditions that apply to use of this Site; (3) comply with a legally valid request from a competent governmental authority; or (4) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties. We may also disclose Personal Information as we deem necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.
In this Privacy Policy, the purposes identified above and in “Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information” will be referred to as the “Identified Purposes.”
Public Forums
This website or other products may make public chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to you from time to time. We impose terms of use regarding content and activity at such public areas. Further, we monitor and/or edit posts to those areas. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding whether to disclose any personal information via such forum.
CALIFORNIA’S “SHINE THE LIGHT” LAW
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 requires any operator of a website to permit its California-resident customers to request and obtain from the operator a list of what personal information the operator disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes for the preceding calendar year, as well as the addresses and names of such third parties. AMA does not share any personal information collected from this site with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.
European Union’s “General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)” Law
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. It also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU. The GDPR aims primarily to give control to citizens and residents over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU. In compliance of this law, AMA does not utilize data for any reasons other than to fulfill commitments to existing products and services. AMA does not share any personal data or information collected from this site with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. The AMA has data retention and storage mechanisms in place to control who has access to the data and has placed limits on what purposes the data can be used for.
CALIFORNIA’S “California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)” LAW
The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) applies to California residents only, below is a listing of the rights you have the ability to exercise:
Right to Know: You have the right to request that we disclose to you the Personal Information we collect, use, or disclose, and information about our data practices;
Right to Request Deletion: You have the right to request that we delete your Personal Information that we have collected from you;
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
In compliance with this law, AMA does not utilize data for any reasons other than to fulfill commitments to existing products and services. AMA does not share any personal data or information collected from this site with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. The AMA has data retention and storage mechanisms in place to control who has access to the data and has placed limits on what purposes the data can be used for.
Text Communications
CONSENT
Your knowledge of and consent to AMA’s collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information is critical. We rely on the following actions by you as indications of your consent to our existing and future Personal Information practices:
Your voluntary provision of Personal Information to us directly;
Your express consent or acknowledgment contained within a written, verbal, or electronic application or claims process; and
Your verbal consent solicited by AMA (or our agent) for a specified purpose.
Where AMA relies on consent for the fair and lawful processing of Personal Information, the opportunity to consent will be provided when the Personal Information in question is collected. Your consent may be given through your authorized representative such as a legal guardian, agent, or holder of a power of attorney.
Subject to certain legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, you may withdraw this consent at any time. AMA will inform you of the consequences of withdrawing your consent. In some cases, refusing to provide certain Personal Information or withdrawing consent for AMA to collect, use, or disclose your Personal Information could mean that we cannot obtain insurance coverage or other requested products, services, or information for you.
If you wish to withdraw your consent, please refer to the “Questions or to Withdraw Consent” section below.
However, there are several instances in which AMA does not require your consent to engage in the processing or disclosure of Personal Information. AMA may not solicit your consent for the processing or transfer of Personal information for those purposes that have a statutory basis, such as in the following instances:
The transfer or processing is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and AMA (or one of its affiliates);
The transfer or processing is necessary for the performance of a contract, concluded in your interest, between AMA (or one of its affiliates) and a third party;
The transfer or processing is necessary, or legally required, on important public interest grounds; for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims; or to protect your vital interests; or
The transfer or processing is required by applicable law.
LIMITING COLLECTION AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
AMA will collect, use, or disclose Personal Information that is necessary for the Identified Purposes or as permitted by law. If we require Personal Information for any other purpose, you will be notified of the new purpose and, subject to your consent (where appropriate), that new purpose will become an Identified Purpose.
AMA will collect Personal Information by fair and lawful means. We will normally retain Personal Information as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the Identified Purposes. However, some Personal Information may be retained for longer periods as required by law, contract, or auditing requirements.
SAFEGUARDS
We have in place physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we maintain. Safeguards will vary depending on the sensitivity, format, location, amount, distribution, and storage of the Personal Information. They include physical, technical, and managerial measures to keep Personal Information protected from unauthorized access. Among such safeguards are the encryption of communications via SSL, encryption of information while it is in storage, firewalls, access controls, separation of duties, and similar security protocols. However, due to the nature of the Internet and related technology, we cannot absolutely guarantee the security of Personal Information, and AMA expressly disclaims any such obligation.
EXTERNAL LINKS
AMA Sites may include links to other websites whose privacy policies we do not control. Once you leave our servers (you can tell where you are by checking the URL in the location bar on your web browser), use of any Personal Information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the website you are visiting. That policy may differ from ours. If you cannot find the privacy policy of any of these websites via a link from the website's homepage, you should contact the website directly for more information.
ACCURACY, ACCOUNTABILITY, OPENNESS, AND CUSTOMER ACCESS
Our knowing about changes to some of your Personal Information (e.g., email address) may be key to effectively communicating with you at your request. If any of your details change, you can update us by emailing us. Please keep us informed of changes to your Personal Information.
You have the right to access your Personal Information and request rectification of any Personal Information in the file that may be obsolete, incomplete, or incorrect. However, to secure your Personal Information, AMA does not provide online access to its customers to view or amend Personal Information in its database.
Your Personal Information may also be stored, and can also be accessed, at the local AMA chapter office with which you are a member. For a complete list of our offices, click here.
A copy of this Privacy Policy (and any significant changes) can be obtained from our Web site at AMA.org. AMA is responsible for all Personal Information under its control and has designated a privacy officer who is accountable to Management for AMA’s compliance with this Privacy Policy.
QUESTIONS OR TO WITHDRAW CONSENT
You may exercise your right to withdraw your consent to applicable uses or disclosures of your Personal Information (which may limit or terminate the products and services that AMA provides to you) by either (1) making changes to your profile via our online portal or (2) writing a letter or sending an email to us at the following addresses:
The American Marketing Association
130 E. Randolph Street, 22nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel: (800) AMA-1150 or (312) 542-9000
info@AMA.org
We will need to validate the identity of anyone making such a request to ensure that we do not provide your information to anyone who does not have the right to such information.
Normally, we will respond to access requests within 30 days.
COMPLAINTS
Complaints can be directed to:
The American Marketing Association
130 E. Randolph Street, 22nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel: (800) AMA-1150 or (312) 542-9000
info@AMA.org
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
If there is any material change to your rights under this Privacy Policy, AMA will provide you with notice of such change 30 days prior to the changes going into effect. As part of this notice, AMA may post a notice of the change on the site in a clear and conspicuous manner for the 30-day notice period. AMA may also communicate the change via email or postal mail if this is the way that AMA normally corresponds with you. Please note that your continued use of the Site or Services once this 30-day period is over, indicates your agreement to the changes that were the subject of the notice.