Smarter Marketing Starts Here
As platforms evolve and audience expectations shift, marketers must continually reassess how they engage and deliver value. The AMA Central Pennsylvania Chapter brings that conversation forward at its third annual marketing conference, focused on Content and Channel Evolution.
Join us Thursday, August 13, 2026, at the Ware Center for the Arts in Lancaster, PA, for a one‑day conference built for marketers who want real-world insight. Through hands‑on sessions and examples, you’ll explore how content performs across today’s platforms and how to build strategies that truly connect with audiences.
Designed for marketers at every stage of their career, the conference features three distinct learning tracks focused on Platforms & Formats, Strategic Integration, and Audience‑Centric Approaches.
With expert‑led sessions and meaningful networking with Central Pennsylvania’s marketing community, you’ll leave better equipped to adapt and lead as the industry continues to evolve.
Location
Ware Center for the Arts
42 N. Prince St.
Lancaster, PA 17603
42 N. Prince St.
Lancaster, PA 17603
Date & Time
August 13, 2026
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Keynote Speaker
Andy Crestodina
Andy Crestodina is a co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media, an award-winning 50-person digital agency in Chicago.
Over the past 24 years, Andy’s provided guidance to 1,000+ businesses. He’s written hundreds of articles on content strategy, SEO, GA4, AI, and visitor psychology. He’s also the author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing.
- Top 10 Online Marketing Experts, Forbes
- Top 50 Marketing Influencer, Entrepreneur Magazine
- Top 25 Content Marketers, Express Writers/Buzzsumo
- Top 10 Social Media Influencers, Social Media Explorer
Breakout & Panel Speakers
We are thrilled to present an impressive lineup of engaging marketing speakers. From sought-after keynote speaker Andy Crestodina to local marketing pioneers, you will gain valuable insights and practical applications from some of the sharpest minds in the industry.
Wil Reynolds
Founder - Seer Interactive
Paige Walker
Manager, Cultural Intelligence & Trends
Hershey company
Hershey company
Brandon Schmidt
Local Seo Analyst
Sterling Sky Inc
Sterling Sky Inc
Akilah Driver
Creative Director
Honey Drip Media
Honey Drip Media
Joe Tertel
Vice President Brand and Digital Marketing
Lumistry
Lumistry
Justin Johnson
Marketing director
Lancaster chamber
Lancaster chamber
Tyler Graham
Owner
Tyler Ryan Studio
Tyler Ryan Studio
Jonathan Bentz
Growth Strategist
Direct online marketing
Direct online marketing
Davis Holiday
Creative Director
Wakeen & Company
Wakeen & Company
Elyssa Drexel
Digital director
wakeen & company
wakeen & company
Panelists
Michael Ferrari
Partner - Prussia Street arcade and Lead strategist
- Magnetic Messaging
- Magnetic Messaging
Jennifer Benton
Owner-Senior Marketing Strategist
Jenetic Marketing Group
Jenetic Marketing Group
Greg Orth
Owner - president
Sandler Training
Sandler Training
Nikki Dreikorn
Founder - Principal Consultant
The Lumina studio
The Lumina studio
Early Bird Registration Fees
Students: $35 per person
AMA Member: $79 per person
Future AMA Central PA Member: $119 per person
Agency Bundle: $99 per person
AMA Member: $79 per person
Future AMA Central PA Member: $119 per person
Agency Bundle: $99 per person
Limited Time Offer!
Future AMA Central PA Members can purchase a ticket to the event PLUS a one-year AMA Central PA membership for the discounted price of $275 per person.
Parking
Your ticket purchase includes a Parking Voucher valid at Lancaster Parking Authority Parking Garages. The closest garage to the conference venue is the Prince Street Garage, located at 111 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603. Your parking voucher will be included in your registration packet once you arrive at the conference. When exiting the garage after the event, simply use the voucher.
Schedule At-A-Glance
| 7:30 - 8:30 am
Networking Breakfast
Connect with other Central PA marketing professionals, enthusiasts, and students over coffee and light morning refreshments.
| 8:30 - 8:45 am
Welcome
Hear from AMA Central PA Board President Matt Caylor on the chapter’s commitment to bringing the local marketing community together and providing ongoing opportunities for professional development and industry advancement.
| 8:45 - 9:45 am
Keynote Speaker: Andy Crestodina
The Content Creation Process: How to Develop High-Performing Content
From the first moment inspiration strikes to the final performance reports, this session reveals a comprehensive process for producing high performing content.
After 15+ years of experience writing and promoting 600+ articles that attract 3M+ views per year, we’ve put all of the best aspects of our content creation process into a single set of best practices.
This session covers:
- Finding the fit between topics, formats, and promotion channels
- How to research keywords (and when not to)
- When to launch a new URL, and when to re-use a seasoned one.
- Formatting, visuals, contributor quotes, and all the other little deal breakers.
It might be an inspired point of view. It might be a detailed how-to. Whatever the topic and format, this process sheds new light on the potential for performance. Even the most experienced content writers editors will leave with a new idea or two. Be ready to adjust your workflow…and maybe your content strategy.
From the first moment inspiration strikes to the final performance reports, this session reveals a comprehensive process for producing high performing content.
After 15+ years of experience writing and promoting 600+ articles that attract 3M+ views per year, we’ve put all of the best aspects of our content creation process into a single set of best practices.
This session covers:
- Finding the fit between topics, formats, and promotion channels
- How to research keywords (and when not to)
- When to launch a new URL, and when to re-use a seasoned one.
- Formatting, visuals, contributor quotes, and all the other little deal breakers.
It might be an inspired point of view. It might be a detailed how-to. Whatever the topic and format, this process sheds new light on the potential for performance. Even the most experienced content writers editors will leave with a new idea or two. Be ready to adjust your workflow…and maybe your content strategy.
| 9:50 - 10:50 am
Breakout Session #1 (Choose One)
Option I: Audience Centric Approach (Featured)
Title: Utilizing Social Listening for an Audience-First Strategy
Presenter: Paige Walker
Room: Steinman Hall
Social media holds more than engagement metrics; it holds unfiltered audience insight. This session breaks down how social listening can inform product innovation, audience segmentation, trend tracking, and crisis awareness, and ways to get started even if you don’t have an expensive tool. Attendees will learn how to turn everyday social conversations into actionable signals that keep their strategy focused on the audience.
Option II: Strategic Integration
Title: The Art of Digital & The Science of Creative
Presenters: Davis Holliday & Elyssa Drexel
Creativity and data don’t compete; they amplify each other. This workshop shows how to merge analytics with design to produce campaigns that are both emotionally resonant and strategically sound. Attendees will learn how to decode audience pressure points, intercept consumers at the right moment, and treat every visual communication as both an analytical and strategic investment.
Option III: Platform and Formats
Title: The Triple Threat Framework to Win the AI Recommendation Race
Presenter: Jonathan Bentz
As AI becomes the new gatekeeper of discovery, brands must earn recommendations, not just visibility. This session introduces the Triple Threat Framework, showing how SEO, controllable content, and uncontrollable content work together to shape AI perception. Attendees will leave with a system to audit their brand’s AI footprint and redefine success beyond vanity metrics.
Title: Utilizing Social Listening for an Audience-First Strategy
Presenter: Paige Walker
Room: Steinman Hall
Social media holds more than engagement metrics; it holds unfiltered audience insight. This session breaks down how social listening can inform product innovation, audience segmentation, trend tracking, and crisis awareness, and ways to get started even if you don’t have an expensive tool. Attendees will learn how to turn everyday social conversations into actionable signals that keep their strategy focused on the audience.
Option II: Strategic Integration
Title: The Art of Digital & The Science of Creative
Presenters: Davis Holliday & Elyssa Drexel
Creativity and data don’t compete; they amplify each other. This workshop shows how to merge analytics with design to produce campaigns that are both emotionally resonant and strategically sound. Attendees will learn how to decode audience pressure points, intercept consumers at the right moment, and treat every visual communication as both an analytical and strategic investment.
Option III: Platform and Formats
Title: The Triple Threat Framework to Win the AI Recommendation Race
Presenter: Jonathan Bentz
As AI becomes the new gatekeeper of discovery, brands must earn recommendations, not just visibility. This session introduces the Triple Threat Framework, showing how SEO, controllable content, and uncontrollable content work together to shape AI perception. Attendees will leave with a system to audit their brand’s AI footprint and redefine success beyond vanity metrics.
| 10:50 - 11:20 am
Coffee & Conversation
Enjoy light refreshments and networking opportunities with marketing professionals in your area.
| 11:20 - 12:20 pm
Breakout Session #2 (Choose One)
Option I: Audience Centric Approach
Title: From Insight to Impact: How Audience Intelligence Drives Breakthrough Marketing
Presenter: Joe Tertel
The strongest marketing strategies start with understanding who truly drives value. This session explores how to uncover meaningful audience insights, build personas grounded in real behaviors, and translate intelligence into scalable campaigns. Attendees will leave with a repeatable framework, and a look at how AI can accelerate insight-driven strategy without sacrificing clarity.
Option II: Strategic Integration (Featured)
Title: Trust Is the Channel: Building Marketing Strategy That Survives the AI Era
Presenter: Wil Reynolds
Room: Steinman Hall
In a world of AI-generated content, trust is the real differentiator. This session challenges traditional KPIs and reframes marketing strategy around credibility, influence, and long-term brand signals. Attendees will gain a framework for building channels AI can’t manufacture, and for making trust a defensible investment inside their organization.
Option III: Platform and Formats
Title: Putting Humanity Back In Marketing
Presenter: Tyler Graham
Marketing works best when it feels human. This session explores how storytelling, context, and backstory help audiences connect emotionally, and see themselves in your message. Attendees will learn how to shift from selling features to communicating meaning, with practical ways to humanize campaigns across channels.
Title: From Insight to Impact: How Audience Intelligence Drives Breakthrough Marketing
Presenter: Joe Tertel
The strongest marketing strategies start with understanding who truly drives value. This session explores how to uncover meaningful audience insights, build personas grounded in real behaviors, and translate intelligence into scalable campaigns. Attendees will leave with a repeatable framework, and a look at how AI can accelerate insight-driven strategy without sacrificing clarity.
Option II: Strategic Integration (Featured)
Title: Trust Is the Channel: Building Marketing Strategy That Survives the AI Era
Presenter: Wil Reynolds
Room: Steinman Hall
In a world of AI-generated content, trust is the real differentiator. This session challenges traditional KPIs and reframes marketing strategy around credibility, influence, and long-term brand signals. Attendees will gain a framework for building channels AI can’t manufacture, and for making trust a defensible investment inside their organization.
Option III: Platform and Formats
Title: Putting Humanity Back In Marketing
Presenter: Tyler Graham
Marketing works best when it feels human. This session explores how storytelling, context, and backstory help audiences connect emotionally, and see themselves in your message. Attendees will learn how to shift from selling features to communicating meaning, with practical ways to humanize campaigns across channels.
| 12:20 - 1:30 pm
Networking Lunch
Refuel, recharge, and forge new relationships with industry peers at our catered networking lunch.
| 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Breakout Session #3 (Choose One)
Option I: Audience Centric Approach
Title: Case Study – Lancaster Chamber of Commerce
Presenter: Justin Johnson
Description coming soon.
Option II: Strategic Integration
Title: Take Your Brand Series-ly!
Presenter: Akilah Driver
Most brands and creators are producing more content than ever, yet struggling to maintain engagement or build a consistent audience. The problem isn’t a lack of effort, it’s a lack of structure. This session introduces a series-based approach inspired by film and television to help brands build consistency and audience retention. Attendees will develop a clear brand series concept and walk away with a framework they can apply immediately across platforms.
Option III: Platform and Formats (Featured)
Title: Creating Human Content in an AI World
Presenter: Brandon Schmidt
Room: Steinman Hall
As AI makes content easier to produce, standing out requires what machines can’t replicate. This session explores the risks of overreliance on AI and shows how to combine human insight with AI tools at scale. Attendees will leave with practical ways to highlight their brand’s unique voice while maintaining trust and performance.
Title: Case Study – Lancaster Chamber of Commerce
Presenter: Justin Johnson
Description coming soon.
Option II: Strategic Integration
Title: Take Your Brand Series-ly!
Presenter: Akilah Driver
Most brands and creators are producing more content than ever, yet struggling to maintain engagement or build a consistent audience. The problem isn’t a lack of effort, it’s a lack of structure. This session introduces a series-based approach inspired by film and television to help brands build consistency and audience retention. Attendees will develop a clear brand series concept and walk away with a framework they can apply immediately across platforms.
Option III: Platform and Formats (Featured)
Title: Creating Human Content in an AI World
Presenter: Brandon Schmidt
Room: Steinman Hall
As AI makes content easier to produce, standing out requires what machines can’t replicate. This session explores the risks of overreliance on AI and shows how to combine human insight with AI tools at scale. Attendees will leave with practical ways to highlight their brand’s unique voice while maintaining trust and performance.
| 2:30 - 3:00 pm
Coffee & Conversation
Enjoy light refreshments and networking opportunities with Marketing professionals in your area.
| 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Panel Discussion
Topic & Description Coming Soon
| 4:00 - 4:15 pm
Special Message From Our Host
Hear a few words from the conference host, AMA Central PA.
|4:30 - 6:00 pm
Networking Hour - Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse
Raise a glass to new local connections and shared industry experiences at our post-conference networking event!
2026 Conference Sponsors
Event Sponsorships Available
Reach nearly 300 local marketing professionals with an AMA Central PA Marketing Conference sponsorship. From exclusive, high-visibility learning track and networking break sponsorships to branded conference merchandise and opportunities to distribute your promotional materials, there is a wide variety of sponsorship opportunities to fit your company’s goals and budget. For questions or a full list of conference sponsorship opportunities, please contact Esther Angell at [email protected].