Houston Business Marketing Alliance

What Houston Business Marketing Alliance does

Houston Business Marketing Alliance (HBMA) is a Houston-based non-profit professional association serving marketing professionals in the greater Houston metro area. Founded in 1922 originally as a B2B marketing-focused body, the organization took its current form in 2022 when ANA Business Marketing Houston merged with the Houston Interactive Marketing Association to create a unified association for the full Houston marketing community. HBMA does not develop or sell technology products; its core offering is a membership-based portfolio of programs and events designed to deliver networking, professional development, career enhancement, awards recognition, internships, and scholarships to individual marketers, marketing organizations, and young professionals.

HBMA's revenue model is built on three annual membership tiers — Individual ($199/year), Group ($995/year for 5+ people, a 30% discount), and Young Professional ($75/year for students, recent graduates, and first-time job seekers, with a committee volunteering requirement) — supplemented by event ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, and job posting fees. The organization distributes its services through a self-serve website with Stripe payment processing, Humanitix-powered event ticketing, and email-based onboarding for the Young Professional tier. Its flagship programs include the Lantern Awards of Texas (annual awards gala and kick-off), the AIM Conference (annual thought-leadership conference), the Vic Cherubini Internship Program (paid, ~300-hour student internships since 1994, with $3,000 minimum compensation split between HBMA and sponsor companies), and the HBMA Scholarship Program (over $100,000 awarded over nearly 20 years at $750 per award). Member engagement is sustained through a layered volunteer committee structure covering Communications, Conferences, Membership, and Networking.

The organization is governed by a member-elected Board of Directors with two-year terms, currently led by President Beau Robinson, Vice President Emily Lindsey, and Past President Jamie Efurd, supported by functional committee chairs. It is independently operated with no parent company and no venture or private equity backing. Marketing and member acquisition is executed through a multi-channel mix including the houstonbma.org website, email newsletters, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, alongside event marketing and community/word-of-mouth referrals from existing members and volunteers. Corporate sponsorship is provided by a small group of named partners including Adobe, BrandExtract, CCR Surveys, Harp Visual Media, Innovative Environments, and Upright Digital.

Name

Houston Business Marketing Alliance

Legal name

Houston Business Marketing Alliance

Website

https://houstonbma.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Houston Business Marketing Alliance is a Houston-based non-profit professional association, founded in 1922, serving individual marketers, marketing organizations, and young professionals through membership tiers, networking events, awards programs, internships, and scholarships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Marketing Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Conferences & Sales Kickoffs (MPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Meetings & Conferences (Internal/External Business Events) (MPAGAHAA)

Keywords

• Professional marketing association
• B2B marketing network
• Marketing membership organization
• Marketing professional development
• Marketing community events

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Dues: Annual membership fees charged to individual marketing professionals seeking networking, professional development, and career enhancement resources in the Houston area.
2. Group Membership Dues: Discounted annual membership for organizations with 5 or more employees, offering enhanced benefits including free job postings and logo placement on the HBMA website.
3. Young Professional Membership Dues: Discounted annual membership at $75/year for college students, recent graduates, and first-time job seekers, requiring active committee volunteer participation.
4. Event Revenue: Revenue generated from ticket sales and sponsorships for events including the Lantern Awards, conferences, networking events, Lunch & Learn sessions, and other professional development programs.
5. Job Posting Fees: Free job postings provided to group members as part of membership benefits; individual members receive discounted rates for posting positions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Houston Business Marketing Alliance (HBMA) is a non-profit professional association serving the greater Houston marketing community since 1922. It sells annual memberships across three tiers (Individual, Group, Young Professional) and delivers networking events, awards programs (Lantern Awards of Texas), an annual AIM Conference, Lunch & Learn educational sessions, mentor matching, the Vic Cherubini Internship Program, and the HBMA Scholarship Program.

Product overview

Houston Business Marketing Alliance (HBMA) operates as a nonprofit professional association serving the greater Houston marketing community. The organization provides a portfolio of membership-based programs including three membership tiers (Individual, Group, and Young Professional) and structured professional development offerings. Key programs include the Lantern Awards of Texas (annual awards program), AIM Conference (annual marketing conference), Lunch & Learn educational events, Mentor Matching program, Vic Cherubini Internship Program (connecting students with marketing opportunities since 1994), and HBMA Scholarship Program (providing $750 scholarships to marketing students). HBMA is the result of a 2022 merger between ANA Business Marketing Houston and Houston Interactive Marketing Association, continuing the organization's B2B marketing roots dating back to 1922.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Membership
• Group Membership Annual group membership for organizations with 5+ employees at $995/year (30% discount), including all individual member benefits plus free job postings on HBMA website, logo placement on homepage as a partner, and announcement recognition at the Lantern Awards.
• Young Professional Membership Discounted annual membership at $75/year for college students, recent graduates, or first-time job seekers, including all individual member benefits with a requirement to actively volunteer for a committee during the 12-month membership term.
• Vic Cherubini Internship Program Internship program operating since 1994 that connects students with the Houston marketing community by placing them in paid internships of approximately 300 hours over 12 weeks, with a $3,000 minimum compensation split between HBMA and the sponsor company.
• HBMA Scholarship Program Scholarship program awarding $750 to students pursuing marketing or related degrees, with over $100,000 in cumulative scholarships distributed to deserving students over nearly 20 years.
• Lantern Awards of Texas Annual awards program recognizing excellence in B2B marketing, featuring a kick-off event and gala that honors outstanding marketing professionals and campaigns in the Houston area.
• AIM Conference Annual marketing conference delivering thought leadership and educational sessions for marketing professionals in the Houston area, with the next edition scheduled for February 25, 2027.
• Lunch & Learn Events Educational networking events featuring industry speakers and professional development topics for marketers, forming part of HBMA's ongoing professional development programming.
• Mentor Matching Program Program that pairs HBMA members with mentors for career guidance and professional development within the Houston marketing community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100,000 in scholarships awarded to students over almost 20 years
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• AdobeminorOthersAdobe appears as a partner logo on the HBMA website, indicating some form of partnership or sponsorship relationship supporting the organization's mission to provide endless opportunities for growth.
• BrandExtractminorOthersBrandExtract appears as a partner logo on the HBMA website, supporting the organization and its programs.
• CCR SurveysminorOthersCCR Surveys appears as a partner logo on the HBMA website, indicating a supporting partnership relationship.
• Harp Visual MediaminorOthersHarp Visual Media appears as a partner logo on the HBMA website, supporting the organization.
• Innovative EnvironmentsminorOthersInnovative Environments appears as a partner logo and is listed as the venue for the 2026 Lanterns Kick-Off Event, indicating a venue partnership.
• Upright DigitalminorOthersUpright Digital appears as a partner logo on the HBMA website, supporting the organization and its marketing community mission.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• American Marketing Association (AMA): National professional association for marketers offering membership, conferences, certifications, and job boards — the most direct large-scale analogue to HBMA's Houston-focused membership and events model.
• American Advertising Federation (AAF): Federation of advertising clubs that runs local chapters with membership dues, awards programs (ADDYs), and networking events — structurally analogous to HBMA's Houston chapter model of dues + awards + events.
• PRSA Houston: Local Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America serving communications and marketing professionals in the same geography with the same membership/events/playbook as HBMA.
• IABC Houston: Houston chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators offering membership, professional development events, and awards to local communicators — directly comparable in structure and audience to HBMA.
• SMPS Houston: Society for Marketing Professional Services operates Houston-area chapters serving B2B marketing professionals in AEC industries — a comparable local-chapter professional association model targeting a marketing-adjacent audience.

Broad incumbents

• Association of National Advertisers (ANA): National advertiser-side trade association; HBMA's direct predecessor was the Houston chapter of the ANA Business Marketing division, making the ANA the upstream national organization in the same family of associations.
• 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies): National trade association for advertising agencies, a larger incumbent serving the same Houston advertising/marketing ecosystem with overlapping event and awards offerings.

Regional players

• AIGA Houston: Houston chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design — runs the same playbook of local membership, portfolio events, and speakers as HBMA but serves the design community rather than marketers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/houstonbma
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/houstonbma
• Instagraminstagram.com/houston_bma
• Xx.com/houston_bma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Houston Business Marketing Alliance