Branding Arc, a professional marketing firm in the receivables management industry, looks forward to participating in the RMAI Regional Event in Atlanta, GA from September 27-28, 2021. In attendance from Branding Arc will be Chief Executive Officer Adam Parks, Vice President of Creative Eryn Fiondella, and Executive Coordinator Leah Snyder. In addition to golf and an opening reception on Monday the 27th, the featured events will include a full day of Advocacy Training and Grassroots Boot Camp concluded by a great evening of industry networking on The Back Porch of the Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies baseball game on Tuesday the 28th.

A Changing Game

This year has been full of curveballs with the challenges our industry, nation, and the world have been facing and continue to expect. With the pandemic’s economic impact on consumers and consumer protections, updated regulations, new location-specific bills pertaining to the industry, new regulatory leaders, and a new administration in the U.S., it’s somewhat of a new ball game for many of our businesses. Still, we’ve faced changes and challenges before and we know that with teamwork, we can leverage these things to improve ourselves and ultimately come out stronger and better.

This advocacy and networking event is a well-timed opportunity to collaborate, coordinate, and prepare for the coming year. As members of RMAI, we are all professionals dedicated to integrity and best practices within the receivables management industry, so the setting for such discussions is perfect. Our teamwork as an industry, advocacy training and involvement, and strategic preparation will be vital to the future successes of our businesses. This will also be an excellent opportunity to follow up on networking connections made at the annual conference.

Empowering Members

RMAI will be presenting a new grassroots toolkit and educating members on how to get involved in their local states and jurisdictions with ARM industry advocacy. Advocacy has always been an integral part of RMAI’s work. It’s certainly easy to get busy and comfortable in the mindset that RMAI staff, board members, and advocacy committee members will take care of the advocacy; however, the industry is currently at a place in time when broader proactive involvement is important and necessary. That’s why RMAI is working to empower its members to join forces and speak with a united voice.

As we know, legislators and regulatory enforcement don’t always have the means to easily distinguish the “good players and bad players” until something big happens. Without color in the context, it can be difficult for outsiders to be equipped to identify such differentiations. More importantly, well-intentioned legislators may not have the background or operational understanding of industry infrastructure and implications when it comes to introducing or implementing new regulations. In truth, we can all probably bring several instances to mind.

Stepping Up to the Plate

The responsibility lies with us, the professionals with insight and experience, to inform our representatives and legislators of the value the ARM industry provides the credit ecosystem and how our self-regulating members take the associated responsibilities to consumers seriously. The difference between doing so or not has the potential to be profound, with direct impacts on your team’s ability to continue business efficiently and successfully in the future. While many of us are aware of this conceptually, we may feel we don’t have time,  resources, or know-how to do anything ourselves; That’s where RMAI seeks to help provide training and empowerment. 

“It’s certain that a greater degree of active involvement would undoubtedly benefit everyone as we move through the evolving landscape and the coming year. While we may compete for business, I hope we’ll also be mindful that we need to work together as allies to represent ourselves effectively. ” shared Adam Parks, CEO of Branding Arc, CMO of Plaza Services, and President-Elect of RMAI.

To learn more about the event and to register, please visit the RMAI website. We look forward to seeing colleagues, networking with members, and growing in our advocacy skills. If you would like to connect, we invite you to contact our team or find us at the event!

About RMAI

Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) is the nonprofit trade association that represents more than 550 companies that purchase or support the purchase of performing and nonperforming receivables on the secondary market. The Receivables Management Certification Program and Code of Ethics set the global standard within the receivables industry due to its rigorous uniform industry standards of best practice which focus on the protection of the consumer. RMAI provides its members with extensive networking, educational, and business development opportunities in asset classes that span numerous industries. Founded in 1997 as the Debt Buyers Association, RMAI is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

About Adam Parks

Adam Parks is an entrepreneur with more than 15 years’ experience in the receivables management industry. His diverse background includes portfolio purchasing and trading as well as the development of systems and technology to manage the servicing of accounts. Adam has held various marketing and operations positions within the ARM industry brokerages which give him a broad set of experiences and relationships. Adam is the CMO of debt buyer Plaza Services, a founding partner of digital marketing firm Branding Arc, and a founding partner of ComplyARM, a leading compliance consulting firm that was sold to Provana in 2019 where he currently serves as an Executive Advisor. He also currently serves as President-Elect on the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) Board of Directors and is on the Board of Directors for the veteran’s charity Naked Warrior Project.

About Branding Arc

Located in Port Saint Lucie, FL, Branding Arc is a full-service marketing agency focused on providing website, marketing, and reputation management services to the receivables management and financial services industries. Our team is composed of communications and branding experts who listen to your vision, learn your story, and use that understanding to help each client position their brand, find new customers, and manage their online reputation. We customize each client engagement ranging from simple one-time projects to the outsourcing of your entire marketing department, adeptly handling creative direction, graphic design, programming, and project management. By closely monitoring the marketplace and competition, we are able to identify trends and leverage opportunities that drive bottom-line revenue for our clients.