Summit Winter 2024

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Interpret how changing market and consumer conditions impact brands and identify strategies to adapt brands for success.
2. Examine the strategy, process and methods of brand development that drives profitability and brand equity.
3. Review best practice brand strategies and approaches for organizational structures, governance and brand value metrics.
4. Assess and summarize the critical elements that impact brand equity, customer brand affinity and business profitability throughout a brand’s life stage.

Features:

• Interaction with marketing experts
• Latest technologies
• Discussion boards for collaboration
• Technical Support

Benefits:

• No travel time
• Interactive learning experience
• Networking and connecting with other marketers
• Successful completion of this course counts towards your CM designation requirement
• Certificate upon successful completion of all course requirements.

CMA’s Summit course consists of a major case study analysis and presentation. Throughout the 12-week course learners will be required to participate in a series of exercises as part of a case study analysis and final presentation. Learners will have the opportunity to engage with fellow learners and to ask direct questions to the instructors.

The following is a general outline of the course content.

1. Industry Analysis and Developing Communication Skills.
• Identify and synthesize the organization’s core competencies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• Deliver visually compelling and professional written communications.
• Demonstrate effective verbal communication skills.
2. Competitive Landscape and Effective Marketing Leadership
• Analyze competitive landscape.
• Identify strategic implications of competitive landscape.
• Identify key traits of effective leadership.
• Deliver visually compelling and professional written communications.
• Demonstrate effective verbal communication skills.
3. Financial Insights
• Interpret financial data for a financial forecast.
• Draft a formal financial forecast for the business.
• Consumer Insights and Inspiring Creative Thinking
4. Analyze customer data.
• Prepare a customer profile/persona that clearly identifies the recommended customer segments.
• Explain how the business is positioned to satisfy the segmentation strategy.
• Create a mood board for the target audience.
• Rationalize mood board decisions in video format.
5. Strategic Alternatives
• Select strategic alternatives using sound decision criteria.
• Present key highlights via video to CM advisor.
6. Innovative Solutions and Adapting Strategies to Dynamic Changes
• Analyze unique alternatives to solve the case problem.
• Present summary of key recommendations to Senior Management team to gain approval to proceed with a full implementation plan.
• Apply creativity and innovative thinking to core business problems.
• Demonstrate effective verbal communication skills.
7. Marketing and Brand Strategy
• Identify strategic marketing priorities, brand strategy, marketing objectives and key milestones for the organization.
• Provide supporting rationale for the strategic marketing direction.
• Marketing Strategy and Implementation Tactics, and Leading a Team Effectively
• Build an implementation plan with key marketing tactics and corresponding budget requirements.
8. Create a change management plan.
• Outline the importance of active listening skills, personality understanding, and conflict negotiation when leading a team.
9. Delivering Strategic Solutions
• Complete the implementation plan including the key marketing tactics and corresponding budget requirements.
• Create a change management plan to ensure the go-forward plan is fully adopted internally.
• Outline the importance of active listening skills, personality understanding, and conflict negotiation when leading a team.
10. Compelling Presentations
• Outline the importance of active listening skills, personality understanding, and conflict negotiation when leading a team.
11. Clarify the role and benefits of a post analysis and reporting.
• Prepare a comprehensive individual presentation slide deck on problem, alternatives considered, final recommendation, financial implications and marketing implementation plan.
• Complete the final business case requesting approval to proceed.
12. Identify the elements of a post analysis and the importance of its conclusions.
• Reflect on personal progress and/or existing challenges in written format.
• Reflect on how you have grown as a marketing leader from the CM Program.
• Deliver visually compelling and professional written communications.
• Demonstrate effective verbal communication skills.

Course Requirements:

This course is the capstone course for the CM designation, learners must have completed Tools for Success, Finance and Campaign Execution, Creative Elements of Marketing and one elective course (Brand, Media or Insights). Learners must receive a minimum overall grade of 55% to pass the course. In addition, the final report grade must be 55% or higher and the final presentation (oral) grade must be 55% or higher.

After completing the Summit course, learners will be required to complete a free* short on-demand micro course, Compliance for Marketers, as a requirement to achieve their CM designation.

*The fee for Compliance for Marketers is waived for those who met the course requirements for their CM designation.

Workload:

This course is demanding, but very rewarding. The time required for the course will vary depending on your learning style, learners are likely to invest an average of 8 hours per week. You will be required to complete a series of weekly exercises, building on the previous work and culminating in a final report and formal presentation to demonstrate the application of learning.

• To cancel, a learner will select ‘credit request’ in MyBillings and select ‘refund’.
• Cancellations made greater than 14 calendar days prior to the course start date will not be penalized. A refund will be issued in full.
• Cancellations made with 14 or fewer calendar days prior to the course start date will be processed with a 50% administration fee deducted.
• No refunds past course start date.
• Refunds will be issued to the source of payment

In the Event of Program Cancellation

• We cannot always secure the minimum number of required participants to run each session. Program fees will be either credited or fully refunded in the event of a course cancellation at the discretion of the learner. 
• We take great pride in our programs and will do the utmost to make your experience with us both valuable and enjoyable. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or concerns.