Marketing defined – A profession or an industry?

Highlighting our standards, qualifications and credentials

I occasionally find myself in debates on whether marketing is an industry or a profession. I firmly believe it’s the latter. A profession is a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification. 

Most professions are based on an underlying science. For example, engineering is based on physics and medical professions are based on biology. Marketing is based on psychology, sociology and increasingly, on data science. It transcends industries – you aren’t likely to find a sector that doesn’t have a need for marketing in some capacity. 

Something that marketing and all major professions have in common is the need for standards, qualifications and credentials. Setting standards of excellence – and helping marketers achieve them – is one of the CMA’s core pillars. We expect all members to adhere to our Canadian Marketing Code of Ethics and Standards, we offer numerous upskilling opportunities through our certificate courses and seminars, and when it comes to credentials, our Chartered Marketer designation is a must-have for current and future leaders in the profession.

The Chartered Marketer designation doesn’t belong to the CMA, really. It belongs to – and brings credibility to – all of you as marketing professionals. 

We are here to embolden you to impact business, and if the past two years have shown us anything, it’s that you have risen to the challenge to do just that.