May 2023 President’s Note

Marketers need to win today's race, while running tomorrow's.

Our profession must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today’s business needs. Clearly, not an easy feat but one that’s crucial for our profession to thrive.

This dual challenge was evident in your responses to our recent member research:

• 92% of respondents want help understanding how marketing drives business results, and best practices in measurement and investment across channels.
• 97% rank understanding the future of marketing and 90% selected emerging technologies like ChatGPT as their top priorities.

Supporting, educating and advancing our profession is core to the CMA and I’m committed to swiftly delivering on your needs.

To that end, we’re introducing training on How AI Can Make You a Better Marketer, with the first session running on June 5th. Our CMA Café this Thursday is focused on the Digital Economy & Digital Skills Gaps.

You can also benefit from our growing library of thought leadership to learn about embracing ChatGPT and AI for CX, marketing attribution and a wide selection of hot topics that will help you deliver on your organization’s needs both today and tomorrow.

Ensuring our profession is increasingly diverse and inclusive, and that campaigns and media strategies are inclusive and equitable, are important priorities for us all. The CMA has launched a resource hub to support you in this area. We will be adding new resources frequently, so visit it often to see what is new.

Creating opportunities for students and young marketers to learn also ranks as a high priority for our members. Our CMA NXT program is designed to deliver on this priority. The 600 students and young marketers who attended our networking event a few weeks ago can attest to how much it’s helping them.

Marketing leaders have told us that shared training and upskill ing their teams is a priority but the challenging economy has made it tougher to do this. So, we’re offering special pricing to help. If five colleagues in your company register for the same CMA course at the same time, you can register a sixth colleague for free.

Marketers are integral to Canada’s prosperity, innovation, business and societal success. The CMA is proud to champion marketing’s crucial role by delivering on your needs, uniting our community, and ensuring we are as dynamic, engaging and diverse as the profession we represent.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to meet one-to-one. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to chat. 

I hope you enjoy the upcoming long weekend and unofficial start to summer on May 22.

Warm regards,  
Alison Simpson 
President & CEO 

P.S. Our inaugural CMAfutureproof event on June 6 will be a powerful way to prepare for the future of marketing and to reconnect with peers. Our closing keynote is Raja Rajamannar, the bestselling author ofQuantum Marketing, WFA Global Marketer of the Year, and Mastercard’s Global CMO. You can attend virtually or in-person.