January 2024 President’s Note

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful and memory-rich holiday season with family and friends, and you’re feeling recharged and excited for the year ahead. After a very busy first year in my role with the CMA, I enjoyed the break and creating new memories.

Now, I’m thrilled for the exciting new benefits and many ways the Association will bring together and help advance our profession in 2024. We are committed to helping futureproof you and your teams so you can thrive. 

To that end, we’re kicking off the year by introducing four new member benefits and innovations:

1. We’ve increased the number of high-quality events that will be included in your membership. They'll cover a wide range of topics.   

• We’re kicking off the first quarter of 2024 with five events you can enjoy for free. I invite you to check the first ones out and register.

2. In February, the CMA is launching an on-demand GenAI training series.

• The series complements the four GenAI courses we offered in 2023.
• It consists of 30-minute modules around key topics you need to understand to leverage and benefit from GenAI.

3. Our member research told us that the benefits you most value from the CMA is the opportunity to be part of a community, learn from other marketers, collaborate, and network. So this spring, we are introducing a new way for members to do exactly that with the launch of CMA Forward.

• CMA Forward is a free online free forum exclusively for CMA members to come together to debate hot topics, share thought leadership and meet new marketers from across Canada.
• CMA Forward will also feature career-stage communities so you can easily meet and interact with new peers. 

4. We’re introducing CMA Marketing Week in May. 

• Get ready for a week packed with inspiration and innovation as we delve into the future of marketing.

Our CMA Connect podcast is another way the CMA is helping future-proof the profession. I’ve got a great line up planned with leaders from across the industry to discuss a broad spectrum of hot topics. Our first episode of 2024 goes live on January 9. You can listen to all of our episodes here.

Professional development is another powerful way the CMA can help future-proof you and your team.

We’re evolving the Chartered Marketer (CM) program by introducing new Advanced Standing Pathways this month. The new pathways make completing the designation more relevant to marketers across a wider range of career stages by recognizing formal marketing education, and substantial marketing experience.

• The new Career Experience path is for marketers with a minimum of eight years of progressive and diverse marketing experience.
• The new Education paths are for graduates with a marketing degree or diploma from an accredited Canadian University or College.
• People who qualify for these new pathways will have a streamlined course requirement to obtain their CM designation.

Advocacy – and privacy law reform continues to be a key priority.
Since appearing at the parliamentary committee studying the proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act – one of only a handful of business associations invited to appear – we are continuing to reach out to MPs to advocate for reasonable amendments that will ensure innovation and privacy protection.

We also continue to expand our resources to keep you well informed across a range of important topics.
You can brush up on the rules for promotional contests with our latest blog: Contests 101: What marketers need to know, written in collaboration with the Competition Bureau.

The year is off to a strong start, and we’re excited to innovate and provide additional resources and benefits in the months ahead.

As the voice of marketing in Canada, the CMA is the only place where the full marketing ecosystem comes together to network, learn and work on important topics that impact all of us. I’m thrilled you’re part of our community and I’m looking forward to the great year ahead.

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

Warm regards, Alison Simpson