August 2025 President's Note

Happy August,

I’m writing from a friend’s cottage in the Laurentians as I embrace Canada’s natural beauty and take some time to relax and recharge during a very busy summer. I hope you have fun plans for the August long weekend, too!

So, what’s been keeping everyone at the CMA so busy?

The CMA Awards top the list and it’s not just our CMA team that is involved in this effort. Our 550 judges are hard at work reviewing our record number of entries.

While entries for our main awards have closed, you have until August 7 to enter one of our six Special Awards, including the Global Creative Award, Power of Entertainment Award, and Direct Mail Award.

You can also submit nominees until September 2 for our Premiere Awards, including our 2025 Marketer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award and AIM Award. The AIM Award recognizes rising stars in our profession, and we’ve expanded it this year to include an agency rising star.

It is free for members to submit nominations for our CMA Special and Premiere Awards. I encourage you to nominate deserving colleagues and notable campaigns for this prestigious recognition.

Our fifth annual Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) study of the Canadian marketing profession has also kept us busy this summer. We shared the 2025 report at a virtual event with 250 marketers earlier this week.

The report reveals strong support for EDI among Canadian marketers, the importance of diverse leadership teams, insights about the experiences of newcomers and marginalized communities, ageism, and the impact of polarization.

Here are a few key learnings:

• Two-thirds of Canadian marketers support EDI, noting benefits such as the creation of fair opportunities, authentic representation, and enhancement of innovation and problem solving.
• 17% more marketers report improvement in diversity of their senior leadership teams compared to last year, along with an increase in senior leadership roles with EDI responsibility.
• Workplaces are increasingly stressful and polarized, particularly for members of marginalized communities that are more likely to observe discrimination, be subject to ageism, and face higher risk of job loss.
• In the face of increasing polarization, more people feel empowered to speak up about their beliefs.

You can access the full report here.

On the advocacy front, we are completing two submissions on algorithmic pricing for the Competition Bureau, and a children’s privacy code for the federal Privacy Commissioner.  The CMA also participated in a round table with diverse stakeholders to discuss the children’s privacy code yesterday.

We’ve completed a blog with the Competition Bureau that provides helpful guidance for marketers on pricing claims and deceptive marketing practices, including the most frequent consumer complaints that the Bureau receives.

It was wonderful to raise a toast with so many members of our talented marketing community at the CMA Summer Social in July. The event sold out very quickly, and I’m sorry if you couldn’t join us.

Our next opportunity to come together is at CMA Media Evolution on September 16. We’ll explore the growing significance of media in marketing and hear from industry leaders shaping the future of media, research and adtech. The event will wrap with a cocktail reception.

With the tectonic shifts happening in marketing, embracing learning and building new skills are crucial for futureproofing marketers at every level. Fitting learning into our busy days is challenging. That’s why the CMA offers a wide range of options, so you can learn on your terms. Our members also benefit from special pricing that represents savings of 50%.

• Our Chartered Marketer (CM) program, Canada’s only professional marketing designation, is available on demand, offering the flexibility to adapt to your unique needs and marketing career goals.
  • We’ve updated our CM curriculum to address the latest in GenAI and introduced a new AI elective.
  • The changes to our CM program are really resonating and we’ve welcomed 376 new CM graduates to our talented community in the last year. They’re all benefitting from a powerful differentiator in a highly competitive profession.
• We’ve expanded our CMA Digital Courses, including more GenAI courses. Our fall term is now open for registration.
• We offer a wide range of customized In-house Training programs to meet the unique needs of your business and team.
• Our Digital Marketing Skills Canada program is an exclusive opportunity for senior marketers in eligible innovative sectors to receive 100% funding for the Chartered Marketer (CM) designation. 

As you can see, it’s been a busy and productive summer so far. This fall, we will be unveiling more exciting new benefits and innovations that you can enjoy as part of your CMA membership. 

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

I hope you have a terrific long weekend!

Warmly, Alison
President & CEO

P.S. I’m thrilled to share that 20 new members have joined our CMA community since the spring. Please join me in welcoming: Yamaha Motor Canada, Weber Shandwick, StackAdapt, Quanta, Onward Media Group, LP/AD, RATESDOTCA, Ketchum Public Relations Canada, X Corp, Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association, WPP Group Canada Communications, QuadReal, City of Vaughan, Chartered Business Valuators Institute, Atomic Spark Inc, Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Marketing Solutions, ChangeMakers, ORCAFY, and Health Products Stewardship Association