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comment SIZE MATTERS IF YOU’RE
STEERING A SUPERLINER
Tony Thomas
THE MAN WITH THE
GOLDEN CREDENTIALS
Adam Joseph
Managing director, Insights manager,
The Population Herald Sun Melbourne
I recently made one of my biggest career moves. I James Bond would be a nobody without a licence
have spent the bulk of my marketing career working to kill. Barristers get their name by passing the
in big organisations. And when I mean big, I mean big Bar. Accountants wear their CPA badges with
– Goodman Fielder, Diageo, PepsiCo and Ninemsn. pride. Qualifications are a prerequisite for entry in
Some may say I’m an establishment guy. If many professions, but in marketing they are often
anyone had asked me five years ago where I would a preference. But professionalism has its payback.
see myself now, answering “running a start-up Last year the London-based Chartered
agency” would have been inconceivable. Institute of Marketing (CIM), the leading
But something happened. The thought came to international body for marketers, co-funded a
me at about the same speed as the idea of having 50-page Economic Impact Assessment. For the
kids. One minute kids were an annoyance on first time, eight of the leading professional bodies
aeroplanes and the next I was tapping my wife on in Britain (including CIM) had an estimation of
the shoulder in the middle of the night. the lifetime economic benefits of holding
Big organisations have their benefits – security, professional qualifications and membership of a
support, structure and for some, a position of professional institute.
power. Big budgets, big teams and big pay packets So, what is the payback from holding a
are all attractive. You also have the ability to learn a professional qualification? According to the
lot from those around you, about systems and research the magic number is £81,000
processes, about dealing with people and standing ($A162,000). That figure is an average across the
out from the crowd. But, for me, it’s these exact eight different professions, so obviously amounts
things that suddenly became the reasons why I will vary for each one.
needed a change. In large businesses, no matter how Considering that a masters degree in marketing
good your processes, you end up spending a lot of at the prestigious Melbourne Business School will
time talking internally. Now don’t get me wrong, cost a little over $40,000, that still seems like a
internal communication is important to keep the decent career investment. But if you haven’t got a
business ticking, but when you’re a marketer, and spare $40,000 laying around, you might also
you spend more time talking to one another rather consider studying the CIM’s globally-recognised
than to the people who will hopefully buy your postgraduate diploma in marketing. This will set
product, there is an issue. you back around $8000 and is now offered
So, from someone who has just moved from through blended learning from the newly-
businesses with 100,000 plus employees to a start- established Australian College of Marketing.
up, what are the main differences? Firstly, ideas can But back to the report. It also looked at the
be acted upon immediately without multiple layers lifetime payback from membership of a
of stakeholders watering them down. You have the professional institute along the lines of CIM, or
ability to be agile and change course without feeling the equivalent Down Under, the Australian
like you are steering a superliner. There is also an Marketing Institute (AMI). According to the
innate feeling of team like nowhere else. Everyone research, the magic number is £71,000
shares the vision and is motivated by the possibility ($A142,000). This makes the few hundred dollars a
of building something out of nothing. Support is not year annual AMI membership feel like a good
a role, but is expected from everyone. Standing in investment too. On top of this, AMI members get a
the queue at the post office is everyone’s job. nice laminated James Bond-style card which I like
Success is everyone’s and is celebrated no matter to think of as my licence not to kill a brand.
how big and small. There is nowhere to turn when But the pinnacle for Australian marketers has
the pressure is on. You can’t blame the sales team to be Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM) status.
if you’re not hitting your numbers. The buck stops The AMI describes CPM accreditation as the peak
with everyone. professional benchmark for marketers. It takes
Now, I am not suggesting which environment is into account professional qualifications as well as
better, or that every large organisation doesn’t relevant marketing experience.
TO MAKE A deliver on the above thoughts, but there is no There are more than 1000 CPMs in Australia
question that size does matter when it comes to and their number is growing at an annual rate of
COMMENT EMAIL selecting the right environment for you. ■ 13%. If the CIM report is true, these are
EDITORIAL@BANDT.COM.AU To comment go to fromthepopulation.blogspot.com increasingly Australia’s most minted marketers. ■
12 BANDT.COM.AU MAY 29 2009