The Chartered Institute of Marketing

The Chartered Institute of Marketing is a world-wide membership-based organisation for professional marketers. It is headquartered in Berkshire, England, and offers well-recognised marketing qualifications, membership and training.

History Of The Institute

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (originally known as the Sales Managers Association) was first established in 1911. Its founders were 12 sales managers who shared a common target to improve techniques used in sales and to bring greater professionalism within their chosen careers.

With the passage of time The Institute grew both in terms of members and the services it offered. Steadily the organisation entered the educational sector, alongside its main service to its members. The Institute of Marketing held it’s first examinations in 1928.

In 1989 it was awarded the Royal Charter and henceforth became known as The Chartered Institute of Marketing from being The Institute of Marketing. The Institute also began to award the Chartered Marketer status in recognition of individual expertise in marketing theory and practise.

Today The Chartered Institute of Marketing is widely recognised as the leading global body for marketing professionals. With members and branches around the world, The Institute is at present working to raise the professional status of marketing onto a more strategic level.

Services Offered

For an organisation whose formal mission statement states it’s aspiration to be recognised as “the pre-eminent body on marketing practise, standards and associated knowledge on an international basis”, The Institute has already come a long way. Members of the worldwide organisation can work towards qualifying in some of the most respected and well recognised qualifications in the corporate world today. The services and benefits on offer to members are numerous, and offer a golden window of opportunity for those looking for career progression, professional marketing support or just and opportunity to network with fellow marketers.

The Institute has an extensive membership base across the world with branches in Australia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Singapore amongst others. Members receive numerous benefits including access to an online comprehensive marketing database, career support, monthly copy of The Institute’s award winning magazine ‘The Marketer’, discounts on training and key marketing texts and the opportunity to network and attend marketing events within various sectors.

There are different grades of membership which are explained here in ascending order. (Professional) Affiliate Membership is open to anyone, with no previous qualifications or experience required. (Students) Affiliate Members cover those undertaking one of the qualifications on offer from The Institute. Associate Membership is on offer for those with four or more years experience in marketing (one of which needs to be at management level) or hold a CIM Professional Diploma.

The highest grade of membership is that of Chartered Marketer. This is awarded in recognition of practical experience, expertise and sound theoretical knowledge. The Chartered Marketer status requires members to undergo a continuous professional development (CPD) process. Full Members are those individuals who have completed The Institute’s qualifications process or possess a high enough level of proven practical experience. Finally, a Fellowship from The Institute is conferred on completion of full academic qualifications plus a proven record of experience and expertise.

Membership of The institute is tied in with the marketing qualifications which it offers. Therefore all students of The Institute must become affiliate members in order to study for one of the qualifications. The Chartered Institute of Marketing offers a range of internationally recognised qualifications, from introductory courses aimed at those just starting out in marketing, to strategic level qualifications for more senior marketers. The main qualifications which The Institute offers are The Introductory Certificate in Marketing, Professional Certificate in Marketing, Professional Diploma in Marketing and the Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.

The Institute also awards the Diploma in Tourism Marketing, the e-marketing Award and The CAM Diploma in Marketing Communications, which is THE qualification for those wishing to learn the fundamentals of Marketing Communications. Besides marketing there are also sales qualifications on offer. These are the Online Certificate in Professional Sales, Advanced Certificate in Professional Sales Management, Advanced Certificate in Key Account Management and the Intensive Diploma in Professional Sales. In addition to these, there are also short one or two day training courses which are open to everyone, .although members receive a special discount.

One of the more recent initiatives from The Institute has been its Senior Management programme which offers participant members the opportunity to gain stimulus through networking and sharing with other senior manager.

Timeline

The Chartered Institute of Marketing has been established for almost one hundred years. Featured below are select highlights of notable developments in The Institute’s history.

The Early Years

1905 :E S Daniells arrived from the United States. Daniells was to go on to become the first founder and Chairman of The Institute on its inception in 1911.
1911 :The Institute is first established. Regular monthly dinner meetings were started in June. Mr J W Jenkins of The Times presented the subject for future discussions.

The War Years (WWI)

1914 :Just when the ideas of the founders were taking shape, World War 1 intervened.
1915 :Subjects for discussion during the war era included ‘Imperial Allies Trade after the War’ and ‘War Time Staff Problems’.
1916 :The Institute hosted an ‘entertainment and tea’ for wounded soldiers at the King's Hall.
1917-1918 :Members on Military Service were to become Honorary Members until they returned to civilian life.

The Years between the World Wars

1928 :The Institute held it’s first Certificate examinations.
1931 :Miss Jean Gordon becomes the first woman to pass final examinations.

The War Years* (WWII)

1939 :The Institute’s then headquarters in Bedford Square remained operational with the inception of WW II. However precautionary measures were undertaken, with the basement being sandbagged and black curtains being used in the chamber.
1940 :A panel of members employed by, or closely connected to Government Departments or Trade Boards or Committees, was set up to deal with members’ enquiries on wartime Government Control Restrictions or Regulations.
1941 :At an Executive Meeting of Sales Managers’ of Philadelphia it was proposed and unanimously passed that their Annual Award ‘The Howard G Ford’ be given to The Institute in admiration and recognition of ‘your carrying on during trying times’.
1942-1943 :Numerous members were awarded Fellowship in recognition for holding office under difficult war conditions.
1944 :The pickup Medal for Best Student was won by Captain Guy Ward, a prisoner of war in Germany.
1946 :This year The Institute decided to hold its Annual Conference at Scarborough. Subjects on discussion included ‘The Challenge of the Economic Crises’, ‘Defence of distribution standards’ and ‘The attack on overseas markets’.: This was also the year in which a committee was setup, under the chairmanship of Captain Arthur Tickler, to campaign for better packaging of British goods for export. This resulted from a strong feeling among a number of members that bad packaging was one of the main reasons for poor performance, particularly in the dollar markets.

* At the height of the war, The Institute conducted examinations in 82 different camps and involved more than 6000 students. 58 members were awarded Fellowships for wartime service to The Institute.

Post War Period

1952 :HRH The Duke of Edinburgh becomes a Patron of The Institute.
1956 :The Association is instrumental in the founding of the European Contact Group of Sales and Marketing Associations (which later became known as The European Marketing Council). The organisation would go on to play an instrumental role in the development of educational qualifications throughout the European Union.
1961 :The Institute revises its examinations and introduces the Diploma. Today the Diploma from The Chartered Institute of Marketing is one that is well recognised in the corporate world.

The Latter Years

1970 :The organisation moves from its London headquarters to Moor Hall, Cookham.
1980 :The Institute announced that all future membership would be by qualification only.
1981 :Membership of The Institute reaches 21, 000. Figures would go on to reach nearly 50, 000 members in 2006.
1987 :The Prince of Wales visited The Institute’s headquarters at Moor Hall.
1989 :The Institute is awarded an English Royal Charter and henceforth became known as The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Recent Years And Current Developments

2000 :The Communications, Advertising and Marketing (CAM) Foundation forms an alliance with The Institute. Since then CAM qualifications have been managed and awarded by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.
2005 :Former British Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine is made the President of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. The same year Ana Chacon is recognised as The Institute’s 65,000th student.
2006 :David Magliano, the marketer behind London’s successful bid for Olympic 2012, is awarded a fellowship of The Institute. Speaking on the occasion, David commented “the highest accolade is always recognition by your peers”.

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