'Messcherpe focus' voor de marketeer

Het gaat met name om het leren omgaan met de toegenomen druk op analytics en accountability voor marketeers, en op een strategische manier omgaan met de nieuwe digitale mogelijkheden. Het door CIM (Charted Institute of Marketing) gecertificeerde programma wordt aangeboden in samenwerking met het Cambridge Marketing College dat al meer dan 20 jaar CIM programma’s aanbiedt aan marketing professionals in Engeland. MarketingTribune spreekt met Andrew Hatcher (zie foto), Publishing Director van de Cambridge Marketing Review en docent van de module Mastering Metrics. Dit is de eerste module die in februari 2016 zal worden aangeboden.

Is this professional marketing diploma developed because of the wish of the market (marketers) or was it the idea of the school?
The new courses were driven by responses to market research among professional marketers which demonstrated that marketing environments had developed significantly over recent years, both in terms of the rise of digital contexts and the demand for more marketing accountability, and these had uncovered new demands on marketing professionals. These changes had profoundly changed the marketing landscape and so the structure and content of the courses needed to be reviewed and upgraded. These new courses are the result of that strategic review process.

What is the essence of the three modules: Strategic Marketing, Mastering Metrics en Digital Strategy?
The Diploma provides three bases upon which a marketer can build their marketing strengths. All marketing needs some sort of strategic thought and planning and so one module, Strategic Marketing, offers a foundation in auditing and analysing a situation in order to produce an appropriate and robust strategic marketing plan.
In terms of the Mastering Metrics module, it is becoming an essential part of the lives of all marketers to measure their performance with more accuracy and consistency and so this module is focused on understanding the role metrics can play, choosing the right metrics for each context and goal and enabling the effective implementation into organisational work flows. Current attention to big data and analytics shows us the vast amount of things we can measure these days. This module will help delegates to take a step back and understand first what they need to measure before they decide on the appropriate measures.  
The last module, digital strategy, reflects the nature of an increasing proportion of marketing being spent through digital media and, as this context is so complex, developing an appropriate strategy for implementation has become a marketing essential. The main angle of this module is how to use the digital channel in a strategic way rather than the tactical attention it is getting at this moment.

NIMA and Beeckestijn don’t teach these skills?
Both these schools offer similar high-quality qualifications but neither have the same global reputation nor reach that has been developed by the CIM which has set the professional standards for marketers in the majority of countries outside the USA for over 100 years. Additionally, the CIM specialises only in Marketing and so has a razor-sharp focus in that specific niche. This has enabled it to refine its offerings to uniquely meet the needs of the modern-day marketing professional and to address contemporary issues with appropriate assessments. An additional value of this program is that each module is certified separately by the CIM. This makes it possible also for well-trained marketers to get an internationally acknowledged update for that specific area that they need to upskill.

What can course members expect of the teachers and the standard of the courses, and can you describe a course day? On a personal note, what is your way of teaching?
The UvA works together with the Cambridge Marketing College, whose lecturers are not just educators but are also practising marketers , which means that they not only understand all the syllabus areas, but can use real-life examples to illustrate many learning points. The standard of the materials is post-graduate, in the Netherlands that is post-HBO and post-bachelor level. The materials are challenging, but they are all taught in a practical way, and assessed by the application of the materials to the delegate’s own organisation.
All our courses are interactive and are not delivered in a ‘lecture’ style. In most cases the tutor will split the day up into a series of short facilitated syllabus discussion sessions followed by break-out periods where delegate groups will work on specific tasks that encourage them to use what they have learned on practical examples, either using their own experience or case-studies. We encourage delegate discussion, challenges and questions throughout.

For what kind of marketers (B2B, B2C, FMCG, Food&Retail) are these courses the most/extra relevant and what can they use in their daily work?
One of the reasons why the Cambridge Marketing College has been so successful at delivering marketing qualifications is because it has become very skilled in adapting the syllabus to fit most economic sectors. This means that no delegate will feel that any specific part of a module is not relevant to, or cannot be adapted to fit, their context. At the college we fully understand that the vast majority of our delegates are in full-time employment, and so the work they undertake as part of their courses is always orientated to be useful for their working context with a strong emphasis on the application of learning as soon as possible. As indicated earlier, also the examination by CIM will be focused on their own organisation and working environment.

How many marketers can register for the first shift of the courses? What are the costs?
We want to start with a maximum of 25 in the first group to facilitate discussion and overseas learning.  The costs are 1.700 euro per module or 4.500 for the whole program. This includes all materials, full-day sessions and the personal tutoring to prepare the assessment projects, as well as access to additional marketing and course information through a dedicated website. The students of the first shift of each module in the Netherlands will get a one year free membership of the Chartered Marketing Institute in the UK, with access to all their additional marketing materials and news.

When do you achieve your goals, I mean, when is your mission accomplished?
What is becoming much clearer in the world of global marketing is that employers are expecting marketers to achieve ‘professional’ standards, which means that they need to have recognised high quality qualifications that reflect this level of accomplishment, much as is expected of accountants or lawyers. What we do find from our delegates is that the courses provide them with a platform upon which they can build professional credibility within their own organisations by effectively using the theory and practice together to generate marketing value. The development by delegates of robust strategies, both general and digital, and the implementation of effective metrics programmes that deliver insight, are the outcomes that show that these courses can support marketing professionals in their career development and in the achievement of more effective marketing results.

De deadline om in te schrijven voor het programma en/of de losse metrics is maandag 25 januari. Op deze website vindt u informatie en kunt u inschrijven.