To further grow in her career at TD, Cortney Jenner recognized that she would need marketing skills not necessarily taught in school. So in January 2021, she enrolled in the Canadian Marketing Association’s Chartered Marketer (CM) program, believing it was an opportunity to deepen her skill set and apply her knowledge in the kind of fast-changing, hybrid environment marketers work in today.

“It felt like it would be a great opportunity to round out my hard and soft skills,” says Jenner, now a marketing manager on the bank’s corporate citizenship team.

The CM designation was established in 2017 with the goal to elevate the marketing discipline and set new professional development standards across the industry. To obtain accreditation, CM students undertake a two-year, fully remote program that includes three applied marketing courses, one specialization elective and a final summit course.

The core marketing courses cover the essential tools and processes required to succeed in any marketing function, from campaign development to marketing technology and performance measurement. As CM students progress through the program, they work on a real-world case alongside industry peers, with support from CM advisors and industry professionals, transforming them into well-rounded marketers and business thinkers.

Before the CM designation, marketing remained one of the few professions without a post-graduate program leading to a professional accreditation, says Jeffrey O’Leary (pictured below), a Chartered Professional Accountant by trade and summit course instructor who helped develop elements of the CM program.

“The certification is now a differentiator in the marketplace, because it shows that you’ve been through the required courses, built the critical thinking and communication skills to succeed in today’s world,” O’Leary says. “When employers see the designation, they should feel confident that the candidate has those skill sets.”

One of the aspects Jenner found most engaging about the program was the ability to interact with marketers from different disciplines and backgrounds, who hail from all parts of the country. “There’s real importance placed on learning from one another,” she says.

After completing their specialization elective in either brand management or media, CM students put what they have learned into practice during the final summit course, facilitated by O’Leary and two other instructors.

The marketers are given an intensive, 25-page case study worthy of Harvard Business School. It typically involves a client with aggressive growth plans and invites students to think strategically about all aspects of the business, O’Leary explains. A holistic approach is taken, because “we want the students to be well-versed not only in tactical marketing, but also strategic thinking.”

Throughout the course, students work hand-in-hand with their instructors and a CM advisor, typically a CMO or senior marketer who help them think through their case recommendations, O’Leary says. The summit culminates with a final presentation and report designed to refine students’ communication and interpersonal skills, which are critical to advancing into senior leadership roles.

Naturally, O’Leary adds, summit students are also thrown a curveball say, a product recall or global health crisis just as they are getting a handle on their case.

“You spend 12 weeks planning, exploring options, researching and pivoting,” says Jenner, whose case focused on a dog food company that was looking to expand following an exclusive partnership. “When you finally present your cumulative findings, it’s very rewarding to see everything come together. You get a full start-to-finish view on the crucial role marketing plays in supporting key business decisions.”

In the future, O’Leary believes there’s an opportunity for the CM program to offer greater specialization by offering additional elective courses. This would enable Chartered Marketers to market themselves as proficient in a particular area, such as analytics or social media.

“We haven’t fleshed out all the electives to get us there,” he says. “But that’s aspirationally what I would like to see, because that’s what we see in other professions.”

Having obtained the designation in August, Jenner says the experience has “solidified” her love of brand marketing and exposed her “to marketing disciplines I may not have otherwise encountered at this point in my career.”

She’s been promoted twice at TD since starting the program, and believes it will open even more doors throughout her career.

“There is a lot of prestige associated with the CM,” she says. “I’m hopeful that it will set me apart as I look to future opportunities and what comes next.”

For more information on Chartered Marketer’s program please contact – learning@thecma.ca