No taxation without representation!
Forgive the flippant headline, but I wanted to get your attention (you will recall that this was the rallying cry of the American colonists in the campaign for independence from Britain).
I want to raise the subject of representation in the context of the AMI. Your membership fees give you some right to representation; the right to vote for representatives on your State Council and the right to vote on motions put before the Annual General Meeting. As is the case in associations where much of the organisation’s activities depend on the efforts of volunteers, there is often little chance or need to exercise your representational right.
Frequently, State Council elections are not held because the number of candidates does not exceed the number of available positions. Few motions before the AGM motivate many members to vote, as they are usually unexceptional or procedural.
As you know, the Board of the AMI comprises a core of representatives from each state and territory chosen by the State Council. There may also be up to four co-opted members.
Because Councils are often elected by default, it is fair to say the Board is mainly composed of people selected by a handful of members. Again, this is quite common in associations where most members have neither the inclination nor the time for active involvement.
But those who become Board members take on significant responsibility and the Board, as an entity, has considerable authority. It frequently assists with operational issues as well as making the highest-level strategic decisions about the AMI.
So is this the optimum way to get the best people to run this part of your Institute? I think there’s little doubt that we can always improve, and one of the ways we might do this is to have documented details of the qualities people should bring to the Board table. And indeed, the subject of capacities, competencies and skills of Board members is being actively considered right now, and we expect to have a report on this subject to distribute to State Councils later in the year to assist them in nominating the best possible people for the job.
However, this does not mean I am unhappy with current progress. I believe the AMI is in a stronger position now than it has been at any time in the past 8-10 years, and there are many people who have put in considerable effort to the cause over recent years as members of the Board and/or its committees and as members of State Councils.
But there is still a good case for you to consider getting closer to your professional association. We are on the threshold of some big developments, with projects such as Marketing Metrics giving us a much stronger profile in the marketing and general business communities, so I believe it is an ideal time to consider becoming involved in this exciting journey.
Finally, the Board is preparing to put a proposal for its restructure to members, to improve the way it operates and to provide greater continuity. These proposed changes will require an Extraordinary General Meeting. When the proposal is put, I urge you to become involved in examining it and voting on it. It is your Institute and you should exercise your right to this key aspect of representation.
What makes a professional marketer?
There is no doubt that there has been a great deal of misunderstanding about the true role of marketing. In the same way, outside our profession there is also a lack of understanding about the defining characteristics of a professional marketer. I was asked to contribute to a study unit for one of our universities recently on just what it is that makes a professional marketer. In thinking about the question, I felt we could perhaps come to a better understanding of the broader role of marketing by considering what a professional marketer is not.
A professional marketer is not just:
- A market researcher.
- An advertising person.
- A direct marketer.
- A public relations person.
- A supply chain person.
- A pricing person.
- A sales person.
A professional marketer will be skilled and knowledgeable about a range of disciplines and techniques, including market research, advertising, direct marketing, public relations, pricing, supply chain management and sales, but may use these skills in one area, or many of them.
A professional marketer is not:
- A technical specialist.
- A generalist strategic manager.
A professional marketer is able to embrace the best thinking from both technology and general management.
A professional marketer is not:
- A short-term thinker.
- A quick-results person.
A professional marketer thinks long term and strategically, yet is able to respond with speed and agility to seize an opportunity today.
A professional marketer is not:
- Someone who would rather work only with those who use familiar, private definitions and cherish the jargon of insiders.
- A person who thinks that the language of finance is only for accountants and finance managers.
The professional marketer has embraced the reality of marketing as a value-adding discipline, measured and expressed partly in the language of finance, but rooted in the behavioural sciences that address the way real people feel, think, and behave.
A professional marketer is not:
- An objective analyst, totally founded in the power of logic.
- A creative enthusiast, driven by the excitement of a novel approach, of thinking laterally…
… for a professional marketer blends the discipline of rigorous, analytical thinking with the excitement and spontaneity of novel ideas – for new products, for new communications and new ways of understanding the critical interface between a business and its customers, since it is marketing that is able to develop, test, refine and prove new products and new ideas that truly connect with people.
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