Dryden Marketing

Executive Summary

The American Marketing Association is the largest marketing association in the world, consisting of 45,000 members. AMA is also the market leader in their industry. In addition to offering association membership, AMA offers a wide variety of marketing publications, including books and journals. AMA has recently expressed interest in implementing a certification program that would expand consumer's knowledge and augment his/her marketability in jobs.

There is currently no widely accepted and comprehensive marketing certification program. Yet the marketing discipline encounters constant innovation and is increasing in size and popularity. The need for up-to-date and educated marketing professionals in organizations creates an enormous opportunity for AMA to successfully implement and market a certification program.

The certification program's principal goal is to reach a large percentage of the market and to communicate the program's benefits and value to consumers. AMA's primary target market consists of business professionals, including both AMA members and non-members. The secondary market is comprised of students currently enrolled in college.

AMA will promote to their members through direct mail and e-mail. Non-members will be reached by Internet advertising, utilizing banner ads. Since AMA is targeting students, they will benefit by advertising through the school systems. This includes business counselors and professors, posters, business-related councils, clubs and fraternities. Targeting professionals will entail advertising to employer companies as well. These advertisements will consist predominantly of direct mail promotional pieces aimed at top executives. Companies can utilize the certification program to educate their entire organization, or as a training and hiring specification.

II. Environmental Analysis

The External Environment

Competitive Pressures

The AMA has few direct competitors; therefore, this analysis will concentrate on the indirect competition faced by the AMA. All major colleges around the nation offer bachelor's degrees in the field of marketing. The AMA niche is an alternative degree in the field of marketing. There are two certification programs that offer us the greatest competition, Sales and Marketing Executives International and Society for Marketing Professional Services. Sales and Marketing Executive International has an extensive website and is in direct competition with the AMA. These companies compete for market share with the AMA, and therefore present the biggest threat within the industry. Competition also exists from smaller schools that offer alternative degree programs, which may be used as substitutes for the AMA certification program. These specialty schools offer a certification program that takes only weeks to complete. The degrees provided are not as meticulous as a bachelor's, but do offer a general overview on marketing principles. These specialized schools are usually an extended learning program used by major universities, although some institutions exist that specialize only in certification programs. These institutions and companies are homogenous in nature, and therefore offer the same services, general marketing certification programs. The Rocky Mountain DMA (direct marketing association) offers a professional development series in association with Regis University, based in Denver. This program entails an individual to take a series of courses, and to be tested on all related material. Once all requirements are passed, the individual is offered a certificate of fulfillment. This certifies that the individual has passed all requirements and now has a general knowledge of marketing principles and concepts. Various other companies offer this same service: general courses that, once completed in a satisfactory manner, entitle the individual to a certification of achievement in marketing.

Market

The size of these institutions vary by geographic location. Major cities invite a substantial group of business professionals. A single seminar may reach as many as 500 individuals. In more rural areas, class attendance is minimal and numbers generally vary from 10 to 40 individuals per class. The growth for these agencies is high due to the lucrative service offered. Many schools see this as a substantial way to increase revenue through extended learning. The certification process can cost up to $500 per person, a definite revenue extension for any institution and a profitable business venture for an organization. The only stipulation is the number of agencies per capita. The venture would not be profitable if competing organizations are in close proximity to one another. Marketing certification is a resume-builder and adds to the repertoire of an individual's skills. If an entire organization chooses to participate, it is tax deductible and increases a company's equity, making the industry highly profitable. The target market consists of professionals looking to boost their skills in hopes of advancement. This range would consist of men or women, post-college (22 years and above), and pre-retirement (below 65). More specifically, the market can be identified as individuals between 22 and 45 years of age. The strengths of a collegiate institution would be the amount of revenue taken in per year. Another strength would include experience; marketing professors could work additional hours teaching these seminars. A weakness would be compliance. Allocation of teachers, classrooms, and time could be hard to come by due to the fact that most professors have many additional activities and responsibilities. Many schools have night classes for non-traditional students and their continuing education, therefore, allocating a classroom may be a problem. SMEI has already established itself, and has an extensive website that can direct the user on how to comply with the professional certification program through a series of tapes and seminars that are readily available.

Economic Environment

Professional Marketing Certification is readily available anywhere in the U.S. Regions break down the target markets. These regions consist of major cities (Los Angeles, New York), medium cities (Denver, Phoenix, Portland), and some smaller geographic locations. If the customer has a need to be certified, he/she can find a program anywhere in the country. With consumer spending at an all time high, the economic climate for certification is outstanding. More and more people are using the Internet, and e-commerce