IDM launches the UK's first professional qualification in e-marketing
Released 17 October 2000: The Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM) has announced that it will be piloting the UK's first professional qualification in e-marketing, the IDM Certificate in E-Marketing, next February. The professional qualification also comes with a unique warranty to maintain its validity in anticipation of the continual evolution of technology-driven marketing.
Confirmed course tutors include: Danny Meadows-Klue, who launched the Electronic Telegraph; Mike Crossman, Managing Director of Bates Interactive, producers of the 10 Downing Street website; and Thom Kennon, Managing Director at WWAVRC Digital, who lists the world's largest legal recruitment site, www.employernet.com, and the Imperial Cancer Research website among his successes.
The qualification syllabus, developed by the IDM's e-commerce division, was shared with a selection of leading industry figures in advance of the launch. Their feedback was extremely positive, indicating that the new qualification will deliver the required skills set for effective e-marketing.
Richard Mound, Head of Interactive Marketing Communications at IBM Europe, commented, "At last we have a professional qualification in e-marketing". Chris Townsend, Telewest Communications' Director of Interactive Services for Digital, said, "This certificate will put marketers on the fast track to successful practice in all the new media." Sue Norgrove-Moore, Director at McCann Erickson, Manchester, added that the qualification "will secure success in the new economy by bringing together the online business and marketing principles that really work".
The new Certificate is being offered with a three-year extendable warranty to ensure that the qualification never dates. Certificate holders will benefit from one-day top-level briefings detailing the latest trends in e-marketing for as long as their warranties are valid.
Professor Derek Holder, Managing Director of the IDM, explained, "The definitive guide to e-marketing does not yet exist, and there is a good chance that it never will do. That said, the profession needs a qualification delivering what constitutes best practice today. Alongside the latest methods in new media marketing comes the warranty, presenting students with a unique proposition—the qualification that never dates."
The aim of the course is to provide marketers with the skills and knowledge to excel in the digital age. The Certificate will be piloted in London in early 2001 in the form of weekly evening classes. In addition to the 48 hours' directed study, which includes six case studies, there will be 50 hours' self study, 20 hours' assignment work and 24 hours' revision, making up a total of 142 hours' work. Residential, day-release, distance-learning and online versions of the qualification will follow.
To find out more about the IDM Certificate in E-Marketing, contact the Qualifications department on +44 (0)20 8614 0271 or visit www.theidm.com/qualifications.
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About the IDM
Founded in 1987, The Institute of Direct Marketing is recognised as the fastest-growing marketing institute in Europe and has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its professional development, training programmes and membership services. Additional activities include events, awards, research, information services and consultancy. Find further information on the IDM by visiting www.theidm.com.
