Marketing: The profession and the professional

The rollout of Henry Ford’s T Model in the early 1900s could be considered the inception of the so called ‘Production Concept’ and the forerunner for its progeny, the discipline of marketing, in the subsequent years to come.

Whilst the Fords were helping germinate concept in the US, 12 individuals on the other side of the Atlantic were forming an association of sales managers in 1911, which would later become the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

This birth, evolution and the subsequent transformation of the profession of marketing, as we see it today, have been due to the industry (the Fords, et al) and the professionals (like the members of CIM).

Marketing is a discipline that has arisen from the industry as a profession and subsequently been fine-tuned and made into a science by the illustrious academia and thought leaderships over the years throughout the world.

The focus of this article is to highlight the importance of the professional and his/her role in making their profession a success in the industry and academia. In 2011, the Chartered Institute of Marketing will be celebrating its centennial year as an institute that championed the cause of marketing across the globe.

As the largest professional body of marketing in the world, today it has over 45,000 members across many geographic regions and industry verticals. As a member organisation, it is the members and the volunteers those who have been instrumental in writing this success story throughout its 100 years.

CIM established its first overseas branch in Sri Lanka in 1995. Sri Lanka at that time being the largest geographic concentration of marketing students away from the United Kingdom was the main reason for CIM UK to establish an official branch in the country.

Sri Lanka became such a success story because of the untiring efforts many unsung heroes of marketing in our fraternity. The first such figure, or should we say the ‘father figure’ that comes into our minds is that indefatigable paternal figure of Eardly Perera.

In the sixties, the concept marketing was just getting evolved and the organisations are just beginning to understand the difference between sales and marketing. A country like Sri Lanka, with a closed economic environment, a profession like marketing would have been the last function for a business leader to think about.

However, Eardly’s efforts in educating each and every Personnel Manager, as they were called at that time, and corporate CEOs on marketing and CIM, had been passionate plea on behalf of our profession. His voluntary efforts in that era, has paid off for all of us to talk about the success of the profession in our country.

The role of the professionals to uplift the profession is elementary. It is indeed a chicken or the egg situation; which comes first is not the issue but one depends on the other, viz, recognition for the professional comes if there is recognition for the profession. We have seen subsequent marketing professionals who have tirelessly contributed to the promotion of CIM and marketing in Sri Lanka.

When CIM UK established the first overseas branch, Eardly Perera was unanimously made the Founder Chairman of the local chapter and a team of volunteers joined him as his first council. We have seen over the years the mantle being passed out to the next senior most in the council to take the torch forward.

The branch management model that was initiated by the subsequent Chair of CIM Sri Lanka, Professor Uditha Liyanage, was adopted by CIM UK as an exemplary model for managing any voluntary membership institution across the globe.

The robust and exemplary structure and succession path created from subcommittee to the Regional Chair to the International Board of Trustees level by this model (further fine-tuned by the subsequent Chairmen, Lasantha Abeywickrema and Lasantha Wikramasooriya who were also instrumental in developing the strategic plan for Sri Lanka Region during their tenure) ensures that any volunteer with a passion for marketing and CIM can work his/her way forward to the top of the establishment whilst making a vital contribution to the profession and the institution.

We have seen the likes of Professor Uditha Liyanage, Lasantha Wikramasooriya, Suren Rajanthan and Shiraz Latiff working their way up from the bottom rungs of the Institution up to the level of sitting on the International Board of Trustees of CIM UK.

This level of involvement provides the opportunity for a country like Sri Lanka to be a part of the strategy making body for Marketing and CIM globally and share the best practices and success stories from this part of the world.

It is therefore, opportune that we end this article with the famous quote from John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” We could rephrase it in this manner: “Ask not what you have achieved from your profession, but what you can do for it to make it succeed as much as you have.” This is indeed a call to all marketing professionals to rally round the Chartered Institute of Marketing, not only to celebrate its centennial but also to forge another successful 100 years from now on.