KYLIE GREEN, CHAIRPERSON OF APMA

THE APMA - COMMITMENT TO PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE

As the Chairperson of the Australasian Promotional Marketing Association (APMA) I can appreciate that with the rapid growth in the number of industry bodies, discovering their specific benefits and choosing the most appropriate one to join can be a daunting task. That’s where I am hoping I can help.

For a little background, the industry body that has been known as the APMA for the past 10 years was first established in 1979 to represent leading Promotional Marketing Agencies in Australia and New Zealand with the mission to be the leading industry authority on Promotional Marketing in the region.

In 2008, the APMA is a profitable body with a healthy membership base, steadily increasing by an impressive 25 per cent since 2005. Having said this, our members are not the only ones to benefit, as clients of APMA member agencies have access to an unrivalled breadth of experience and depth of expertise as well as specialist, highly dedicated Promotional Marketing teams supported by the industry’s leading body.

Focusing on three core areas, the APMA manages business issues that affect member agencies, provides valuable services to members in legal, financial, ethical and professional matters as well as promoting the Promotional Marketing industry through networking functions, awards programs and education and training.

During my three years as Chairperson, the APMA has implemented a range of initiatives and changes including re-launching the annual Star Awards programme, designed to honour the year’s most outstanding promotional marketing campaigns, and introducing the Young Achiever of the Year Awards. The APMA Committee and I have also launched the Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP) Diploma in Promotional and Interactive Marketing into the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The Diploma is the first of its kind in the region and the online course is the definitive Promotional and Interactive Marketing qualification designed for people already working in the industry. Specialising in the project management module, enrolments in the APMA ISP course have grown steadily since its launch in 2005 with record numbers received in the 2008 intake. Running from March to July, registrations for the 2009 APMA ISP Diploma in Promotional and Interactive Marketing are now open.

Often confused with APPA, APMA membership is only open to bona-fide promotional marketing agencies or agencies with a strong promotional marketing division. I could spend hours talking about the benefits of becoming an APMA member and I would encourage promotional marketing full service agencies who are interested in further details about APMA and how to apply for membership to visit www.apma.com.