2021 ADMA wrap up: navigating uncertainty

Tough lockdowns, fundamental shifts in customer behaviour, landmark regulatory changes – 2021 has been a year like no other. But with the support of our members, ADMA has continued to guide the industry through new challenges and prepare it for future opportunities.

This year, brands needed more guidance and support to navigate the uncertainty and volatility brought on by the pandemic. This is reflected in the record number and diversity of new businesses joining the ADMA member community;  including Optus, Chobani, Thermomix, SEEK, Weleda, and the Art Gallery of NSW. These organisations join the ranks of our many long-term members including Suncorp, Woolworths, Coles and Facebook, who have found real value in our offering – with 95% of our membership renewing for another year.

We have been relentless about providing the industry with world-class thought leadership, education and advocacy. And to continue to support you with the latest insights and guidance, we have added the expertise and experience of some of the brightest industry leaders to the ADMA Advisory Committee. We are honoured to have Mim Haysom, CMO/EGM of Brand and Marketing at Suncorp; Mel Hopkins, CMO at Optus; Alexander Meyer, CMO at THE ICONIC; Mark Coad, CEO at Media Brands Australia and Susan Coghill, CMO at Tourism Australia join the Committee.

Here’s what we’ve been able to achieve with their guidance and the support of our 600+ member brands in 2021.

Expanding our membership

This year we launched our sole trader membership, Data Driven Marketing Practitioner Membership (D2MP). D2MP extends ADMA’s membership offering to support independent marketing professionals, recognising the vital role freelancers and consultants play in our industry. This new membership option now allows all marketers the opportunity to stay ahead of trends, upskill, connect and have access to everything they need to stay compliant in a changing regulatory landscape.

Helping shape the regulatory landscape

2021 has seen the introduction of significant changes in regulation. As industry representatives, we played an active role in this space, providing three submissions to industry consultations including the ACCC Digital Advertising Services Interim Report in March; the ACMA Consultation on Remaking the Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011 and the ACMA Consultation on Proposal to amend Do Not Call Register (access Fees) in August.

We are currently working on our contribution to the Attorney Generals Department consultations on the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enhancing Online Privacy and other Measures) Bill 2021 and the Privacy Act Review – Discussion Paper.

Our remit extends beyond our shores. As Australia’s representative in the Global Data and Marketing Alliance (GDMA), we have also contributed to two major international projects, including the Global Privacy Principles (final) and Global Consumer Attitudes to Privacy.

Helping brands stay on top of evolving compliance issues

ADMA’s diverse regulatory and advocacy working group, made up of some of the industry’s leading marketers – including Angela Greenwood from Optus, Simon Wickson from Woolworths and Lachlan Rees from Suncorp – enables us to better guide and prepare our members for regulatory changes.

To make it easier for you to access the right information, we have overhauled the regulatory and compliance section of our website. We developed various toolkits including Trade Promotions, SPAM, Privacy Review and our Cookies e-guide to simplify compliance and help you make sense of new changes.

We also helped entire teams understand the regulatory landscape through major regulatory workshops attended by more than 430 people from organisations such as NAB, Qantas, The Iconic and REA Group and more.

We regularly share the latest updates with members via our regulatory newsletter. To receive this newsletter, please ensure your communication preferences are up to date.

Developing highly capable marketers of the future

This year we also launched the ADMA Skills Assessment – a powerful tool helping marketing leaders equip their teams to deal with the evolving marketing landscape. The tool, built on ADMA’s capability framework, will help transform the way brands hire, train and support their marketing teams, improving efficiency, productivity and retention.  With extensive input and endorsement from industry leaders, we have ensured that this tool provides and industry-led approach, and covers the full end to end marketing process, and is relevant across the broad spectrum of modern marketing roles.

To further support the industry, we have also updated our education curriculum, so Australian marketers can access best-in-class training and skills to prepare for the future. The introduction of focused masterclasses,  led by industry experts, has allowed marketers to better adjust to the fast changes and increasing complexity of the industry. Our partnership with Mark Ritson’s Mini MBA, the recent Behavioural Economics masterclass with Dan Monheit, plus our earlier masterclasses on Loyalty and Cookies were incredibly popular with hundreds of marketers around the country. 

We have also updated our member only Data Pass training, to make sure all marketers have the fundamental privacy and compliance skills and knowledge to protect their customers and brand. The ADMA IQ curriculum has recently had six new and updated courses added to the line up, including Social Media Marketing Certificate and B2B Customer Journey Mapping.

To make your learning process smoother than ever, we launched our online learning platform, the ADMA IQ Learning Lab. This interactive platform is now home to all our online training courses, and we are currently transferring our live, instructor-led virtual courses to this platform as well. The new, virtual classroom is an integrated hub which houses all the elements needed for a world class virtual learning experience, including live lessons and chat, plus additional reading and viewing resources.  We’ve seen unprecedented levels of student engagement since transitioning to our new ADMA IQ home.

Knowledge sharing never stops at ADMA

Although we were forced to postpone live events due to COVID restrictions, idea sharing and learning kept flowing this year. We ran a number of virtual events, including complementary ADMA IQ instructor webinars on loyalty and social media and various CMO lunch and learns.

Our upcoming webinar focuses on the role of training and developing in keeping staff motivated and engaged. Forget the Great Resignation, it’s time for the Great Education. Register for this webinar today.

Global Forum will be back live in March next year, exploring how marketers can master the new world. Featuring Rockstar speakers including Mark Weber, Gary Vaynerchuk and more it’s going to be the data-driven marketing event of 2022.

While there are no guarantees about the future, and we all know that “the only constant is change”, ADMA will continue to be here to support, guide and advocate for you and the industry. Giving you the confidence and skills you need to be an effective and innovative marketer.