ADMA turns 60! Celebrating six decades of marketing evolution
Few industries reinvent themselves as often as marketing.
From direct mail to desktop computing to AI-powered automation, marketers have weathered many major shifts over the past six decades.
And through all that change, ADMA has remained a trusted source of guidance and support.
As we celebrate our 60th birthday, we reflect on how ADMA has constantly evolved to help marketers navigate what comes next.
Evolving with the industry
When ADMA launched in 1966 as the ‘Australian Direct Marketing Association’, marketing and the world, looked very different.
Campaigns were led by print, mail and phone - TV had only been introduced a decade earlier and would be black and white for another nine years. Importantly, marketers relied far more heavily on instinct than analytics.
Over the decades that followed the industry transformed relentlessly as technology evolved. The first step change was the rise of home internet, which changed how marketers reached their customers. Social media soon followed and accelerated the pace and style of engagement. Today, AI is redefining everything from content creation to customer experience.
As the profession evolved, so did ADMA, rising to help marketers meet the challenges and solve the complexity caused by new regulation and technologies.
But by 2016, it became clear we needed to make a more significant change.
Marketing had become an ecosystem of channels, platforms and customer touchpoints – guided by strategy and supported by data. So, ADMA rebranded and changed its name to the Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising.
Today, ADMA represents more than 600 brands, across industries with corporate and individual memberships. And according to ADMA CEO Andrea Martens, that responsibility has never been more important.
“As a peak body, our job is to support, advise and advocate for our industry,” she explains “That means staying across the challenges and opportunities facing marketers today.
“Our role becomes even more important during periods of disruption as marketers look for guidance and help preparing for whatever may be thrown at them next.”
That support takes many forms. But capability building sits at the centre of ADMA’s mission.
Building the capability modern marketing demands
The modern marketer must navigate an increasingly broad mix of touchpoints, from in-store to brand, content, customer experience, AI, data and digital performance. Not to mention the strategic, analytical and technical skills to tie them all together.
For many organisations, keeping marketing teams up to speed has become a major challenge. Which is why capability building is now one of ADMA’s core priorities.
Through expert-led courses and certificates, ADMA helps marketers build the knowledge they need to stay sharp and relevant.
“ADMA is one of the industry’s most valuable training providers because it really understands the profession,: says Steve Brennen, Deputy Chair, ADMA Advisory Committee and Co-Founder and CEO Archie.
“As a peak body, it has a unique vantage point. It works closely with government and regulators, counts many of the country’s leading brands among its members and has a deep understanding of the forces shaping the profession. That means its education is current, relevant and specifically designed to build the capabilities needed most right now.”
It is this insight that led ADMA to create the NextGen Marketer series: a suite of courses that combine foundational marketing strategies with contemporary AI execution.
Beyond courses, ADMA is on a mission to help organisations get a clearer understanding of their team’s capability needs. The Capability Compass, ADMA’s bespoke skills assessment tool, helps leaders evaluate 13 core marketing capabilities and 57 underlying skills across strategy, execution and analysis.
Anthony Toovey, capability-building expert and strategic advisor to ADMA, was instrumental in bringing the Compass to life.
He explains: “The Capability Compass was created to help organisations make smarter decisions about learning and development. It gives leaders a comprehensive view of the strengths and gaps within their teams, allowing them to take a more strategic approach to capability building, rather than relying on assumptions or one-size-fits-all training.”
All these efforts are in pursuit of one goal: ensuring marketers have the tools they need to do their best work.
Raising the standard for responsible marketing
But capability is only part of the equation.
As marketing has become increasingly reliant on customer data, tightening regulation and privacy laws have fundamentally changed the way marketers collect, use and store information.
Greater accountability is a positive thing for the profession. But for many marketers, staying across complex compliance requirements can feel overwhelming.
ADMA plays an essential role here, acting as an oracle for regulatory guidance.
“We champion responsible marketing,” says CEO Andrea Martens. “We do everything we can to keep our community compliant, offering timely updates, targeted training and curated content.
“We also act as a bridge between marketers, regulators and government, advocating for the industry and ensuring the industry has a voice in the conversations shaping our future.”
To support this work, ADMA’s Regulatory and Advocacy Working Group brings together experts from marketing, legal, privacy and policy roles to advise on issues from ethical data use to privacy reform.
“Effective marketing and responsible marketing go hand in hand,” says Andrea. “We’re here to help raise standards, build trust and ensure a more ethical and accountable industry.”
Today the industry stands on the cusp of another inflection point, with new privacy laws in the offing and most marketers grappling to understand and master the opportunities and challenges being created by generative AI technologies.
Andrea concludes: “As we enter this exciting next era marketers will need an organisation like ADMA to act as a trusted guide through these challenges, create networks they can fall back on and help equip them with the skills they need to succeed more than ever.”
