EMC

EMC, European Marketing Confederation, is the umbrella organisation for marketing, sales and communication associations in Europe. EMC gives access to the people and the information of marketing and sales associations in more than 17 countries in Europe. NIMA is one of his members and presents marketers in The Netherlands.

The Confederation is run from the EMC Office in Brussels with support of volunteers from the member associations. Strategy and goals are proposed by EMC’s Management Board, elected for a three year period and consisting of nine experienced marketers of the European arena.

Nikos Panoussopoulos, Chairman, Petra Claessen and Daniel Viane, both Vice Chairman, give their view on EMC’s strategy and goals (this interview is also published in the brochure of EMC).

EMC is the umbrella organisation for marketing, sales and communication associations in Europe. Why was EMC founded and why was that so important?
Petra Claessen: The EMC is operating since the late 1960s as the European Marketing Council and was renamed in 1993. In the 60s the marketing profession developed rapidly in Europe, but many companies did not see the added value of marketing yet. EMC was founded to stimulate the development of marketing as a fundamental business process. EMC has certainly played its part in the development of the marketing profession in Europe.
Nikos Panoussopoulos: And because of the globalisation processes in business, the role of the EMC has become even more important. EMC provides a platform that gives marketers direct access to European decision makers.

Can you summarise what EMC has achieved?
Petra Claessen: Next to its important role in the development of the marketing profession in Europe, EMC is also important for the quality of the profession. By means of its accredittation project(s) EMC monitors the quality of marketing education and of marketers in function. An example of our efforts in this area is the Leonardo CERCOM project.
Daniel Viane: EMC has also stimulated the exchange of knowledge and experiences between European marketing professionals, because it made it a lot easier for marketing associations and members of these associations to find and contact each other.

And what are the strategic goals or focus points for the next years?
Nikos Panoussopoulos: More and more people and companies must find their way to EMC. In about five years every marketing organisation or marketer in Europe should know the added value of EMC and should know how to use this value for its or his own benefit. With a more extensive network, we can offer even more added value to our partners.
Petra Claessen: The extension of the European Union in 2004 and the extensions yet to come, offer a range of new opportunities for marketers. EMC wants to offer its services to both the marketers who want to expand to these new EU countries as well as the marketers and marketing associations in these countries. At present we are already researching the possibilities for cooperation with officials and educational institutions in the Baltic States.

What can EMC do for marketers in Europe?
Nikos Panoussopoulos: Enlarging your network on a European level can be interesting to each marketer. The EMC gives access to the people and the information of marketing and sales associations in more than 17 countries of Europe, including Russia, Turkey and also South Africa. Individuals cannot be a direct member of EMC. But when they join any of EMC’s national associations they benefit from the services provided at both national and European level.

You are working at a national professional association in marketing, sales and communication. What are the benefits of the EMC-membership for your organisation?
Petra Claessen: NIMA is a marketing platform for professional marketers in The Netherlands. It stimulates marketers and offers ways to develop and professionalize the marketing profession by means of the NIMA Association that organises events and seminars for its 3.000 members and by means of the NIMA Exams, offering Marketing-, Sales-, Communication- and Market Research exams. The membership of the EMC is a “musthave” for the NIMA. It gives the NIMA brand exposure among marketing professionals in Europe and makes it easier to network with some of industry’s top decision
makers.

What would you like to say to professional marketing associations who are not yet an EMC-member?
Nikos Panoussopoulos: Simply that it is really worth your while to join our pan-European network of 250,000 professionals, that gives you access to decision makers in the Europe, stimulates the exchange of best practices and gives you European visibility!

And to companies willing to cooperate with EMC?
Nikos Panoussopoulos: I would tell them to get involved with EMC. We have plenty of sponsorship opportunities that offer the company a valuable opportunity to increase its brand’s exposure among the marketing professionals in Europe, and to network with some of the top decision makers of the industry.