CA ad campaign: Decisions Matter
Got an email last week about an update to the Decisions Matter ad campaign the CICA has been running for the designation:
The Decisions Matter ad campaign is aimed at shifting the traditional perception of the CA designation and promoting CAs as business leaders and key decision-makers in every organization. The campaign is very different from what we’ve done in the past. It is more assertive in establishing CAs as the leading business professionals and, in its originality, has been specifically designed to break through the media clutter.
I like the direction in which this strategy is taking us. For one, it is vocation agnostic, in that it doesn’t focus on CAs in public practice more than those in industry. And I like the attention that “decisions” are receiving, but I think that execution needs to be emphasized as well. Making the right decision is great, but acting on it is critical.
As a CA you have an important role to play in supporting this campaign. You can promote the CAs’ reputation as business leaders with a few simple steps:
- Include your CA designation on business cards and other communications;
- Ensure your professional network knows you are a CA. This includes the organizations you volunteer with;
- When making presentations, discuss how your CA training has powered your achievements;
- In interviews, introduce yourself as a CA; and
- Talk about the Decisions Matter campaign with your family, friends and business contacts.
No mention of starting a blog and establishing your online brand in concert with the CA designation, but you can’t win ‘em all I guess. If there’s one area that the CICA has thus far completely ignored it’s the social media space. Excuse me though, it’s time to ring the family and discuss this campaign with them, that’ll really promote our reputation!
My recommendation is to follow up the Decisions Matter campaign with something more focused on executing great ideas/decisions. Advising is valuable, deciding is important, but executing is key. What do you think of the campaign’s message and how it’s positioning CAs?
From a student’s point of view, its a great campaign. It helped me realize that CAs are more than just number crunchers and that their role in decision making is really what attracted me to the profession.
Great blog Neil, and I totally agree with with the social media aspect.