IMA Launches Global Ad Campaign to Highlight How CMAs Make a Difference in Business

New York and Montvale, N.J., September 13, 2020 – Today, IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants), the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, launched a new global, integrated advertising campaign in support of the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) certification program. The multi-channel campaign was developed in partnership with The Gate | New York, an international advertising agency and marketing services company, for the fifth consecutive year. The campaign utilizes TV, digital, social media, and search engine marketing, including three TV spots. 

The ads emphasize how accounting and finance professionals who earn the CMA can make a difference for their companies, their clients, their profession, and their own careers. 
Different scenarios are depicted to show the valuable contributions CMAs make because of their skills and knowledge. They can see things others don’t and act on them. 
The campaign commercials will be running on spot broadcast TV, connected TV, and digital media, and are accessible here:

• First Day
• Baby Pictures
• Anniversary

“Instead of just telling viewers what a CMA does, we showed the impact a CMA can have,” said David Bernstein, Chief Creative Officer of The Gate. “This year’s work takes a more emotional approach, focusing on stories about CMAs who made a meaningful difference. Whether it’s by doing the data analysis to convince a factory to rehire the workers they laid off or the cost analysis to keep a hospital open.”

“This is our fifth year of new creative for the CMA. As the business and brand have grown, we have evolved our communications to reflect that change. This year, in today’s challenging business and social environment, we wanted to attract prospects with a more emotional approach”, added Beau Fraser, President of The Gate.
These spots were produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a remote production from Poland. The Gate oversaw entire production in the U.S., while the two directors, Tom and Charlie Guard, worked from England and on site in Poland. 

Management accountants benefit from a CMA certification through their gained ability to think strategically and the confidence to make smart decisions that impact businesses. As a gateway for finance professionals to move into more strategic roles, the CMA demands a mastery of the 12 most crucial practice areas in management accounting, including planning and analysis, performance management, and risk management. With a mastery of these practice areas, they are able to make a difference.

“In spite of the pandemic, interest in certifications around the world have increased as a differentiator from both a career and organizational perspective. It is for that reason that it is important to get these messages out now to accounting and finance professionals,” said Jeff Thomson, CMA, CSCA, CAE, IMA president and CEO. 

The campaign will encompass IMA’s paid, earned, social, and owned media with the digital and TV ads, a concurrent public relations campaign of “making a difference,” and promotions on IMA’s website and social channels.

About IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA^®, named the 2017 and 2018 Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA® (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) programs, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 125,000 members in 150 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org. 

About The Gate | New York
The Gate | New York is a full-service advertising agency known for making considered purchases worth considering. Our panel of consumer, cultural, and category experts helps us identify your “Why Axis”: why customers should choose your product or service over someone else’s. This expertise has led to successful communication programs for clients in finance, consumer goods, luxury, insurance, mining, energy, and more. The Gate manages over $250 million in client advertising and has a network of offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Edinburgh, and Shanghai. For more information, visit thegateworldwide.com/ny.

About MSQ Partners
MSQ Partners is a group of creative agencies with 15 international offices. It comprises six agencies in total, spanning advertising, public relations, direct and digital marketing, design and brand strategy and B2B, and is the fastest-growing multi-disciplinary group in the UK. Clients are offered the choice of working with individual agencies or with a multi-disciplinary team designed around their specific needs. Unique to an international group of our scale and reach, our 70 most senior employees are all shareholders in the group, providing a strong incentive for effective collaboration across agencies.

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