IMA is the association of accountants and financial professionals working in business and is one of the global thought leaders in the Management Accounting category. For more than four decades, IMA has provided the premier certification in Management Accounting, the Certified Management Accountant (CMA.) However, in the U.S., there is low awareness of Management Accounting as a career path in general, let alone the CMA. Those who start out in a career in accounting, start with a CPA or other advanced finance degree, not ever considering a CMA as a viable path to pursue.

Our objective was to increase the number of people who take the Certified Management Accountant credential exam and get more email signups.

We needed to reach young millennial finance and accounting professionals. Those who have hit a wall in their career and are looking for something that might be better suited for them. They are constantly looking to improve themselves, but the changing business environment had them rattled about what the future may hold.

The last year has brought the highest job turnover in 20 years and people rethinking their job, career, and life goals. We saw this as an opportunity to put the spotlight on a CMA’s worth and reinforce that they will always be valued, no matter what happens in the market.

CMAs are at an advantage for new opportunities to the point that recruiters and organizations not only will offer lucrative positions but compete with others to get them on their teams. It becomes a war for talent and there is an increasing demand for CMAs in key positions around the world, where the CMA always wins.

The campaign features three humorous scenarios showing the extreme lengths that managers, CEOs, and recruiters will go to work with CMAs. Recruiters hide in obscure office spaces to get a CMA’s attention. A manager drops in from a ceiling. CEOs appear on a window-washing lift outside of a CMA’s office. All in pursuit of getting their talent and expertise.

CMAs are Always in Demand and underscores how they are needed now and in the future.

Those exposed to the campaign were directed to a global landing page with email lead collection, where they were offered information and tips for passing the CMA exam.

The CMA: Always in Demand campaign had individuals sitting for the exam and driving interest to becoming a Certified Management Accountant.

• Over 3 million global views on YouTube and over 100 million total impressions, generating 466,000 global visits to the ad campaign landing page, with almost 13,000 leads captured.
• The average time spent (over 2 minutes) on the ad campaign landing page is almost double vs. 2020 and 2019.
• 10,500 new CMA candidates globally and 14,500 new members globally.