The American Marketing Association is the home of impactful learning for marketers on the move. Our data-backed approach to building the training and certification you need to advance your career makes us unique. Explore the AMA Marketing Competency below to see why you can trust the AMA to give you meaningful professional development.
Six Competency Domains
The competency model consists of six primary domains, which, together, represent a full life-cycle of marketing activities. They are not completely independent of each other, as some skills will overlap between domains.
Definition
The AMA recognizes that marketing ethics belongs at the very heart of modern marketing. By centering ethics, we emphasize responsible marketing that benefits both business and society. Marketing ethics are the norms and values that guide decisions about brand and marketing activities and that promote trust and transparency. Practicing ethical marketing means:
- Following applicable laws and regulations (the minimum standard)
- Acting with integrity beyond legal requirements, ensuring that actions align with words and values
- Avoiding and mitigating harm
- Making decisions that demonstrate responsibility to customers, stakeholders, and society
Sample Topics
- Truth in Advertising
- Data Privacy, Compliance, and Security
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)
- Social and Environmental Responsibility
- Fair Trade Practices
- Responsible Use of AI
Sample Job Activities and Behaviors
Early to Mid-Level
- Understand both the risks of losing trust and benefits of earning it
- Monitor how consumers’ expectations and values are changing
- Identify ethical risks in marketing, and cultivate a deep understanding of laws, regulations, and considerations unique to their industries and markets
- Use shared values as decision-making tools
- Effectively communicate about ethical risks to stakeholders both in and outside
marketing
Senior Leader
- Create a culture of trust within your team
- Set clear ethical expectations, with accountability measures
- Model ethical conduct personally
- Collaborate with legal, HR, and IT teams to create policies and practices that uphold ethical standards
- Collaborate across the organization to establish marketing policies relating to AI use
- Position trust as a competitive advantage
- Develop and advocate for ethics-centered brand strategies
- Practice ethical foresight, anticipating emerging issues
Definition
Essential capabilities are the interpersonal and cognitive abilities critical to effective marketing. These non-technical skills contribute to one’s ability to work with others and as part of a team. Without these essential capabilities, marketers with only technical skills and knowledge may struggle to make an impact in the workplace and progress in their careers.
Sample Topics
- Communication
- Leadership
- Critical Thinking
- Collaboration
- Adaptability
- Creativity
- Innovation
- Influence
- Emotional Intelligence
Sample Job Activities and Behaviors
Early to Mid-level
- Demonstrate adaptability and curiosity with a willingness to seek feedback and proactively pursue continuous learning in your role
- Leverage emotional intelligence when interacting with colleagues and customers, promptly addressing any inquiries or issues
- Provide administrative support to the marketing team, including scheduling meetings, maintaining marketing calendars, and managing marketing materials inventory
- Develop valued relationships with partners based on broad knowledge of marketing, advertising, creative and data insights
- Successfully collaborate with agencies, departments, management, and partners
Senior Leader
- Engage and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, clients, and partners
- Ensure on-going professional development of team members, including mentorship and skill building
- Communicate clearly with teams and individuals about goals and timelines
- Evaluate performance based upon expectations providing regular coaching and feedback
- Conduct consistent and frequent performance appraisals of all direct reports to encourage, motivate and improve staff production, and ensure consistency
- Develop and lead a marketing team that will cultivate and execute new concepts, channels and partnerships to position organization, as an innovative leader in the industry
Definition
Strategy and Planning focuses on the “why” of marketing. This domain includes the foundational yet ongoing work of creating and enacting a plan to identify, reach and engage with a target market. Every marketer has to consider their role in a customer’s journey and how achieving marketing goals across individual campaigns supports greater business objectives.
Sample Topics
- Marketing Strategy
- Positioning & Targeting
- Product & Service Development
- Marketing Management
- Project Management
- Vendor Collaboration
- Budgeting
- Aligning Marketing Goals to Business Outcomes
- Market Research
- Concept Development
- Pricing Strategy
Sample Job Activities and Behaviors
Early to Mid-Level
- Conduct market research to identify trends, competitor activities, and customer needs to inform marketing strategies
- Manage vendor relations and oversee project management
- Create comprehensive marketing strategies tailored to each targeted audience
- Collaborate with colleagues at each stage of the buyer journey in communications, marketing, and digital strategy to conceptualize and develop integrated marketing campaigns
- Develop and maintain a social media listening and intelligence dashboard, regularly responding to and engaging with online audiences
Senior Leader
- Identify how to effectively reach our target audiences to build and grow a loyal fan base through effective full funnel plans
- Provide direction regarding campaign execution and content production
- Oversee budget, timelines, and measurement of implemented plans
- Oversee media relations and crisis communication plans
- Demonstrate and communicate a thorough knowledge of product information: marketing initiatives, market research, brand strategy, media, and challenges and opportunities (industry and competitive) that will influence the brand
- Develop and implement an integrated strategic content and marketing plan to advance brand identity, broaden awareness of its programs and priorities, and increase the visibility of its programs across key audiences
- Identify challenges and emerging issues faced by the organization
- Work with leadership team and staff to recognize internal and external marketing opportunities and solutions, and define and execute appropriate strategies to support them
Definition
Content & Branding is the “what” of marketing. This domain includes the creation and management of all digital and physical media created to promote the brand or a specific product or service. Regardless of media or communication, all marketers need to keep the organization’s brand identity and voice at the center of all marketing efforts.
Sample Topics
- Branding
- Content Marketing
- Copywriting
- Customer Experience
- Content Strategy
- Content Development
- Video Marketing
Sample Job Activities and Behaviors
Early to Mid-Level
- Collaborate with the marketing team to develop content for blogs, newsletters, social media, and promotional materials
- Drive consistent experiences across all audience touch points
- Create visually compelling graphics and designs for various marketing materials including brochures, flyers, posters, digital ads, social media content, and website assets
- Utilize content management systems and tools to coordinate and schedule content
- Lead, own, and direct asset development, including collateral, photoshoots (sourcing, planning, on-site execution, post-editing, and distribution), etc.
- Ensure consistency in brand voice and visual style across all digital channels
Senior Leader
- Establish a strategy for identifying and reinforcing the brand voice and story
- Serve as the organization’s brand guardian/liaison, verifying all marketing reflects brand voice
- Lead the strategic pull-through of content, brand promotions, and campaigns
- Develop and maintain the organization’s style guide, including editorial standards and policies
- Advocate for brand marketing investments that create sustainable marketing impact and business growth
- Champion brand purpose, ensuring it is coordinated into the definition of the brand and into how the brand show up at every touch point
- Lead cohesive brand activation plans including brand advertising, product innovation campaigns, always-on marketing activities, brand partnerships, and extensions into culture and entertainment
Definition
Channels & Technology is the core of marketing operations, focusing on the “where,” “when,” and “how” of marketing. As platforms and technology are constantly changing, this domain involves the tactical operations for delivering messaging and communications to reach their audience. Whether doing the work or guiding the direction, understanding the constant evolution of this area is a critical component of a marketer’s success.
Sample Topics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Search Engine Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
- Paid Advertising
- Retail Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Martech
Sample Job Activities and Behaviors
Early to Mid-Level
- Edit web pages and blogs for optimal search engine rankings and monitor website traffic, traffic patterns, referrers, and keywords
- Manage and monitor social media accounts, create engaging posts, and respond to followers to increase brand awareness and engagement
- Explore and implement influencer collaborations, partnerships, and cross-promotion opportunities to expand our sales
- Manage paid social media budget and strategy
- Develop and deploy both traditional and digital advertising strategies, campaigns, and sales promotions in conjunction with larger marketing initiatives
Senior Leader
- Lead information architecture (IA) improvement efforts, including using data to guide solutions for content structure, sitemaps, and taxonomy
- Assist with technical issues as they pertain to marketing related systems
- Implement and communicate marketing projects and programs as required
- Oversee development of creative materials, advertisements, media buying, promotions, website, SEO, SEM, CRM, and other systems and solutions
- Own brand and go-to-market plan, working cross-functionally with other teams to ensure excellence of execution
Definition
Data & Analytics answers the question of “so what? ” Regardless of prior decisions, this domain focuses on how to gather and utilize data to determine if marketing efforts are working, and if not, provide insight for creating a plan to adapt. Without this skillset, marketers will struggle to justify their performance and influence the ongoing direction of their work.
Sample Topics
- Proving ROI
- Setting and Tracking KPIs
- Data Visualization and Dashboards
- Communicating with Data
- Website Analytics
- Consumer Behavior
- Market Intelligence and Benchmarking
- Performance Marketing
Sample Job Activities and Behaviors
Early to Mid-Level
- Assist in the collection and analysis of data from marketing campaigns to measure effectiveness and suggest improvements
- Manage marketing data collection and data input channels to ensure consistency and standardization
- Manage and update weekly and monthly tracking reports for review of sales, products, and returns
- Integrate external data sets from research and surveys into customer data for analysis
- Monitor ongoing analytics such as website traffic, email campaign results, and social media activity to report on marketing campaign effectiveness and ROI
- Make recommendations for optimization of marketing campaigns
- Collaborate with marketing strategists, web developers, and content specialists on web structure, A/B tests, and content strategies
Senior Leader
- Identify areas where analytics can better serve the organization
- Develop strategic and technical approaches that address data needs
- Communicate relevant metrics, targets, and data collection strategies and insights to key stakeholders, with a focus on attribution and business impact
- Establish best practices for segmentation, forecasting, targeting, analysis, and execution of marketing campaigns
Backed by Research and Vetted by Experts
In 2021, the AMA surveyed more than 1,000 marketing professionals to identify the most essential skills for marketers. This research informed our 2021 Skills Framework, built around four specialized domains.
Recognizing that marketing is constantly evolving, the AMA regularly updates its framework to reflect the changing needs of the profession. Our 2024 skills research offered new insights into the capabilities marketers need to stay competitive today and in the future. Guided by these findings, along with input from industry experts and the AMA Learning Panel, we’ve expanded our framework into a more comprehensive competency model.
Key changes in the 2025 update include:
- Centering marketing ethics
- Introducing Essential Capabilities, a new domain focused on interpersonal and cognitive skills
- Evolving ‘Customer Experience’ to ‘Channels and Technology’
Like our 2021 Skills Framework, the newly updated and expanded 2025 Competency Model guides how the AMA approaches creating training, certification and resources to help marketers make an impact, and advance their careers.
Level Up Your Skills With the AMA
AMA offers training and certificates in the critical skills marketers need to advance and future-proof their careers. You can choose from a variety of in-person and online formats that fit your schedule.