Branding Expert Ed Delia Is Ninth In New Jersey To Earn Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) Designation

Whitehouse, New Jersey – Ed Delia, president of Delia Associates, a New Jersey-based branding and communications firm, is only the ninth professional in New Jersey to earn the Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) designation from the American Marketing Association (AMA). Delia, an AMA member, joins an elite group of only 250 marketing professionals in the U.S. who hold the designation. Each PCM must pass a five-hour exam and commit to maintaining certification through continuing professional marketing education and growth.

The PCM program was created by the AMA to establish professional standards and encourage best practices in the industry. To earn the designation, marketing professionals must demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge in five key areas: legal, ethical, and professional issues in marketing; use of the marketing mix; relationship, information, and resource management; assessment and planning of the strategic marketing process and marketing evaluation. The curriculum, which provides and in-depth view on the impact of marketing as a function in business, is customer-centric and timely to benefit companies who increasingly use marketing to identify and engage their audiences.

Delia holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Dickenson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and is the second-generation owner of the firm that was founded by his father, Michael A. Delia, in 1964. He cites several reasons to further his knowledge by earning the PCM designation, including commitments to professional standards, continuing education and client needs.

“The PCM designation is a symbol of professional excellence that affirms a marketer’s dedication to quality in the practice of marketing. Without such a standard, there is a lack of required regulation with regard to who can practice in the industry,” said Delia. “The credential demonstrates a common level of quality and ability that perspective clients can put their faith in. Marketing is a service-based business, and just like in financial services, law and medicine, marketing professionals should have a credential that speaks to their level of expertise.”

While the PCM designation distinguishes Delia as an industry leader, it is also a testament to Delia Associates’ core business values. The company strongly believes in continuing education, and its employees seek out learning opportunities to further their capabilities as individuals and as a company.

“Possessing this professional credential lets clients know that we are motivated, knowledgeable and committed to quality,” said Delia. “Over the past year, Delia Associates has established itself as a brand development company for an ever-increasing level of clientele. The knowledge I’ve gained as a PCM will allow Delia to handle larger engagements, deliver a stronger strategic foundation and meet more comprehensive client needs on a global scale.”

Ed Delia is president of Delia Associates, a brand development, business and technology marketing firm that helps clients identify, create and launch a distinctive brand identity to achieve market leadership and new business growth. In recent years, Delia Associates has integrated a number of Web-based branding tactics to help niche businesses achieve a competitive advantage. Ed is a frequent speaker on the topics of branding and technology-driven marketing, is president of the New Jersey Chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), and, in 2006, was named one of New Jersey’s 40 Under 40 by NJBiz and Outstanding Business Person of the Year by the Somerset Business Partnership.

The American Marketing Association, one of the largest professional associations for marketers, has 38,000 members worldwide in every area of marketing. For over six decades the AMA has been the leading source for information, knowledge sharing and development in the marketing profession.

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