The quote above by John Wooden, the UCLA head coach who took his team to the championship 12 times, holds very true in digital advertising. Because nothing stands still today, everything you knew about digital advertising ten years ago has to be learned all over again. And will have to be re-learned again in five years.
That’s why certification programs make sense. Unlike a certificate or even a college degree, a certification has a shelf-life that’s directly related to the amount of change occurring in the marketplace. Obsolescence is built in, and that sell-by date actually adds value to the credential. Because, in the case of the IAB Sales or Ad Ops Certifications, your customer knows that if you are certified you passed an exam that tests your industry knowledge, and when you are re-certified you have additionally proven that you have kept current with the latest industry trends, standards, guidelines and best practices.
There’s additional value that certification provides. This summer we asked our certification holders to tell us the impact certification has had:
- 81% say the IAB Digital Media Sales Certification has had a positive impact on their confidence about digital advertising
- 74% cite a positive influence on their sales team and 66% on the ad industry as a whole
- 61% notice a positive influence on their career growth
- And 36% say certification has made a positive impact on their company’s sales revenue.
Not bad for a program that’s been offering credentials for only a bit more than two years. Since we launched in June 2012 more than 4300 sales people and ad ops professionals have applied to take one of the certification exams, with more than 2700 certifications awarded. Hundreds more are scheduled to take exams this month and next.
Hundreds more have gone through training. While training is not prerequisite of certification, more and more companies have been looking for efficient ways to prepare their teams for the sales certification exam. In an effort to manage costs and logistics, the IAB rolled out a “Train the Trainer” program a few months ago. In each company we work with a few of their experts, who in turn teach their colleagues with the instructional materials we provide. For companies that commit to a minimum number of exam candidates, Train the Trainer is a complimentary service that we offer along with other free assessment tools (for more info, email me at [email protected]).
There’s much more to announce about our certifications program—many new offerings we’re planning for 2015.
Learn more at iab.com/topics/certification/
