The Chief Executive of North East England Chamber of Commerce (NEECC) addressed 28 of the North East's leading marketers at an exclusive lunch hosted by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) at Wynyard Hall on Friday 29 September.

The event was to celebrate CIM's 'North East Marketing Greats', which was launched in March this year.  Showcasing fifty marketing figureheads from some of the biggest brands in the region and industry sectors that are driving the Northern Powerhouse economy, the 'Marketing Greats' project aims to provide insight into the importance of a strategic marketing function and to inspire both existing marketing professionals and young people considering a career in marketing.  Each 'Marketing Great' is profiled in an online case study which includes their words of wisdom for aspiring marketers alongside their career story and why they enjoy working in the region.

James Ramsbotham said, "This is an excellent initiative, and one that we fully support.  To achieve our aim of building a Working North East, we need to ensure that young people are aware of all the career opportunities in the region.  The case studies produced for the CIM North East Marketing Greats campaign are a fantastic showcase of the talent we have working in a diverse range of businesses in the region, and they will be a useful resource for young people thinking of a career in marketing or anyone considering a change in career". He added, "The range of skills a marketer requires, and their role as a champion for the customer, means that every single marketer should become a CEO.  So let's market marketing".

Chair of CIM North East, Charlie Nettle, explained, "Strong brands enable businesses to differentiate themselves from the competition, therefore the growth of our businesses and the success of our region's economy is very much in our hands".  He continued, "We wanted to bring together the marketing talent in the region to celebrate and recognize their contribution and we were delighted to have James Ramsbotham from the NEECC and CIM's Chief Executive, Chris Daly, join us for the lunch".

The campaign builds on the North East England Chamber of Commerce's 'Great Reasons' project which highlighted great reasons to do business in the North East and great reasons to build your career in the region.  CIM is dedicated to not only supporting junior, senior and board level marketers with a wide range of member benefits, but also to encourage young people to consider a career in marketing and to champion high standards and evolution of the profession.

Charlie added, "We want marketing to stand out as an exciting career choice at the early stages of a person's career journey. Hopefully, young people in our region;s schools, colleges and universities will be inspired by the journeys of our 'Marketing Greats' and will consider marketing in their future careers".

Emma Greenwood, Group Marketing Manager at British Engines, who recently joined CIM North East as Vice Chair, addressed the audience explaining why she had decided to return to the region after a successful career in the South and why she was supporting the initiative.

Chris Daly brought the event to a close by saying that, "The 'Marketing Greats' initiative is already gaining interest from other CIM regions as they start to replicate the idea themselves. The North East is well ahead though and we watch with interest to see how it develops further".  He concluded by saying, "Keep on doing the great work you're doing here".

The 50 'North East Marketing Greats' profiles can be found at www.cim.co.uk/NEmarketinggreats