The Association for the Advancement of Relationship Marketing (AARM) was created in the mid-nineties as a not-for-profit association to satisfy the demand for an industry group to focus on the art-and-science of Relationship Marketing nd related activities such as Direct and Interactive Marketing. Since then, AARM has become one of the largest associations focused on the development, understanding and communication of the principles and disciplines of these related business activities, on an enterprise-wide basis. The AARM business community today comprises hundreds of individuals from across the Fortune 1000 companies as well as small- and medium-sized businesses. AARM provides the industry designation P.CRM (Professional in CRM) to graduates through our professional certification program which, we believe, represents the very best in executive education in the CRM field.

The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) is the largest marketing association in Canada representing the integration and convergence of all marketing disciplines, channels and technologies. CMA's 800 corporate members include Canada's major financial institutions, insurance companies, publishers, retailers, charitable organizations, agencies, relationship marketers and those involved in e-business and Internet marketing. Examples include companies such as Microsoft Canada, The Shopping Channel, Reader's Digest, the Bank of Montreal, Xerox Canada,and Bell Canada. CMA members make a significant contribution to the Canadian economy, supporting over 480,000 jobs and generating more than $51 billion in overall annual sales through various marketing channels.

The Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity (CSCA) is a non-profit research unit based at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. The Centre studies private-sector economic activities that deal directly with consumers. Among these activities are retailing, various services, financial institutions, and the developers who create the physical infrastructure of malls and offices. CSCA provides a research focus for members of the retail and development sectors and facilitates the discussion of issues of mutual concern, the exchange of ideas, and the development of a network of professional contacts. It promotes research, innovation, education, and discussion. The Centre currently has the support of almost seventy private-sector members and associations.

Founded in 1917, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is today the largest trade association for businesses interested in direct, database, and interactive global marketing, with about 5,200 member companies from the United States and 44 foreign nations on six continents. Both consumer and business-to-business marketers are the users of direct marketing techniques. These marketers employ a number of media, including telephone marketing, catalogs and other direct mail pieces, television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and the Internet to market directly to their customers. The suppliers, of course, are those companies that provide users with supplies and services. The DMA shapes the way that organizations apply direct/interactive marketing methods to all marketing, sales and customer service activity. Our mission is to encourage the education, growth and profitability of our members and their adherence to high ethical standards.

Representing a billion-dollar industry, the Flyer Distribution Standards Association addresses issues shared by retailers, distributors, printers, binderies, transport companies and media agencies. Its mandate is to establish standards for the retail flyer process, from technical specifications to processes and terminology, to increase efficiency for the entire industry. The FDSA�s major initiatives for 2005 include the rollout of a national flyer audit process to be conducted by the Canadian Circulation Audit Bureau based on the 7 Steps to Quality Distribution.

The Retail Advertising & Marketing Association (RAMA) is a trade association of retail marketing and advertising professionals, plus their counterparts on the agency, media and service-provider sides of the business. RAMA is a division of the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association. RAMA is dedicated to helping retail marketers, and those who support and serve them, to gain knowledge and skills required to move upward and onward in their careers and to enjoy the experience of networking with peers and industry stars. RAMA is the producer of the world-famous Retail Advertising Conference (RAC), the largest single gathering of retail marketing and advertising executives in the industry today, and sponsors the RAC Awards Competition, the industry's most prestigious creative contest for retail broadcast and print advertising.

The Retail Advertising & Marketing Club of Toronto is the only association dedicated to the Retail Advertising Industry. Our mandate is to provide a platform for retailers, media, and trade suppliers to entertain, network, and keep up-to-date on the latest trends, successes and failures in the retail advertising and marketing community. RAC was started in 1987 by the invincible Morris Saffer as an extension of RAC Chicago. RAC is a member driven association with a board of Directors, elected by the membership. As a not-for-profit organization, RAC depends on its members for support to provide the retail advertising industry with a platform to meet and network with others in the industry and supply insightful educational presentations by Canada�s foremost retail marketers.