Why experience is stronger when it keeps evolving
As of July 2026, six members of our team hold Chartered Marketer status through the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). It is an achievement we believe is currently unmatched among UK agencies, and one that reflects both the depth of experience within our team and our commitment to continuing to develop it.
The titles are hard earned. Chartered status is not awarded simply for completing a course or passing an examination; it recognises sustained professional capability, relevant experience and an ongoing commitment to learning and ethical practice.
Achieving Chartered status is not the end of the process – particularly as our wider team are also accredited with the CIPR, CIPD and the CMI to name but a few! For us it is just a step further in continuing to build knowledge, challenge our thinking and stay informed as the industry evolves.
Rewind to even two years ago, and the skills that underpinned most agencies look wildly different to the attributes required today.
Technology has changed. Customer expectations have shifted. New regulations have reshaped the way organisations operate. In that context, ‘on the job’ experience still matters, but experience alone is not enough. Experience gives professionals the foundations to navigate change. Continued learning ensures those foundations remain relevant.
Nowhere is this more evident than in communications. Search behaviour is fragmenting and evolving, artificial intelligence is changing how content is created and discovered, and organisations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the commercial contribution of their marketing and brand activity. Audiences expect communications to be more relevant, accessible and responsive, while specialist and regulated sectors require an increasingly sophisticated understanding of risk. There is a lot to juggle.
But keeping up does not mean reacting to every new trend. It means having the judgement to understand which changes matter, which do not and what they mean for the audiences they’re intended for, before applying them intelligently.
At the other end of the spectrum, those who adopt the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset are fundamentally standing in the way of progress.
This is why continued professional development is central to TMC’s culture. It strengthens the thinking behind our work, challenges established assumptions and helps ensure the advice we give remains informed, credible and commercially useful.
6 current Chartered Marketers based within TMC’s Congleton team
2 further colleagues progressing towards Chartered status
Status awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing
Information last verified: 30th July 2026
What is a Chartered Marketer?
Chartered Marketer status is a professional designation awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
It recognises experienced marketers who have demonstrated professional capability and an ongoing commitment to continuing professional development. Chartered status is a certification that requires marketers to continue developing their knowledge and keeping their practice current.
Keeping up does not mean reacting to every new trend. It means having the knowledge and judgement to understand which changes matter, which do not and what they mean for the organisations and audiences we support.
Who are TMC’s Chartered Marketers?
TMC currently has six Chartered Marketers within its Congleton-based team:
Tim McCloud, CEO, CFCIM
As CEO, his responsibility is to protect the standards, culture, and direction of TMC – pillars he cares deeply about. Under his leadership, TMC has developed enduring international client relationships and received the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.
Adrian Whitehurst, Director of Strategy & Technology, CFCIM
Adrian leads the connection between strategy, communications and technology at TMC, helping clients identify how digital systems and emerging tools can support meaningful commercial outcomes.
Jess Peake, Marketing Director, CMCIM
Jess leads TMC’s agency marketing and growth strategy, with particular responsibility for brand, business development and communications planning.
Lucy Croft, Senior Marketing Manager, CACIM
Lucy manages a wealth of paid advertising for a range of global clients, whilst planning and executing both internal and client marketing campaigns.
Mal Nowicka, Senior Marketing Manager, CACIM
Mal works across digital growth and performance, with experience spanning medical societies, med tech, technology & engineering, e-commerce and hospitality.
Katie Halsall, Senior Marketing Executive, CACIM
With experience in copywriting, SEO and social media management, Katie specialises in creating engaging content and developing keyword strategies to build brand awareness.
Two further members of the team, Sophie Irvin and Meredith Stephenson, are also progressing towards Chartered status.
Why does Chartered status matter?
For clients, the value goes beyond working with a better-qualified team.
Organisations rarely appoint an agency just because they need additional capacity. They need informed perspectives, constructive challenge and recommendations they can trust. A team that continues to learn is better placed to understand the wider context behind a challenge and can distinguish meaningful change from industry noise.
A team that continues to learn is better placed to:
- Understand the wider context behind a communications challenge
- Distinguish meaningful developments from short-lived trends
- Apply current thinking responsibly
- Challenge assumptions with confidence
- Connect strategic advice with effective delivery
- Make recommendations that are relevant, credible and commercially useful
Chartered status provides an external marker of professional capability, but its practical value comes from the behaviours behind it: reflection, continued learning, professional responsibility and the willingness to test established thinking.
One without the other is incomplete.
What does this mean for TMC’s clients?
That matters across the specialist healthcare, medical society and technology sectors in which TMC works, where audiences, regulations and governance needs can be complex.
Continued professional development helps ensure that the thinking we bring remains current; experience gives us the judgement to apply that thinking carefully and appropriately. Together, they allow us to help clients translate expertise into trusted influence and turn complex ideas into meaningful connections.
The result is better-informed decision-making, clearer strategic direction and communications that respond to the realities organisations and their audiences face today.
How does TMC support continued professional development?
Professional development is treated as an ongoing part of working at TMC. Across the agency, team members are supported to develop their knowledge through formal qualifications, professional accreditation, training, industry events, shared learning and practical application.
Learning is also brought back into the wider team. New ideas and knowledge are discussed, challenged and applied across disciplines, helping individual development strengthen the agency’s collective thinking.
This creates a culture in which people are encouraged to remain curious, question established approaches and share what they learn. It also helps create a clearer pathway for the next group of colleagues progressing towards Chartered status.
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