World Marketing Council takes its first steps on the global stage

The evolution of the World Marketing Council (WMC) is proceeding apace and the new international marketing body, of which the African Marketing Confederation is a founder member, is scheduled to hold its first board meeting in October this year in Dakar, Bangladesh. 

Speaking at the 2026 African Marketing Confederation Conference held in Zambia from 23-25 September, Helen McIntee-Carlisle, former AMC President and now First Vice President of the WMC, said the new body already represents 50-plus countries across three continents and discussions are underway to include marketing bodies from Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. 

At this point the United States is not included as it does not have an overriding marketing confederation. Each state runs autonomously in terms of their marketing associations, she explained. 

Apart from the AMC, the founding members of the World Marketing Council are the Asia Marketing Federation and the European Marketing Confederation. The current elected President is Professor Ferhat Anwar of Bangladesh.

“It is very similar to our own AMC in constitution and vision – except that the WMC is doing it on a global scale,” McIntee-Carlisle told delegates. “The WMC aims to build bridges across regions and continents, encourage the exchange of knowledge, and champion professional excellence, ethical practice and innovation in marketing worldwide.” 

The WMC will operate under the banner of ‘Marketing for Good’ and intends to commit to eight pillars in the World Marketing Council Declaration to be signed in Bangladesh in October. These are: 

1. Serve people with dignity. 
2. Create inclusive prosperity. 
3. Regenerate the planet. 
4. Build trust and peace. 
5. Partner across boundaries. 
6. Use technology responsibly. 
7. Innovate entrepreneurially. 
8. Measure real impact. 

“We want to set a shared standard for marketers, enterprises, institutions and future generations,” the WMC First Vice President said. 

WMC’s first research project 

The first project being undertaken under the auspices of the World Marketing Council is the ‘Global Marketing Agenda 2027’. Based on the annual ‘European Marketing Agenda’, its objective is to generate a global qualitative marketing agenda to be published in 2027. This will assist WMC members in setting their own agendas with regard to events, education, training and certification.

AMC member associations will shortly receive a survey questionnaire to complete by mid-November 2026. The responses – the WMC is hoping for 200 responses per member country – will be collated and analysed, then distributed to all members as a Global Marketing Agenda 2027’ document.