Responsys said the courses, which run twice a year beginning in September and January, would give marketing professionals a recognised qualification demonstrating their ability to manage resources, form a business case and maximise the performance of email marketing campaigns.
The agency added that the European email marketing industry, which is worth around £1.1bn, currently gave retailers an average 100-fold return on investment on targeted email campaigns. But a shortfall in qualified staff has led to many online marketing departments being unable to exploit revenue, retention and data in email marketing.
John Nugent, vice-president and general manager at Responsys for the European, Middle East and Africa region, said: "The industry has been crying out for an email marketing qualification. Email is a huge part of online marketing, but many companies struggle to find qualified staff.
"We approached the IDM with the idea of creating a world-class course that would become the industry standard. We're now accepting applications for January 2008 and hope that graduates of the IDM Responsys Certificate in Email Marketing will prove to be a significant contribution to the email marketing industry."
The IDM said that the course, which begins on January 29 for the first intake, would be held at the Institute of Direct Marketing in Teddington.