Chief Marketer Staff, Author at Chief Marketer

Tour of Duty

My most vivid memory of Bob Wientzen is from Sept. 11, 2001.

I got him on the phone early that day, one of the two people I could reach (the other was Lois Geller).

For a brief moment the association chief’s mask came down, and so did the reporter’s, and we connected as two human beings who were stunned by the events.

Agencies

The 10% Club

The origins of list management and the manager’s commission

Agencies

Hot Creatives

Creative directors are known for being forward thinking, and those Direct assembled in New York last month for our annual agency roundtable were no exception.

Agencies

The Del Polito Letter: A Peace Offering

OK, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I’ve been known to stick a finger or two in the postal service’s eyes every now and then. Some of my commentaries have been…well, a bit contentious. But hey, that’s why I’m known as an industry advocate rather …

Agencies

Direct Hit: Anniversary Time

It’s time for one of those small but meaningful anniversaries, at least for students of direct marketing trade media. It was on Nov. 7, 1994 that the first edition of Direct Newsline, our daily news service, appeared. Newsline was the brainchild of …

Agencies

IBM Fine-Tunes Marketing Budget

In 1993, when IBM Corp. was labeled a “dinosaur” by several leading business publications, it wasn’t exactly facing extinction. But it was in danger of becoming irrelevant, according to T. David McGovern, IBM Global Services’ manager of worldwide direct …

Agencies

Loose Cannon: My Data Card Is Quick (A Sam Chaid Mystery)

There are 8 million people in the Naked City, and each one of ’em has a story. Maybe if Sears did a better job of targeting, those Naked City residents would have clothes, too. My name is Sam Chaid, but the lettering on the glass of my office door says …

Agencies