Short Profiles: CoActive Marketing
Call it HyperActive.
Great Neck, NY-based CoActive Marketing collects core competencies with zeal, having added Hispanic, Internet and (most of all) events to the radio and trade marketing foundation of the former Inmark Services.
Diversification helped boost revenues to $16 million in 2001, up 40 percent since 1999. (Growth slowed last year as CoActive primed units for cross-selling and improved margins.)
At least 40 percent of clients use two or more disciplines. “We pitch with a multi-disciplined team, then step back and let clients decide what they need,” says ceo John Benfield. Two years of incubating Hispanic start-up Market Vision, San Antonio, is now paying off with projects from five clients.
Among notable recent work is Fresh Express’s Eat Like a Champion program for Safeway. CoActive brought five marketers (including Del Monte and Sunkist), eight U.S. soccer pros, and the 5 a Day Foundation on board for store and school activities; sales jumped as much as 60 percent. “They’re very good at bringing manufacturers and retailers together on all levels,” says Brent Carr director of national accounts at Fresh Express, Salinas, CA.
Coty, Inc. liked CoActive’s sampling work (via its U.S. Concepts unit), so it assigned a “retailtainment” tour for Wal-Mart’s private-label Rimmel. Two double-decker buses will bring DJs and makeover artists to Wal-Mart parking lots for 460 events this year. “They have a real creative edge, and tailor the program to our needs and budget,” says Rick Goldberg, New York City-based Coty’s vp-color cosmetics.
General Motors’ Western region met CoActive through colleagues in Chicago. CoActive’s bid to run Ski Chevy (car-buyers get season ski resort passes) was the most comprehensive — and cheapest. The shop handles fulfillment, dealers’ kits, P-O-P, and adds Web duties next season. “They work like a partner, not a supplier,” says Tracey Pimpare, promotion manager-Chevrolet for the Los Angeles-based divison. “They come to us with ideas.”
