Has it really been 10 years? It seems like only yesterday that we did a story in Direct titled

1995

June: Mark Shapiro

Then: The ceo’s discipline-neutral approach to marketing made independent Louis London the subject of PROMO’s first cover photo as the 1995 Agency of the Year.

Now: He rides herd over Momentum (see pg. 88).

December: Brad Chase, Brad Silverberg, Lora Shiner, et al

Then: Microsoft Corp.’s director of marketing, senior vp-personal systems, and product manager (respectively) synchronized the massive worldwide launch of Windows 95 to be named Marketers of the Year (see “History in the Making”).

Now: Chase left Microsoft in January after 14 years (see pg. 77) with the company. Silverberg is now managing partner of venture capital group Ignition Corp. Shiner died last September at the age of 47.

Marketers of the Year

Todd Stevenson

Then: Stout fans’ favorite landlord gave away the keys to an Irish pub as group marketing director for Guinness Import Co. (see “History in the Making”).

Now: He’s in Tokyo serving as managing director for Guinness UDV.

Mark Westcott

Then: Nintendo of America’s wunderkind consumer and trade promotion manager dialed up the volume to wrest the market lead back from Sega.

Now: He runs Westcott Promotion Group — with Nintendo as a client.

Charlie Schmitt

Then: The NHL’s director of publishing built a Web presence and sponsorships.

Now: Rubbing shoulders with musicians at the NHL and a later stint at PGAtour.com prompted Schmitt to form Rockforever.com in January 2000.

Dwight Gould

Then: Forte Hotels’ senior vp-marketing and sales helped redecorate and resuscitate the flagging Travelodge chain.

Now: Whereabouts unknown.

Brian France

Then: The NASCAR founder’s grandson helped accelerate motorsports’ equity as vp-marketing.

Now: France is NASCAR’s executive vp and a member of its board of directors.

Pam Kaufman

Then: She cast Jonny Quest, the Jetsons, and other Turner Home Entertainment characters in deals with 500-plus brands as vp-promotions.

Now: Kaufman is raising Rugrats and SpongeBob SquarePants as senior vp-marketing for Nickelodeon (see pg.80).

Bruce Winterton

Then: He threw Molson Ice’s Polar Beach Party private concert at the North Pole as brand manager for Molson Breweries USA.

Now: Winterton is dreaming up soirees as group business director for ad shop Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Pam van der Lee

Then: She brought Nickelodeon to Pizza Hut as the network’s vp-advertising and promotion.

Now: Harnessing synergy across Viacom’s vast holdings as vp-corporate marketing for Nick’s parent (and chair of Viacom’s marketing, licensing, and research councils).

John Cywinski

Then: He played nice with Disney as vp-USA marketing for Burger King.

Now: He joined Disney as president of Buena Vista Pictures from ’96 to ’99, then jumped to McDonald’s Corp. as vp-brand strategy from ’99 to ’01. Now he’s chief marketing officer of Applebee’s.

1996

January: Karen Sortito

Then: As senior vp-worldwide promotions at MGM/United Artists, Sortito was a behind-the-scenes Bond Girl, successfully pairing 007 with a host of partners.

Now: After a brief fling with the dot-com world, Sortito is back in Hollywood consulting for various studios (see pg.78).

April: John Costello

Then: Sears, Roebuck and Co.’s senior executive vp-marketing kept the chain relevant in a changing retail scene.

Now: After stints as president of retailer AutoNation, Inc. and ceo of online sports store MVP.com, Costello took the post of chief marketing officer at Yahoo, Inc. last November.

May: Rebecca Johnson, Steve Sears

Then: Frito-Lay’s senior product manager and director of marketing gave PROMO a blow-by-blow account of the award-winning Baked Lays launch.

Now: Johnson is the snack giant’s vp-ethnic and urban marketing; Sears joined sister Pepsi-Cola North America in January as vp-non-carbonated beverages after serving as Frito’s vp-marketing both in the U.S. and Australia.

June: Peter Dugan, George Valva, Neil Contess

Then: The triumvirate proudly sat atop DVC Group, named Agency of the Year for its shrewd business development and disciplined growth.

Now: Dugan and Valva now helm DVC Worldwide, an umbrella group building a global agency network with the help of new (fall 2000) parent Lake Capital. Contess left in fall 1999, spent a year as president of Wunderman’s promotion practice, and is whispered to be close to joining a global agency.

August: Andrew Kitching

Then: As vp-marketing for the New York Daily News, Kitching knew the power of a smartly executed sweepstakes in gaining trial.

Now: He’s reportedly living in England.

September: Susan Bondurant

Then: The director of promotions took Snapple (then owned by Quaker Oats) on a $40 million sampling binge.

Now: Having left the business world, Bondurant is raising her three children.

October: Peter Main

Then: Nintendo of America’s executive vp-sales and marketing prepared to put the company back on top with the launch of its first new game system in five years.

Now: Steering the boffo 2001 launches of Game Boy Advance and GameCube was a fitting swan song for Main, who retired from Nintendo in January after 15 years.

November: Rick Welts

Then: As chief marketing officer, he helped bring the National Basketball Association back to prominence among both fans and sponsors.

Now: Welts left the NBA after 15 years in 1999 to become president of Fox Sports Enterprises. He’s now a consultant with OnSport Strategies.

December: Mark Leckie

Then: The executive vp-general manager of Post Cereals (and PROMO’s Marketer of the Year) reversed the Kraft division’s misfortunes through category-shaking price cuts.

Now: Leckie left Kraft in September 1997 to become president of Campbell Soup Co.’s U.S. grocery division. He moved north three years later to serve as president of H.J. Heinz’s Canadian subsidiary, but returned to the U.S. last summer as head of Gillette Co.’s Duracell division.

Marketers of the Year

Gary Gruneberg, Deb Sawch, Dick Helstein, Ed Several

Then: The brain trust behind the landmark Kraft Kids Brands initiative proved the power of multi-product marketing (see “History in the Making”).

Now: Gruneberg is Kraft’s director of media services and Sawch director of strategic analysis; Helstein retired after 30 years at Kraft in 1999; Several heads up marketing for sportswear maker Spalding Co. (see September 1999).

Mark Hosbein

Then: Nabisco Biscuit Co.’s business director-crackers showed his research-focused colors by hosting a contest finale in Boise, ID — the nation’s cracker-consumption capital.

Now: He has traded in crackers for cookies, managing strategic partnerships as America Online’s vp-interactive marketing.

George Schweitzer

Then: The CBS network’s long-time, pioneering (see “History in the Making”) executive vp-marketing used a joint PROMO with MCI to boost fall ratings.

Now: He’s still winning awards for CBS, most recently a PMA Super Reggie in 2001 for Survivor’s marketing campaign.

Myra Gose

Then: As creative services director, she helped Starbucks Coffee Co. celebrate its 25th anniversary in nostalgic style.

Now: The 18 months it took to plan the chain’s birthday party was the stuff of burnout: Gose left Starbucks in February 1997 and is now director of marketing for University Village, an open-air “shopping community” in Seattle.

Brett Dicker

Then: Walt Disney Pictures’ senior vp-promotions launched a legendary alliance by helping McDonald’s tie into 101 Dalmatians (see “History in the Making”).

Now: Having risen to executive vp-marketing of Buena Vista Pictures, Dicker celebrates his own 15th anniversary as a Cast Member next month.

Michael LaBroad

Then: As senior brand manager, he got Bud Ice more cooler space through an imaginative tie-in with the National Hockey League.

Now: LaBroad has risen through the Anheuser-Busch ranks to oversee all activity for the company’s nine theme parks as senior vp-marketing for Busch Entertainment Corp.

Laura Sum

Then: The senior brand manager took Mead Johnson’s Boost nutrition drink on the sampling road as sponsor of the Beach Boys concert tour.

Now: Still with Mead Johnson, Sum now works in sales.

Frank Bifulco

Then: Coca Cola USA’s senior vp-marketing earned kudos for Diet Coke’s clever tie-in with budding blockbuster 2002-03-01 Friends.

Now: Bifulco remained with Coke at several high-level positions until January 2001, when he became chief marketing officer of The Timberland Co.

Fred Gore, Gary Flood

Then: This pair of MasterCard International senior vps scored a major coup by signing up Wal-Mart for a co-branded credit card.

Now: Both have moved up the corporate ladder: Gore is senior vp-North America acceptance, Flood executive vp-global account management.

1997

March: Ian Campbell

Then: Nike Sports Entertainment’s director Swooshed his brand to sponsorship — and branding — immortality.

Now: After rising to the rank of president at Nike Sports, Campbell left Nike for ill-fated Silicon Valley start-up Torson.com in ’98. He now consults.

April: David Biehn, William Smith, William Janawitz

Then: Consumer imaging president Biehn, marketing director Smith, and vp Janawitz earned the American Marketing Association’s New Product Marketer of the Year award for the launch of Kodak Advantix.

Now: Retired after 30 years with Kodak, Biehn runs a bed & breakfast near Rochester; Smith is now Hewlett-Packard’s general manager of media services; Janawitz consults.

May: Bill McDonald

Then: Chief marketing officer of then-independent Boston Market, he moved the chain beyond coupons and sampling to sponsorship and co-marketing.

Now: McDonald left the chain that same month. He is executive vp-brand management with Capital One Financial Corp.

June: Bud Frankel, David Tridle, Jim Mack

Then: Chairman Frankel, chief operating officer Tridle, and ceo Mack drove the independent Frankel & Co. to Agency of the Year status.

Now: Industry icon Frankel sold the shop to Publicis in early 2000. He stepped down as chairman in January, but is still active in the company; Tridle departed after the sale and last fall joined The Marketing Store Worldwide as president; Mack added chairman to his ceo duties in January.

July: Robert Gamgort

Then: As president of Major League Baseball Properties, the Kraft veteran worked to restore marketing glory to America’s Pastime.

Now: He returned to packaged goods in ’98 to become vp-general manager of the chocolate unit at M&M/Mars (now Masterfoods USA).

September: Sharon Fordham

Then: LifeSavers’ president surfed ahead of the virtual pack by orchestrating a Candystand.com on which marketing took a back seat to entertainment.

Now: Fordham rose within Nabisco to president of global e-business by 1998, then left in early 2000 to become ceo of Weight Watchers International’s Web operations.

October: Bill Hodges

Then: Discover Card’s executive vp-general manager left no promotional stone unturned in his Quixotic battles against Visa and MasterCard.

Now: He reportedly left the marketing world and went into manufacturing.

December: Frank Musat

Then: Schering Oncology Biotech’s senior marketing director earned top Marketer of the Year honors with a landmark campaign for cancer drug Intron A that promoted health as much as sales (see “History in the Making”).

Now: Musat left last year to take a global vp position with Pharmacia Corp.

Marketers of the Year

Tim O’Krongly

Then: He earned kudos with a Kroger-specific campaign he developed as area marketing manager for Kraft Foods, but left before the year was out.

Now: After a brief stay at Einson Freeman, he became senior vp-business development for CoActive Marketing Group.

John McDonough

Then: The Chicago Cubs vp-marketing and broadcasting used a Beanie Babies giveaway to lure kids back to Wrigley Field.

Now: He’s still hitting home runs with the Cubs — whose World Series drought, alas, continues (see pg.82).

Liz Vanzura

Then: She made the most of her first year as Volkswagen’s director of marketing and advertising (after 13 years at General Motors), building on the brand’s Drivers Wanted efforts through sponsorships and events.

Now: Four years later, GM lured her back. She’s currently advertising director for the Hummer division.

Jon Gieselman

Then: Bausch & Lomb’s Ray-Ban brand manager inked the year’s best Hollywood tie-in by linking Predator 2 shades with Men in Black.

Now: Gieselman left Bausch & Lomb in 1999 and is vp-advertising and p.r. at Home Shopping Network.

Rick Stevens

Then: The manager of promotion at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. resurrected the 126-year-old Lucky Strike brand through guerrilla campaigns and a self-deprecating attitude (see “History in the Making”).

Now: After a stint with parent British American Tobacco in London, he’s back in Louisville as Lucky Strike’s senior program development manager.

Steve Ross

Then: The box-office failure of Anastasia, Twentieth Century Fox’s first animated film, wasn’t the fault of the executive vp-worldwide promotions, who had scored a Disney-esque partner lineup to usher the movie into theaters.

Now: A year later, Ross was promoted to president of worldwide licensing and merchandising. He left last January and launched an entertainment division for Princeton Video Image.

Neal Larkin

Then: Triarc Beverage Group’s promotion director used some Snapple sensibility to bring Mistic to the masses.

Now: Unlike spokesperson Wendy, Larkin’s tenure has been uninterrupted: He’s currently senior director of creative services.

Michael Stevens

Then: The NBA’s vp-marketing partnerships played point guard to the launch of companion league WNBA.

Now: Stevens headed to the dot-com world in 1999 to set up a sports division for eBay. Two years later, he traded bicoastal commuting for consulting.

1998

January: Meredith Hanrahan, Jeff Voss, Chris Lierman, Steve Hunt

Then: Miller Lite’s brand manager (Hanrahan) and promotions managers, along with creative director Hunt (from agency Louis London) took Miller Lite to the Super Bowl.

Now: Hanrahan is vp-general manager of entertainment for Lycos Terra. Leirman is director of promotions for GMR Marketing. Voss is brand manager for Miller’s Henry Weinhard regional beer. And Hunt is chief creative officer at Louis London ancestor Momentum.

February: Meg Meurer

Then: She trained the spotlight on Broadway as marketing chief for the League of American Theatres and Producers.

Now: Meurer spent three-plus years as chief marketing officer for 24/7 Media before swearing off the New York City commute to consult.

March: Susan Thomson

Then: This ad manager earned Chrysler Corp. blue ribbons for its activities at regional festivals and fairs.

Now: Thomson oversees customer relationship management for Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep as senior manager for DaimlerChrysler.

April: Joanne Bischmann

Then: She rode herd on Harley-Davidson’s 95th anniversary bash as vp-marketing.

Now: She’s still leader of Harley’s marketing pack.

June: Gregory Shlopak, Patrick Brady, Laurel Rossi

Then: Cyrk, Inc.’s ceo, president, and chief marketing officer showed naysayers that the company was more than a tchotchke shop when it was named Agency of the Year.

Now: Shlopak left at the end of ’98 and now shepherds venture capital investments at Rockport Equity Management. Rossi became chief integration officer for ad shop Hill Holliday in January 1999. Brady officially resigned from the struggling company in July 2001.

July: Brad Burmaster

Then: As vp-new business and retail development for Clark Marketing & Refining, he got Philip Morris and RJR to customize merchandising for a new upscale smoke shop.

Now: Burmaster took gas online as chief operating officer-gasoline business for Priceline.com, then went all-Internet as executive vp-sales and marketing for Stockback.com. He’s now back in oil as president-chief operating officer of wholesaler Onyx Mansfield.

October: Kevin Murphy, John Emerson

Then: Ocean Spray Cranberries’ chief operating officer and vp-retail sales led the cooperative’s comeback efforts.

Now: Murphy talks sports as ceo of athlete agent Woolf Associates. Emerson lives in Oklahoma City.

1999

January
Marketers of the Year

Samantha Liss, Jodi Harnick

Then: Director of brand marketing Liss and promotions manager Harnick were the twenty-something whiz kids of Fort Washington-PA based CDNow, one of the first and most successful online music retailers.

Now: Harnick (now Hallen) left the company in May ’99 and is a healthcare consultant for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Liss left in January and is consulting.

Karen Corsaro

Then: Simon Brand Ventures’ president Corsaro helped turn Simon Property Group’s 150 malls into PROMO havens.

Now: She left Simon in May 2000 to form her own business development firm, The Corsaro Group.

Thom DeCant

Then: As manager of events marketing, he used a Joe Montana tie-in to raise the profile of Mervyn’s California.

Now: DeCant is still at Mervyn’s, leveraging the assets of parent Target Stores whenever possible.

Seth Godin

Then: He went from ceo of interactive agency Yoyodyne Entertainment to marketing vp at new parent Yahoo, Inc., gaining a reputation as a true Internet maven in the process.

Now: Leveraging that rep, he left Yahoo in 2000 to be a full-time consultant and author. You may have read a little something called Permission Marketing (see pg. 84).

Ed Yuhas

Then: As director of consumer marketing, he helped Aurora Foods resurrect the stagnant Mrs. Butterworth and Log Cabin brands.

Now: Getting the entrepreneurial bug, he left trade-scandal plagued Aurora in early 2001 to first join an unsuccessful venture called Pasteurized Eggs Corp., then Earthstone International, a startup that develops adhesives.

Pam Kaufman

Then: PROMO’s only two-time Marketer of the Year extended Nickelodeon’s success to the silver screen with The Rugrats Movie.

Now: Kaufman was recently upped from senior vp-promotion to senior vp-marketing, making her the cable network’s Numero Uno (see pg. 80).

David Baney, R.J. Milano

Then: Vice president-marketing Baney and assistant vp-marketing Milano steered McDonald’s Corp. through a transition year after a disastrous 1997.

Now: Baney is a managing director for McDonald’s International, working in Italy. Milano rose to senior vp-U.S. marketing, but resigned abruptly in October 2001 after a rough business year.

Mary Klein

Then: M&M/Mars’ senior franchise manager quarterbacked Team Snickers through a year of innovative promotions highlighted by the NFL-themed Shock Zone (and proved herself every bit the team player by refusing to be photographed without squad members Chris Jones, John Cavaliere, and Arjun Charanjiva).

Now: Klein indulges her sweet tooth by overseeing the company’s new products and sugar groups.

Marla Sandall

Then: Packard Bell’s advertising vp shook up the business-to-business world with a campaign that mailed CD-ROMs packaged like takeout food to the homes of 5,000 retail salespeople.

Now: Sandall left Packard Bell in ’99 after parent NEC discontinued the brand in the U.S., and later joined Kinko’s. She’s in the market for a West Coast gig now that the chain is moving to Dallas.

Gaye Littell

Then: As a freelance party coordinator, she helped Harley-Davidson throw a 95th birthday bash using other people’s money.

Now: Littell is helping the brand prep for next year’s 100th anniversary.

April: Bruce Chemel

Then: As president of American Airlines AAdvantage, Chemel turned the frequent-flier vehicle into a money-making venture as well as a loyalty program without peer.

Now: After helping AAdvantage celebrate its 20th birthday in 2001, Chemel retired at the end of the year.

June: John Kelley, Carol Griseto

Then: The agency co-founders reveled in Upshot’s selection as Agency of the Year.

Now: After a stint as ceo of parent Ha-Lo Industries, Kelley rejoined Griseto at the helm of Upshot in March 2001.

July: Jim Bechtold

Then: As Procter & Gamble’s director of customer marketing, he helped set into action Organization 2005, an ambitious plan to double company sales.

Now: P&G is more than halfway to its goal, and Bechtold’s now general manager of North American market strategy and planning.

September: Jim Craigie, Ed Several

Then: Spalding Co. ceo Craigie and vp-marketing services Several began putting their Kraft experience to the test to revitalize the legendary sports brand.

Now: Their plan is working, thanks to an R&D strategy that’s adding technology to the old ballgame.

October: Azeezaly Jaffer

Then: As executive director-stamp services for the U.S. Postal service, Jaffer put the oomph back in stamp sales with a huge injection of promotion.

Now: He’s vp-public affairs and communications, which made him the Postmaster General’s public face during last fall’s anthrax turmoil.

2000

January: Jimmy de Castro

Then: The vice chairman of AMFM, Inc. served as poster boy for a push by media companies to develop in-house marketing services expertise.

Now: AMFM’s merger with rival Clear Channel Communications sent de Castro packing before the month had ended. But by February, he had launched Nothing but Net, a venture capitalist firm.

February: Robin Lee Greiner, Larry Litvak

Then: The vp-marketing and cfo of “e-philanthropist” Working Assets represented the new wave of cause marketing on the Internet.

Now: Both Greiner and Litvak still find raising money for charity a rewarding career choice.

March: Robbie Wilson, David Byers

Then: H&R Block’s vp-business development and chief marketing officer filed a comprehensive rewards program in a bid to become a year-round business.

Now: Byers remains on deck at Block. Wilson left in May 2001 to join investment services firm Edward Jones as customer segments marketing leader.

April: Warren Kornblum

Then: The senior vp-chief marketing officer initiated a plan to restructure the Toys “R” Us marketing plan from the inside (of stores) out.

Now: Now executive vp-worldwide marketing and brand development, Kornblum continues the quest.

May: Kevin Smith

Then: Kellogg Co.’s vp-consumer products reinstated promotion as a primary ingredient for breakfast.

Now: He’s been busy adding long-term partnerships with such content creators as AOL Time Warner, Walt Disney Co., and the Cartoon Network.

June: Jim Holbrook, Jack Thorwegen, Mitch Meyers, Norty Cohen

Then: Zipatoni Co.’s brain trust — president Holbrook, ceo Thorwegen, chief marketing officer Meyers, and chief operating officer Cohen — relaxed long enough to savor the shop’s Agency of the Year nod.

Now: They still lead the charge (with founder Thorwegen telecommuting), although now as full-fledged employees of Interpublic.

September: Paula Balzer, Britney Spears, Mary Courville

Then: Tour operator and venue owner SFX, Inc., represented by marketing president Balzer, had the backstage connections to match Polaroid senior marketing communications manager Courville with pop sensation Spears.

Now: Balzer has moved up the ladder to become chief marketing officer of new parent Clear Channel Entertainment. Courville left Polaroid in April 2001 to start an interior design business. Spears continues to pursue a career in music.

November: Nancy Berkow, Maryann Kuzel

Then: Roche consumer product director Berkow and director of consumer marketing Kuzel helped agency Momentum celebrate its Best Overall Promotion award in the 2000 PRO Awards.

Now: Kuzel moved to Momentum parent McCann-Erickson (see below). Berkow left last fall to become associate director of consumer marketing at Pharmacia.

December

20 Who Made a Difference

David Phillips

Then: This industrious University of California-Davis engineer made headlines (and PROMO’s cover) when he earned 1.25 million frequent-flier miles by purchasing 12,150 Healthy Choice pudding cups in 1999, then scored another million in a 2000 LatinPass campaign.

Now: It took him about three years to polish off the pudding — not bad, considering all the trips he’s been taking.

David Bell, Wes Bray

Then: Establishing a global marketing services network under one P&L was the aim of True North chairman Bell and Marketing Drive Worldwide co-ceo Bray.

Now: Bell became vice chairman of Interpublic when it acquired True North in early 2001. Bray departed in an early-2001 management restructuring and has launched a consultancy.

Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger

Then: Their book, The Cluetrain Manifesto, opened eyes in the boardroom with its call — nay, demand — for a more human voice in marketing and corporate communications.

Now: They’re acting like the gurus they’ve become: writing, speaking, and investing.

Richard Gerstein

Then: The vp-marketing for Reflect.com, P&G’s online cosmetics shop, knows that women want to feel special — which is why the site specializes in customized products.

Now: Gerstein is still running the show as executive vp.

Dick Hinson

Then: Roche’s vp-marketing rethought direct-to-consumer drug marketing by getting as mobile as packaged goods.

Now: Hinson keeps Roche rolling.

Betsy Holden

Then: As the first female president of Kraft Foods, she placed an emphasis on innovative, integrated marketing.

Now: Now co-ceo, she oversaw the merger with Nabisco and the company’s IPO.

Al Kahn

Then: The ceo of Leisure Concepts acquired the licensing rights to Pokèmon and turned the strange creatures into the world’s biggest fad.

Now: Kahn remains at the helm of his company, since renamed 4Kids Entertainment Licensing.

A.G. Lafley, Durk Jager

Then: Before Jager’s 18-month reign as ceo of Procter & Gamble ended in June 2000, he rattled the ad industry with a new performance-based compensation policy. Lafley, who replaced him, began focusing on global brands and online produ