Virgin's Sir Richard Branson to Keynote DMA06
The Direct Marketing Association announced yesterday that Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, will be the opening keynote speaker at DMA06, which will take place in San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center October 14-18."Sir Richard's brilliant marketing strategies have resulted in one of today's most legendary success stories," John A. Greco, Jr., president/CEO, DMA, said in a statement. "The success of his billion-dollar empire, which began as a direct mail retailer, is illustrative of how a multichannel marketing strategy is essential to achieving results-driven business goals."
Mr. Branson has expanded the interests of the Virgin Group into an international "Megastore" that includes music, air travel, mobile, financial, retail, music, Internet, drinks, rail, resorts and leisure, through some 200 companies in more than 30 countries.
Mr. Branson founded Virgin as a mail-order record retailer in 1970 and shortly thereafter opened a record shop on London's Oxford Street.
In 1994, Mr. Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Today, the airline is the second largest British long-haul international airline and operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 aircraft to New York, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Delhi, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Shanghai, and the Caribbean.
