Longtime direct marketer Joan Throckmorton died March 6 after a long illness. She was 71.
A mail-order innovator, creative expert and teacher, Throckmorton was inducted into the Direct Marketing Association's Hall of Fame in 1997.
In 1970, she started a marketing and advertising agency, Throckmorton & Associates. Among her clients were General Electric, McGraw-Hill, AT&T, Citibank, Doubleday Book Clubs, Rodale Press and Time Inc.
A memorial service will be held March 22 at Pound Ridge (NY) Community Church, the DMA said.
Throckmorton was the first woman to serve on the DMA's executive committee, according to the association. Also in 1970, she was one of the first women to serve as a member of the DMA board of directors. She chaired an early DMA council, was chair of the Hall of Fame Committee and was an International ECHO Award committee member.
“The direct marketing industry suffered a great loss with the passing of Joan Throckmorton,” said H. Robert Wientzen, DMA president/CEO. “Joan's contributions to the industry were significant, and her pioneering spirit served as an inspiration to others in the industry. She was truly an industry legend.”
Throckmorton was a founding member of Women's Direct Response Group and was a member of Women's Forum Inc. She wrote a monthly column on direct mail in DM News and often lectured before organizations such as the Practising Law Institute, American Management Association and the DMA's annual conferences.
Her public seminar and book titled “Winning Direct Response Advertising: How to Recognize It, Evaluate It, Inspire It, Create It,” have guided and inspired more than 3,000 promising direct marketing professionals over the years.
Throckmorton was selected as one of the top 100 Corporate Women in America by BusinessWeek magazine and named Direct Marketing Woman of the Year by Women's Direct Response Group.
Early in her career, Throckmorton was associated with major publishers such as Time Inc., Doubleday & Company Inc. and American Heritage. While at Time, she was associated with Life magazine, where she helped introduce the first major Time Inc. book, “The Life Picture Cookbook.” She also worked on Sports Illustrated as circulation promotion manager, and later became assistant to the board chairman at Time.
