The Millard Group, Peterborough, NH, has named vice presidents Mike Hayden (catalog list brokerage), Jim Adams (finance) and Jeff Kelley (list management) senior vice presidents.
Hayden has been with Millard for 10 years and Adams for seven years, most recently as a lobbyist in Washington on behalf of the Direct Marketing Association.
Kelley, who has worked in list management with Millard for three years, said that most list owners today are companies or institutions that rent their lists for both revenue and exchange value. Companies that refuse to rent house lists for fear of losing customers to their competitors are a dying breed.
“Obviously, you have a loyal customer base and some like to protect their file,'' Kelley said. “Not too many are in this situation. There will always be attrition on a file. To shut yourself off limits a lot of opportunities to get names from other companies.
“We work with clients on both extremes. Others that rent and exchange lists are looking purely at the bottom line. It really depends on the philosophy and strategy of each company.''
Kelley, who came to Millard after working for catalog companies, said he has noticed growth in both special-interest magazines from large, multititle companies and niche catalogs. He warns that companies looking into niches should be careful in evaluating whether the total universe of a niche is big enough to support a business.
“I get a little nervous when I see a catalog that comes out with such a narrow focus that you can tell they didn't do enough research,'' he said.
RMI List Broker Goes
The Distance for Charity
Rob Gerowe's job as vice president of list brokerage for RMI Direct Marketing Inc., Danbury, CT, keeps him in touch with an athletic past.
Gerowe, a former nationally ranked middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon, has worked mostly with health- and sports-related publishers, fundraisers and catalogers in 12 years as a list broker. His association with the Leukemia Society of America, first as a volunteer coach for its marathon program and then as its broker, has inspired Gerowe to run a marathon.
Gerowe, 36, will compete in the 26.2-mile Rock N Roll Marathon on June 21 in San Diego as a member of the society's Team in Training. He is running in honor of Timmy Higgins, the son of family friend Karen Higgins, who died from leukemia 10 years ago. Gerowe and Higgins must raise $2,500 for him to compete, but they are hoping to raise $5,000 in donations, 80 percent of which will benefit a sponsor patient in Kent, CT, area or be used for research.
“The real reality of what leukemia does didn't really hit until the Anchorage, Alaska, Marathon in 1996,'' said Gerowe, who was a coach at the time. “At the start of the race, I bumped into a kid who couldn't have been more than 12 or 13. He was running for his little brother who had passed away. When his father took out the picture, I just lost it. The 5-year-old child looked a lot like my son Spencer.''
Gerowe ran a 2:26 marathon during college and is training at up to 80 miles a week. If he breaks three hours in San Diego, he may try to qualify for the 2000 Olympic trials. Anyone wishing to help Gerowe raise money for leukemia can send donations to Leukemia Society of Fairfield County, c/o Rob Gerowe, Rock N Roll Marathon, 500 Summer St., Suite 310, Stamford, CT 06901.
Direct Media Gains
Kiplinger Account
The Kiplinger account, a universe of nearly 2 million names, has switched management after 36 years from the Kleid Co., New York, to Direct Media, Greenwich, CT.
Direct Media began managing the account Feb. 16. It includes the consumer publications Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine and Kiplinger's Retirement Report and executive files the Kiplinger Washington Letter and Kiplinger Tax Letter.
“We manage approximately 200 executive files, so it fits in very nicely,'' said Direct Media chairman Dave Florence. “Personal Finance fits more into our investing work with titles like Smart Money.''
