Jan Brandt has been named chairman of the board of North American Membership Group (NAMG), the world’s largest lifestyle affinity membership organization.
Brandt rose to prominence as chief marketing officer of America Online, Inc. a position she held for 10 years, until 2002. During her tenure, AOL's worldwide membership grew from 250,000 to over 30 million. Brandt developed and implemented the "ubiquity strategy" for AOL, which involved, among other tactics, massive mailings of AOL sign-up disks to computer users.
She was named one of Fortune Magazine's "Most Powerful Women in American Business" as well as Direct Marketer of the Year by the Direct Marketing Association of America.
North American Membership Group, Minnetonka, MN is an affinity membership organization with over 4.7 million members. It operates 11 national clubs aimed at enhancing activities for engaged consumers, including North American Hunting Club, North American Fishing Club, Handyman Club of America, National Home Gardening Club, PGA TOUR Partners Club, Cooking Club of America, National Health & Wellness Club, Creative Home Arts Club, The History Channel Club, The National Street Machine Club and the Motorcycle Riders Club of America.
“NAMG has just begun to tap into the vast opportunities that interactive media provides for rapidly-growing and highly-targeted enthusiast audiences,” said Brandt, in a statement. “I look forward to working with the dedicated team there to take advantage of these opportunities, to develop innovative new programs, and to further develop NAMG’s advertising revenue and marketing operations through investments in brand building, media and online technology.”
NAMG is owned by Pilot Group, a New York-based private equity firm which focuses on consumer branded businesses; Brandt is also a member of Pilot Group.
