Just wanted to let you know that the article, “Is Promotion a Dirty Word?” (March PROMO), is excellent. It is extremely relevant and very insightful. What is especially interesting is the quote from Jim Petzing that, “It's not enough today to just be a promotion professional. You need a general background in all disciplines to be an industry expert.”
I can totally identify with this. After 10 years of brand management experience at companies such as Unilever, Campbell Soup, and Diageo (Guinness), I recently made a major career move to the promotion agency side. It has been a very interesting and rewarding experience. One thing that is a tremendous benefit is having the classical brand management training to provide me with much stronger insights from a marketing strategy standpoint, knowledge of how to leverage other marketing elements (advertising, p.r., trade promotion), and a clear understanding of the thought process and priorities of the client.
Thanks again for providing some very interesting reading.
Wayne Hartunian
VP-Account Director
Alcone Marketing Group
I read with great interest your article entitled “A Measure of Success” (April PROMO), and found it well researched and very informative. I do however, take issue with the statement by Brian Clausman concerning on-site interview length. He seems to believe that three or four questions are usually sufficient and that, if more information is required, you should be prepared to offer a reward. I, on the other hand, don't agree with that idea at all.
We do hundreds of on-site surveys at hundreds of events, so we have the experience to back up our statements. Most of our surveys are five to six minutes long, and yet we only get three percent refusals and three percent who break off before the end. We never offer an incentive. People appreciate being asked their opinions in an intelligent, engaging way. When we prepare our surveys with that knowledge in mind, we don't have any trouble finding attendees to complete them.
Again, I did enjoy the article as a whole and found it very informative. Keep up the good work.
C. David Willis
President
Real Feedback
Kingwood, TX
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