So what do you think of the new DMA chief? John Greco has been on the job almost five months, and he has not been idle in that time.
Most of us got our first real look at him during the fall conference in New Orleans. Greco gave a broad overview of economic and regulatory conditions, showing that he’s a quick study. Later, he was reasonably forthright during a meeting with reporters. But these are surface impressions. What has he actually done?
Quite a bit, as it turns out.
In December, Greco reorganized the DMA’s executive ranks, elevating some people and eliminating some positions. We know most of the people he promoted, and they are solid.
Of course, many new executives shake up their staffs when they take over, but these were wise choices.
Greco also has announced the scrapping or overhauling of several conferences. At his press conference in New Orleans, he made it clear that he would kill events that fail to deliver profit and/or value to members.
Again, this makes sense. Why should your dues dollars support unproductive conferences? Our only quibble is that he hasn’t yet reversed his predecessor’s policy of not releasing attendance figures for events. But give him high marks for delivering on his promise, and much more quickly than we would have thought.
What’s next on the Greco agenda? Based on what he said in his New Orleans speech, the centerpiece of his program is a campaign to improve direct marketing’s image. He hopes to collect testimonials and then disseminate them in various ways.
That’s a great idea, although the details were vague. But as Greco said later at a press conference,
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