DMA to Be Isaacson’s First Consulting Client

Although Ben Isaacson is leaving his job as executive director of the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM) as of Sept. 13, he will continue on as a consultant until the end of the year.

“I will maintain my role until we find a new executive director and make sure that [my successor] has the full knowledge and training necessary to maintain the issues and goals we’ve set out to accomplish,” Isaacson said in an interview.

Isaacson added that there were a couple of candidates for the job already, but that the search process is ongoing.

Michael Faulkner, senior vice president, segments and affiliates for the Direct Marketing Association, is heading up the search effort. He is seeking candidates with public policy and association experience, preferably within an interactive environment, according to a DMA statement.

“Isaacson has been a critical force in assisting the DMA in our interactive efforts and has grown AIM into the largest organization in the world dedicated to maximizing the presence of marketers across multiple interactive channels,” said H. Robert Wientzen, president and CEO of the DMA.

Isaacson plans to open a consulting firm specializing in e-mail and interactive marketing. He plans to open an office in Colorado and split his time between New York and a yet-to-be-determined Colorado city.

As a consultant, Isaacson will help companies hammer out their e-mail strategies and privacy policies.

“Many companies are still lacking basic education about how to maximize the use of e-mail,” he said.

Isaacson will offer his experience and advice on industry benchmarks and long-term customer relationship management, he said. He also plans to consult on state, federal or international laws and policies that affect business. In addition, he will seek out business development opportunities for clients.

Aren’t these rough economic times to start a business?

The economy will improve, Isaacson said. And meanwhile, “there are companies having trouble with e-mail and trouble with public affairs that could use one-to-one assistance.”

He said the timing was right personally and professionally. “The organization is in good shape and I’m in good shape,” said the 28-year-old Isaacson. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and experiences and I feel that before I am in a phase in my life where I have a family, I can take this next step, and see where it takes me.”

During his six-year tenure at AIM, Isaacson led the development of self-regulatory guidelines for the e-mail marketing industry, resulting in the “Six Resolutions for Responsible E-mailers.”

He also oversaw the forging of guidelines for e-mail merge/purge; best practices for e-mail append; and the first self-regulatory privacy guidelines for the interactive television industry.

Isaacson was named executive director of AIM in 1999. The group had hired him as an intern in 1996 after he graduated from the University of Kansas.

AIM, an independent subsidiary of the DMA, was founded in 1993 as the Interactive Television Association. By 1996, it had changed its name and mission to focus on the Internet, as well as interactive media, including ITV. The DMA acquired AIM in 1998.

Today, there are 375 member-companies from a range of industries including e-mail marketing, online marketing, content provision, e-commerce, customer relationship management, market research, broadband access and interactive television.

“I only have the most fond memories and respect for this industry and look to taking my experiences and continuing them in a for-profit endeavor,” Isaacson said. “I’m not walking away from this industry by any means.”