AFTER A TWO-YEAR HIATUS, the Direct Marketing Association’s List Council is reviving its Young Professionals series to train junior employees at list companies.
The series was canceled last year in the wake of Sept. 11. “Last year wasn’t a time to do much of anything,” says Stefanie Pont, chair of the DMA List Council and corporate media director at Brann Direct. And the year before, some instructors had scheduling conflicts.
The council began the series more than 20 years ago as a way to help list companies “add value” to their DMA memberships. “But it’s evolved into a way for list companies to get their junior employees to learn about the industry so they’ll get excited and want to stay,” says Pont.
The sessions are tentatively titled “List Business Scorecard,” to be led by Diane Silverman, list manager at the Reader’s Digest Association; “Brokers and Managers: Why the Two Need to Get Along,” presented by Linda Huntoon, executive vice president at Direct Media Inc. and Cindy Lee, a vice president at American List Counsel Inc.; a session on direct mail creative by industry consultant Stuart Jordan; and “Anatomy of a Direct Mail Campaign,” led by Pont. An instructor who will address merge/purge issues had not been named at press time.
Silverman’s session will address how the list business is set up and will identify all the key players in a list rental transaction and their responsibilities. It also will feature a history of the business and outline the qualifications needed in the industry today.
The broker/manager session will explore in detail why the two need each other to do their jobs, says Huntoon.
The creative session, notes Jordan, likely will address all aspects of direct mail creative, including copy, envelope and even the differences between postal mail and e-mail.
Pont’s session will walk through the campaign process, starting with why mailers mail, and will consider budgets, schedules and the responsibilities of the list manager and broker. It will cover the production process as well.
The merge/purge session will outline list hygiene, lettershop and related issues, and will spell out postal requirements.
Exact dates had not been set at press time, but the program probably will begin in September. The sessions, which cost $130 per student and include membership in the DMA List Council, are slated to run three hours.
The List Council also is considering inviting members of the DMA’s Catalog and Circulation Councils to participate, says Pont.
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