[Re: Loose Cannon: Bring on the Snotnose Brigade, Direct Newsline, July 12, 2004]:
Interesting proposition.
I just returned from a freshman orientation session at a Big 12 school and looked at the courses offered in marketing and also in the Journalism School, which is my daughter’s current planned major.
I was very disappointed in the complete lack of courses relating to direct marketing. There were none. There was one web marketing course and one web course in the Journalism School listing.
Inviting marketing professors to come to speak on the subject of direct marketing could prove to be a huge waste of time. They could speak on consumer motivation and socio-economic trends, but I have not seen much evidence that the academic world has embraced the power of direct marketing to the same extent that we in the industry do. Our friends at Yankelovich and Looking Glass already do an excellent job at many trade shows presenting trends, etc. Wunderman and Campbell-Ewald are also excellent resources for our industry.
As far as students attending the shows, I would encourage it and let them in for free and attend all the workshops. It’s a great way to build a new generation of professionals, even if the dress code might be violated.
Bart Foreman
Group 3 Marketing
Wayzata, MN
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Just read your editorial on bringing on the students — a good thought but if they can’t read, then they can’t become students at a college or university. It’s always amazed me that the DMA doesn’t sponsor a drive for literacy . . . after all, if they can’t read our ‘3rd class bulk’ communications, how will they order? And then pay for said products and services? Or register to vote?
Sunny Heyer
Media Horizons
Chicago
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As a director of Direct Marketing Days in New York for over 25 years, we, as part of our mission to encourage education, did many things to involve students and professors. However, there was a lot of backlash from the exhibitors when we had significant numbers of students go through the exhibit halls. The exhibitors’ point was that they had a minimum amount of time to make their contacts and were paying a lot of money for that opportunity. As you surmise, they felt that they could not spend this time educating individuals who certainly weren’t potential clients and might never be. As we heard over and over, they felt that many of the students were more interested in picking up free pens and gadgets than really learning about the products and services.
So, what we did was set up and run “Career Days” to which we invited hundreds of students. At these days, we put on a program featuring some of the best practitioners in the DM field. This gave the students a feel for what was going on in the industry and provided them with the ability to speak to these experts if they had questions. These Career Days were a major success.
Direct Marketing Days in New York is now owned and run by The DMA. However, the foundation we had set up and endowed still runs these Career Days. In addition, the Direct Marketing Club of New York has numerous educational programs and invites students to attend its monthly lunch programs. So the DM community in New York is doing its bit to encourage the education of students in the intricacies and opportunities available in our field.
Arthur Blumenfield
Director
BMI Fulfillment Services
Norwalk, CT
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