Meet the Broker: Nick Sarantakos
Today we meet Nick Sarantakos, executive vice president at LDS Group Inc. His list brokerage clients include BMG Columbia House, Hearst Corp., Primedia, Time Inc., Tribune Co., WNET-13 and several cable TV companies.
He started his first job in the list business in 1976, working in the mailroom at Kleid Co. during high school summer breaks and later while he attended New York University.
Sarantakos considered law school but decided on making a career in direct marketing instead. “My focus had been on consumer publishing, but over the last few years I’ve diversified a little in continuity programs and fundraising,” he said.
Sarantakos has been with LDS since March 2005. Prior to that he worked for MKTG Services and Stevens-Knox & Associates.
After work, Sarantakos coaches children’s basketball for his church and plays golf. At home, Sarantokos enjoys watching televised sports and cooking, especially Greek dishes. “If I wasn’t in the list business, I’d probably own a restaurant.”
Sarantakos is married and has a five-year-old son. He’s expecting his second child sometime in May.
How has list use changed in the consumer magazine publishing marketplace?
More data is being used for statistical modeling to create customized lists. “I think among national publishers everyone has jumped in,” said Sarantakos.
Statistical modeling has replaced sweepstakes as the primary means of prospecting for new magazine subscribers. Direct-to-publisher campaigns have supplanted mailings from subscription agencies.
One file built from statistical modeling data can provide the same quantity of names as a dozen or so individually rented lists, Sarantakos said.
With regional publishers not as much list modeling is done, he said, because the universe of names available in some markets is not large enough to build viable models.
Consumer publishers have not experienced the success online that some catalogers have achieved, with upwards of 30% to 40% of new customers’ names on lists being generated online, he said.
House e-mail lists gathered via Web site registrations are successfully being used for print magazine subscription renewals, but when it comes to prospecting for new subscribers postal lists still work best. “The primary vehicle for all new subscriptions is still direct mail,” said Sarantakos.
What must brokers consider before making a magazine list recommendation?
Find out the percentage of names on direct-to-publisher files that are actually direct mail sold, versus insert media or from other sources, advised Sarantakos.
“List source mixes are changing,” he said. “Direct-to-publisher traditionally meant any mail solicitation coming directly from the publisher, but now it can encompass TV, inserts, everything.”
It’s always a good idea to confirm any assumptions regarding list sources, because how list sources are defined varies by company. “Otherwise what you ask for might not be what’s provided,” Sarantakos said.
Direct mail sold names will nine out of 10 times perform stronger than names from other sources, so it’s important to know the source breakdown, he added.
Know someone you’d like to suggest for Meet the Broker? E-mail Jim Emerson at [email protected]
