Kevin Noonan, the chief of the interactive marketing arm of the Direct Marketing Association, has quit his job as of last Friday. He has taken a new position as director of new business development at e-mail deliverability firm Return Path Inc.
Noonan steps into his new role on Thursday, Matt Blumberg, Return Path’s CEO, confirmed.
“It is a sales-oriented role, but focuses on evangelizing Return Path, our offerings and what we do for the industry,” Blumberg said.
Besides drumming up new business in the e-mail deliverability and e-mail change-of-address units, Noonan will expand the educational efforts of the consulting arm of Return Path, Blumberg said. The educational endeavors will center on spreading the word about e-mail best practices and may include Webinars, he said.
Noonan succeeded Ben Isaacson as executive director for the Association for Interactive Marketing in November 2002. Under his leadership, AIM published E-Mail Best Practices, along with other online marketing best practice documents.
Noonan could not be reached for comment by press time. In an e-mail missive to AIM members, sent last week, he wrote: “I have valued getting to know you all and look forward to speaking to you in my new role…where my passion for this space that I have nurtured during my tenure at AIM has truly found a home.”
He stated that Michael Faulkner, senior vice president of segments and affiliates at the DMA, who had overseen AIM, would continue to run the organization.
Blumberg, who is on the advisory board of AIM, said that a search for a replacement would ensue. Blumberg added that he would participate in that effort.
Noonan also said that he had been appointed as the chair for the next DMA interactive conference, net.marketing, which is slated for 2005.
Another Noonan e-mail to members listing the year’s accomplishments, stated that several dozen new members had joined AIM. When he started at AIM, his mandate was to land some 400 new members, according to Faulkner at that time.
But in the realm of best practices, Noonan led the group in publishing two search engine marketing documents, a Roadmap for a Successful Online and Integrated Promotion, and a RoadMap for a Successful Performance-Based Marketing Campaign, in addition to the e-mail directive.
AIM also held a roundtable for Internet service providers to share tips on how marketers could get their e-mail delivered. The group started two new councils–a search engine marketing and an online and integrated promotions council. It also re-formed the interactive television council.
Before AIM, Noonan was group vice president of the Internet and media research area at the Yankee Group, and had run his own consulting firm. He was also a founder of Nielsen Media Research Interactive Services Division and held a number of sales positions at Forefront Technologies, @plan Inc. and Bell Canada Enterprises.
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