DMEF Launches First Podcast

April 29, 2008 — The Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) today launched its first-ever podcast of a virtual roundtable entitled “The Next Generation of Leaders Discuss the Next Generation of Challenges for Direct Marketing.”

Moderated by DMEF President Terri L. Bartlett, the panelists were the five 2008 DMEF Rising Stars Award winners and the Corporate Commitment Award winner*:

· Janet Barker-Evans, Senior Vice President, Draftfcb

· Gary S. Laben, President and CEO, KnowledgeBase Marketing, Inc./Wunderman*

· Todd Leiser, Vice President of Database Marketing, Rodale Direct, Rodale, Inc.

· Joseph Pak, Sales Operations Senior Analyst, Google, Inc.

· Joe Pych, Founder and President, NextMark, Inc.

· Jeff Yowell, Founder, President and CEO, Datacore Marketing

Please click here to listen, and find out what the experts had to say on these topics:

· Influence and impact of technology on direct/interactive marketing, both today and tomorrow

· Current advantages and challenges of direct marketing

· Blending “new-school” with “old-school” techniques for a whole new formula

· Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which is rapidly becoming “Customers Really Manage”

· Education on the real value of direct marketing — being business savvy makes the difference

· Direct marketing career paths — how to prepare yourself, your staff, and establish hiring criteria to identify leaders of tomorrow

· The future of direct marketing — the opportunities and potential drawbacks

The honors will be presented at DMEF’s Rising Stars Awards Dinner in New York City, which will be held on June 10, 2008, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. The all-star networking event will be held in conjunction with DM Days New York Conference & Expo, which will take place June 10-12 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, NY. To reserve a seat at the dinner table, click here.

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