DMA Insert Media Council to Honor Zuckermandel and Boardroom, Inc. at Dec. 11 'Roast & Toast' Awards Luncheon

November 4, 2008 —The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Insert Media Council today announced that plans for its Annual Roast & Toast Holiday Luncheon are underway. Two honorees will receive awards this year: one Individual and one Company

The 2008 Individual Award-winner is Jim Zuckermandel, CEO & founder of Zed Marketing Group, Inc. Zuckermandel will join Corporate Award honoree Boardroom, Inc. on the hot seat from 11:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 11, 2008, in the Grand Ballroom of The Yale Club of New York, which is located at 50 Vanderbilt Ave. Boardroom’s Amy Altmann, director of List Sales & Insert Media and Michael Feldstein, Boardroom’s product manager and director of insert media, will jointly accept the honor on behalf of the company.

“Each year at the Annual Roast & Toast Holiday luncheon, industry leaders come together to reconnect, and to recognize the highest achievements in the field,” said Robert Stanton, DMA Insert Media Council’s co-chair and vice president of business development at Stanton Direct Marketing. “This year, we are delighted to honor two truly outstanding representatives of the Insert Media community.”

“In today’s direct marketing landscape, the scope and breadth of Insert media has expanded, and unprecedented opportunities have emerged,” added Jackie Kern, DMA Insert Media Council’s co-chair and managing director, Main Street Direct “Today more than ever, utilizing this powerful medium is essential on all points of the multichannel spectrum.”

2008 Individual Award: Jim Zuckermandel, President/CEO, Zed Marketing Group, Inc.

Zuckermandel founded Zed Marketing Group in 1994 to specialize in Insert Media. The company currently provides its clients with brokerage, list management, and print services. Over the years, Zuckermandel has served as board member and president of the Mail Order Gardening Association; speaker at the Annual Catalog Conference; judge for the DMA’s Echo Awards and co-chair of DMA’s Insert Media Council’s Segment Advisory Committee.

Prior to his involvement in direct marketing, Zuckermandel taught in the public school system until he was drafted in 1970. He spent most of his seven years of active duty teaching and coaching at the United States Military Academy - West Point, while also earning a masters degree.

Zuckermandel later worked in the family mail-order business, Jung Seed Company, where he gained knowledge and experience in a variety of areas, including lists, space ads, package, catalog inserts, and printing.

In 1988, Zuckermandel joined Chilcutt Direct Marketing as Director of List Management and Alternative Media Divisions. From there, he ultimately followed his dream to pursue inserts in a bigger way — by founding Zed Marketing Group.

2008- Corporate Award to Boardroom, Inc.

Boardroom Inc. was founded in 1972 by Marty Edelston, with the aim of delivering useful news in a concise format. The company’s Boardroom Reports, a business newsletter for the busy executive, was a revolutionary concept in newsletter publishing. Today, Boardroom’s 85 employees are responsible for more than $100 million in revenue.

In 1981, the company launched Bottom Line/Personal, which quickly became the largest paid circulation newsletter in the United States. In the 1990s, Boardroom Inc. began publishing books, and in 1991, Edelston developed "I-Power," an innovative and highly effective management incentive program.

In 1992, Boardroom expanded into insert media, printing hundreds of millions of package inserts and statement stuffers that generated several hundreds of thousands of new subscribers to Bottom Line Personal. Today, Boardroom regularly mails 50-100 million pieces of promotional mail per year for Boardroom's books and newsletters – and each of the company’s six newsletters Boardroom is presided over by an advisory team of experts. Boardroom has also expanded into the television infomercial market — and its E-Ventures division rivals that of the industry’s largest publications.

Admission for the DMA Insert Media Council’s 2008 Holiday Roast & Toast on December 11 is $85 for council members, $105 for DMA members, and $120 for non-DMA members. For additional information or to register, please visit http://www.the-dma.org/councilevents/insertdecluncheon.

About DMA Insert Media Council

The goal of DMA’s Insert Media Council is to represent the interests of direct marketing companies engaged in all facets of alternative print and interactive media. The council is intended for those who are concerned with identifying and exploring insert media issues and opportunities. For additional information about this and the other 20 DMA special-interest councils, please visit www.the-dma.org/councils.

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