DMA Continues Consolidation of Business Operating Structure; Strengthens Chief Operating Officer Organization

August 16, 2006 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) recently announced the consolidation of its organizational leadership and operating structure, establishing two executive vice-president (EVP) organizations. These positions in addition to the CFO, the Direct Marketing Education Foundation (DMEF), and the Interactive Marketing Solutions (IMS) subsidiary that manages DMA’s consumer preference service operations will report directly to John A. Greco, Jr., DMA president & CEO.

One EVP, yet to be named, will lead the organizations that face the Policy Makers/Governments and Consumer communities. The second, headed by EVP & Chief Operating Officer Dr. Ramesh Lakshmi-Ratan, will support DMA organizations facing the Direct Marketing Community of direct marketer, agency, and supply chain partner firms. DMA has strengthened the COO organization in order to further deliver on strategic goals introduced in 2005 and to better align its business groups.

“DMA intends to provide greater value to members and all of those engaged in the end-to-end direct marketing process,” said Dr. Ratan. “By integrating all the resources that previously resided in the Membership & Market Development and the Education and Events organizations, we can better address the rapidly changing needs of the marketplace.”

“The integration of these key areas provides DMA with a comprehensive approach to delivering valuable resources to members and the direct marketing community, helping make it possible for them to reach their full potential,” Dr. Ratan said. “As the needs of direct marketers continue to change, DMA remains committed to continually evolving the organization in order to facilitate today’s rapidly growing marketplace diversity.”

Member Loyalty Services Group

Led by Ken Ebeling, vice president of Member Loyalty Services Group, this division will create a new platform to enhance the DMA member experience through the execution of three key initiatives:

· Development of more value surrounding DMA Councils, Affiliates and Leader groups.

· Building a world-class customer service platform that will support DMA event registration and DMA membership retention/acquisition activities. The value of each touchpoint with members, customers, and prospects will be maximized in order to meet and exceed their expectations while supporting the mission to grow and expand the Association’s membership base.

· Creation of new and innovative ways to engage members with the DMA. The goal is to develop a 360-degree view of DMA for its members and enable them to maximize the full value of their membership and, in turn, help DMA build a more relevant association for its members.

Conferences and Events Group

DMA’s newly formed Conferences and Events Group will evolve into a vehicle to deliver the integrated marketing message. Led by Julie Hogan, acting vice president of Conferences and Events, the group is committed to helping marketers remain competitive and delivering rich, leading-edge content that not only satisfies members, but also attracts potential members and event attendees. More than any organization within DMA, the success of the Conferences and Events Group relies heavily on extensive collaboration with all other DMA groups.

Global Knowledge Network Services

DMA’s education services division — formerly known as Professional Development & Training (PD&T) — has been incorporated into the newly formed Global Knowledge Network Services Group. Under the direction of Charles Prescott, vice president of Global Knowledge Network Services, this group will work to expand DMA’s global network of expertise, information and contacts, strengthening its resources and continue to deliver the best direct marketing competency development to members through individual as well as custom corporate training, seminars, and virtual seminars.

This crucial DMA group also will house DMA’s Library Network Services, which includes DirectLINK, a searchable online collection of abstracts and full-text articles from hundreds of magazines, newspapers, and newsletters; International ECHO Award portfolios; and DMA Archive Resources. This impressive collection of resources — online as well as offline — supports the development of a global network of direct marketing knowledge and provides improved direct marketing competency based value propositions to members around the globe.

Research Group

Research and publications of direct marketing statistics and process benchmarks are a critical component of the DMA value proposition to both traditional as well as newly emerging direct marketers. In support of the Strategic Plan’s mission to represent the full spectrum of marketers, DMA’s Research Group, under the continued leadership of Peter Johnson, PhD, vice president of Research and Market Intelligence, is working to enhance the quantity, quality, and relevance of DMA’s research efforts to current and potential members across the direct marketing community.

The Research Group also will form the core of the Direct Marketing Research Institute (DMRI) that will work in close collaboration with the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) and a network of academic and commercial research partners to identify and develop solutions to key research issues and agendas of importance to the direct marketing community.

Direct Marketing Nonprofit Federation (DMANF)

DMA Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) Executive Director Senny Boone, who also serves as DMA vice president and special counsel, is in charge of the Federation’s multifaceted work that showcases the successes of nonprofit organizations that rely on the direct marketing process to raise funds, advocate their particular missions, and serve their constituencies — all while also recognizing donors’ and consumers’ needs regarding effective communication. DMANF is committed to increasing the level of volunteer involvement through DMANF committees to encourage and advance the best and brightest in this important field.

DMA Marketing and Communications Group

Under the direction of Alan Kuritsky, vice president of Marketing & Communications and Chief Marketing Officer, DMA’s Marketing and Marketing Services Group directly supports the Association’s strategic goals by uncovering member, prospect, and customer needs and effectively delivering the benefits of DMA products and services that are designed to meet those needs through the complete direct marketing process from prospect list development, analysis, and segmentation to customer relationship optimization.

This group also includes DMA Communications capabilities, specifically Member Communications, Media & Public Relations, and Executive Communications — all of which are also responsible for informing the direct marketing community, policymakers, and consumers about critical issues directly affecting the growth of the direct marketing community.

DMA has embarked on a bold strategy to radically improve its infrastructure and capacity for a more effective direct marketing relationship with members and prospects. This group continues striving towards becoming a direct marketing center of excellence through its testing practices, improved analytics capabilities, and new marketing and communications practices.

Sales and Business Development Group

Paige Lance, who recently was appointed vice president of Sales and Business Development, will bring together direct sales efforts that span all of DMA’s offerings and provide a platform for cross-DMA bundled offerings supported by direct sales. Segments within the newly formed Sales and Business Development Group include new membership sales, conference and event sponsorships and exhibit sales, and custom education program direct sales.

In this new role, Lance also will lead DMA’s efforts in the development of association alliances, the growth of DMA’s small business membership, and building a formal business development process for DMA.

“We are very excited to be taking these next steps in the continuing consolidation of our operating structure,” said DMA President & CEO John A. Greco, Jr. “Ramesh and the team in the COO organization will work closely with Government & Consumer Affairs, the CFO organization, DMEF, and IMS to ensure that DMA presents a fully integrated value proposition that covers the five key areas of direct marketing community needs, including advocacy, image and brand, education and competency, networking, and research and market intelligence.”

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