DMA Circulation Council to Induct Susan M. Allyn into Circulation Hall of Fame

January 31, 2008 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Circulation Council today announced it will honor Susan M. Allyn, vice president and circulation marketing director for TV Guide magazine, with induction into the DMA Circulation Hall of Fame. The award will be presented at a ceremony on February 12, during DMA’s 22nd Annual Circulation Day at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

The DMA Circulation Hall of Fame Award recognizes a peer-elected individual who has contributed significantly to the circulation profession through workplace achievement, circulation breakthrough, creativity, and/or community involvement.

“Susan Allyn accomplishes the impossible while making it look easy,” said DMA Circulation Council Co-chair Lori Magill-Cook, executive vice president of American List Counsel. “Mastering today’s circulation metrics, as Allyn did in order to help reinvent TV Guide in record time, requires an innovative, detail-oriented mind that isn’t afraid of a challenge that most would find insurmountable. Building and tracking circulation in a multichannel environment where, for instance, Internet numbers are continually debated, is just one of the feats that Susan performs — seemingly effortlessly.”

“Susan’s professional panache is just one of the reasons she’s our 2008 DMA Circulation Hall of Fame Award winner,” said Council Co-chair Kimberly Shay, Rodale’s circulation director. “Susan also embodies the personal ethics we so greatly value in the DMA Circulation Council.”

In less than three years, Allyn has helped TV Guide perform a total reinvention of itself. As vice president of circulation marketing, Allyn serves as the guiding light behind the company’s consumer marketing efforts. She has been instrumental in reshaping all marketing initiatives, accomplishing the outsourcing of the company’s in-house fulfillment system in less than six months. And she did all of this while managing a staff and revenues in excess of $90 million.

In a recent DM News article, Allyn shared expertise borne of 30 years of circulation and marketing experience. Regarding selling magazine subscriptions, Allyn offered, “If you have an incredible offer, let people know. Rounded prices lift results.” Additionally, she suggested more direct marketing ideas. “Segment and target rates,” she advised. “For example, try student rates, senior rates, and professional rates.”

With ideas like those, it’s no surprise that the iconic TV Guide is not Allyn’s only success story. Before joining TV Guide in 2005, Allyn was the consumer marketing director for Emap-Metro. There, from 1998 to 2005, she worked on 10 of the Action Sports Group magazines. In 2000, Allyn launched the circulation effort of the men’s magazine FHM, which exceeded circulation expectations and delivered 1.25 million paid subscribers during its first five years of existence.

From 1994 to 1997, Allyn was director of consumer marketing for four Wenner Media titles: Rolling Stone, Us Magazine, Men’s Journal, and Family Life. In addition, she has served in a variety of circulation and marketing positions at Time, Inc., Knapp Communications Corp., Weight Watchers Magazine, and ABC Publishing.

In addition to her involvement with DMA, Allyn has given generously to her industry. She has been a member of the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) Consumer Marketing Committee since 1983, serving as its chairperson in 1993. She also has served on the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ Magazine Director’s Advisory Committee for 19 years. She is also an adjunct professor in the graduate-level publishing program at New York University.

For a complete list of past DMA Circulation Hall of Fame honorees, click here.

For registration and additional information on DMA’s 22nd Annual Circulation Day and to register, please visit www.dmacircday.org.

The DMA Circulation Council’s goal is to be the authoritative voice on the marketing of magazine circulation and related products by providing valuable and credible services and attracting key industry players to its membership and events. The Council is committed to attracting new talent to the circulation industry by reaching out to the education market and becoming an advocate of careers in circulation marketing. For information, click here.

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