DMA Welcomes New Members to Hall of Fame

Atlanta, GA, October 18, 2005 – The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Board of Directors today inducted three new members into the DMA Hall of Fame. This year’s honorees include Martin "Marty" Edelston, who built Boardroom, Inc. into a multimillion-dollar publishing empire; Tim Litle, principal, Litle & Co., a leading payment processor for direct marketers and the e-commerce industry; and Ted Spiegel, who helped establish Spiegel’s reputation as one of America’s leading catalog marketers and played a leading role in the development of direct marketing as an educational discipline.

"Excellence in direct marketing is a key part of our heritage. It will also be a key part of our future." said DMA president & CEO John A. Greco, Jr. "This year’s nominees exemplify excellence in every aspect of their career accomplishments and they will be excellent professional role models for generations to come. Their leadership is unquestionable, and their accomplishments are truly legendary."

Established in 1978, the DMA Hall of Fame honors direct marketing professionals’ outstanding career contributions to the practice, growth, and stature of the direct marketing discipline. With the induction of the 2005 honorees, the Hall of Fame will have 87 inductees.

From a business in his basement 30 years ago, Marty Edelston built Boardroom, Inc. into a multimillion-dollar publishing empire responsible for newsletters such as Bottom Line/Personal, Bottom Line/Health, Tax Hotline, and Bottom Line/Tomorrow. Bottom Line Books, the company’s book division, is recognized as one of the largest sellers of one-shot mail-order books in the country. His innovations in creative, editorial, and product development have earned him widespread recognition among his peers. But it is his generosity with guidance, information, and private tutorials that rank him as one of the industry’s great teachers. His "I-Power" management incentive program serves as a model for many companies, including Kodak, Ford Motor Company, and Rubbermaid. "I-Power Seminars" have been given to thousands of individuals from hundreds of companies, large and small, across the country. A generous supporter of political and educational causes focused on direct marketing, he has also encouraged several Boardroom, Inc. staff to hold leadership positions on various DMA councils and committees.

For more than 35 years, Tim Litle has played a critical role in the growth and evolution of direct marketing. As the founder of Litle & Co., he was a pioneer in the development of payment processing and e-commerce systems for direct marketers, and played a key role in the creation of what eventually became the US Postal Service’s Carrier Route Presort System. Litle is a past member of the DMA Board of Directors and its Executive Committee. He helped found DMA’s Privacy Task Force, and is past chairman of The DMA’s Committee on Ethical Business Practice, and a Board member of the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation. A recognized direct marketing expert, Litle is frequently invited to speak before industry groups and professional organizations. His expertise has also been called upon by the International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the White House during hearings on privacy issues. During his tenure, Litle & Co. was featured twice in Inc. Magazine’s list of the 500 fastest growing private companies, and Litle himself has been honored with many entrepreneurial awards for his contributions to the direct marketing practice.

Ted Spiegel, professor emeritus of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, began his career in direct marketing in 1957 in the Spiegel "family business" that mailed its now famous first catalog in 1905. In leadership roles within the company until 1987, he helped to cement its reputation as one of America's leading catalog marketers and change what originally was a budget-minded chain store-type catalog into an upscale "department store in print." In 1987, Spiegel was instrumental in developing the curriculum and establishing Medill's graduate direct marketing program – the first in the nation – where he expanded direct marketing as a discipline of study. He helped develop the Fourth Quarter Professional Residency for Academic Credit, which today is a key part of Medill's integrated marketing communications program. As founder and president of Spiegel Marketing Associates and a current partner with the Callahan Group, Spiegel has worked as a consultant to businesses, government entities, and nonprofits since 1987. His expertise in catalog marketing and business strategy has helped clients ranging from Walt Disney to Reader's Digest to the Library of Congress. As a professor emeritus in service, Spiegel remains active in the residency program at Medill. An active participant in DMA, Spiegel has also served on the advisory board of Direct magazine and the US Postal Service’s Marketing Advisory Board.

Each year, the DMA’s Board of Directors may elect as many as four industry leaders to the Hall of Fame. The DMA Hall of Fame Committee of Judges makes its selections based on nominations received through the annual call for nominations to DMA member companies and the direct marketing community at large. John F. Temple, president and CEO of Guideposts, chaired this year’s committee of judges. Joining Temple on the committee were C. Eduard Bjorncrantz, partner, The Callahan Group, LLC; Lee Epstein, chairman, Direct Marketers Gateway, Inc.; David W. Florence, chairman & CEO, Direct Media, Inc.; Alan M. Glazer, Alan Glazer Associates LLC; Richard Hochhauser, president & CEO, Harte-Hanks, Inc.; Jim Kobs, president, Kobs Strategic

Consulting; Katie Muldoon, president, Muldoon & Baer, Inc.; Jerome W. Pickholz; Stan Rapp, The Maxi Marketing Place; Jerry Shereshewsky, Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Madison Avenue, Yahoo! Inc.; Emily F. Soell, The Sloan Group; Jack E. Rosenfeld, chairman of the Board, Potpourri Group, Inc.; Ronald L. Bliwas, president/CEO, A. Eicoff & Company; and John A. Greco, Jr., president & CEO, The DMA.

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of business and nonprofit organizations using and supporting direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates industry standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the entire direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today has more than 4,800 corporate, affiliate, and chapter members from the US and 46 other nations, including 55 companies listed on the Fortune 100.

In 2005, companies will spend more than $161 billion dollars on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total U.S. sales, these advertising expenditures are expected to generate $1.85 trillion in increased sales in 2005, or 7% of the $26 trillion in total sales in the U.S. economy (which includes intermediate sales). All together, direct marketing will account for 10.3% of total U.S. GDP in 2005.