.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;}
Your undergraduate degree was in economics. How did you wind up in marketing?

That’s a good question. I started the bachelor’s in econ just because it was very logical; it was just a good program at Iowa State. When I got out of school, I worked for the state of Iowa for about a year, which gave me an opportunity to do some forecasting and trend work with the state, which got me an interview with KVI (Kirke-Van Orsdel Insurance) at the time to apply those kinds of reporting skills for marketing campaigns. Then I came up through the marketing team, but with a quantitative background. And I work closely with finance to achieve our budget goals as a team.

What are your primary responsibilities with Marsh?

It’s really working closely with the marketing teams here in the department to develop campaigns that achieve our revenue goals; working with our analytics team and all the functional units and the operations team to meet the needs and objectives of our clients. We really have two sets of customers; we have our actual clients but we also have our (insurance) carriers that we partner with, so we treat them like customers.

How did it feel to be named Direct Marketer of the Year?

It was a great honor to be nominated; it was a great surprise to win. And for us to win both the marketer of the year and company of the year had never been done before, so that was kind of an unprecedented sweep of both awards. The Direct Marketing Association was very happy for us; they had never seen it happen before, and it was just a great, great day to find out we had won both.

How varied are Marsh’s consumer marketing projects?

They cover just about all channels. We’re doing direct mail, Web, e-mail, print, billboards. They vary in complexity from a very simple billing insert to a very complicated, multichannel direct mail, multitouch fax, e-mail and direct mail campaign to a single group.

What have been some of the most significant changes you’ve seen in the direct marketing field in the past few years?

I would say increased use of technology, increased use of data to drive overall performance and return on investment. That filters into the channels, also. So then you’re always trying to test and learn and get better at what you do, but you’re also going to need data, whether it’s in an e-mail or a Web site or a direct mail kit, and layering those together. Before, you could just mail and do really well. It’s just trying to make increased return on investment.

In the past year when many clients wanted to scale back on marketing efforts, how was Marsh able to respond to that?

We’re always trying to do campaigns that make sense financially, and when the financial numbers look good, we’re able to secure the support and resources to continue marketing, versus advertising, which is harder to measure.

Is 12 years with the same company relatively long in marketing?

It seems like even over the last 10 years people (in the industry) have moved around quite a bit. The one thing that this company has always given me is the opportunity to grow and excel, and I haven’t had to go anywhere, basically, because the opportunities are there, they present themselves. I’ve gotten to do a lot of great things.

Are you from Central Iowa originally?

I was born in Des Moines, lived in Ankeny. I was in the military for a couple of years. I was in the 1st (Battalion)of the 501st (Infantry Regiment), an airborne battalion out of Alaska. I was a paratrooper; I came home to take advantage of in-state tuition. I got my undergraduate (degree) at Iowa State, I got married, and I got my M.B.A. from Drake while working here.

What are your activities outside of work?

I probably should be doing more. I’ve got two young kids at home, and between their activities and work, I’m pretty busy. I’m a member of the Direct Marketing Association, the American Marketing Association, the Professional Marketing Association, and a couple of hobbies, and that’s about it. I just finished my private pilot certificate last August.