You Know More

You Know Even More Than You Think You Know

by Nancy Rathbun Scott

What if you had friends who asked you to help one of their children, a college student considering a career in direct marketing?

Would you offer tips about writing a killer résumé? Maybe a little advice about nailing a job interview? You might even have a lead or two to share. Surely those things would be helpful. But wait; you know a lot more than that …

Through the DMAW Educational Foundation’s Mentor-for-a-Day program, you could steer that student toward spending a day at a local DM firm, learning first-hand what people in direct marketing actually do. Better yet, you’d have a path to help your young friend explore an internship with a local direct marketing firm.

Even many long-time DMAW members don’t understand the variety and depth of the practical programs the Educational Foundation offers—practical programs that support us, in our business, in our region.

For example, the annual Professors Institute brings Mid-Atlantic marketing professors to Washington for an intensive two-day crash course on the state of the art in direct marketing. Professors use what they learn from DM practitioners to develop stronger curricula for their students.

Likewise, each fall and spring semester, DMAW/EF hosts the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate MAXI Competition. Participating undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply the direct/interactive marketing principles they learn in classes to a real world scenario … and participation is growing.

Last spring, teams from the University of Maryland, George Mason, Christopher Newport, and Radford universities created compelling marketing campaigns to boost donations to the American Red Cross. In the fall, students from Johns Hopkins, Christopher Newport, Salisbury University, and Kings College proposed campaigns to increase attendance and membership at The Philadelphia Museum of Art. The winning case team members received substantial cash prizes, along with personal commendation certificates. The American Red Cross and The Philadelphia Museum of Art got a boatload of fresh ideas. The 2018 spring MAXI Case Competition to be held April 20 promises to be another winner.

To support all these programs, the Foundation must raise its own annual budget. Foundation funds come from a variety of sources: a portion of your DMAW membership dues, part of the proceeds from the Best of Direct holiday gala, the Silent Auction held at each year’s Bridge Conference, annual fund donations from individuals, and the support of the Foundation’s Leadership Circle members. By the way, DMAW/EF has its own Board of Directors and tax-exempt status, so donations are deductible.

And speaking of the DMAW/EF Foundation Board of Directors …

Welcome to the following new Board members who took office in January: Gail Battle, Owner, GMB Consulting; Leigh Ann Doyle, Account Manager, PMG; Bruce Gregoire, Owner and CEO, Wise Guys Marketing; Bob James, Owner, The Mighty Copywriter; Tracy Lea, CFRE, Vice President, The Harrington Agency; Robin Perry, Vice President, Lautman Maska Neill & Company; and Lynn Waller, Vice President, Chapman Cubine + Hussey. Those are some powerful industry contacts, right?

So there … now that you know more ways to help your friend’s son or daughters, how about helping the Educational Foundation? Volunteers and donors are always welcome. Check out our website, dmawef.org and, if you’d like to get involved, please contact the Foundation’s President, Rick Powell at 410-290-0667.

Nancy Rathbun Scott chairs the DMAW/EF Marketing Committee. Reach her at nancy@nancyscott.com.