Friday, February 19, 2010

RMI Flashback: John Forte

For the second post of our series, RMI Flashback, celebrating RMI's 25 years in the industry, John Forte, co-founder of RMI and my old boss sent over this remembrance of the early days...

It’s hard to believe it was 25 years ago that Martin and I started RMI! I remember it as if it were yesterday. I think the seed for RMI was planted when Martin and I first met. We became friends instantly. Martin’s leadership, intelligence and charisma captained RMI to the respected firm it is today.

Our first office was my 10’ X 12’ foot “den” in my 900 square foot house. It was interesting squeezing everyone in. We had several smokers and it didn’t take long (I think one day) for us to decide that RMI would be a smoke free office.

Our very first employee was Dan Arnold – at that time a young, bright and eager broker. He is still bright and eager and does a fabulous job heading up RMI’s Brokerage division.

Debbie Mclain joined us just after Dan. We really needed Debbie – she did all the work! Debbie’s devotion, skills and stamina have been and continue to be one of RMI’s greatest assets. Every day is “We Love Debbie” day at RMI.

Tally joined RMI as a summer employee in our accounting department. She kept threatening to leave and return to school but, thankfully, never did. RMI would be lost without her.

I could go on and on but will conclude by congratulating RMI on their 25th Anniversary and join the multitude of clients and friends wishing them another 25 years of success.

John Forte
2-18-10

Labels: 25 years, RMI

posted by Tally at 6:34 AM   0 comments

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

RMI marks a major milestone!

2010 marks RMI’s 25th year in the Direct Marketing Industry; we have many fond memories of the past 25 years and the clients and friends that have been with us, many of them for over 20 years. To celebrate, I thought I'd ask some RMI employees to share some stories on the blog about their experiences at RMI. In this first edition, Dan Arnold gives us some insight on being RMI's first employee...

Reflecting back on my first years with RMI, there were some very rewarding and funny moments. In those days, we were operating out of John's house, and it happened to work out that on my first day on the job, Martin and John left for Los Angeles for a convention. So, I was left in John's home for a week to run the day to day business. To say I was slightly panicked is an understatement. Somehow we did not go out of business that first week with me at the helm. Our saving grace could have been the speed at which our technology worked though; our first fax machine was called a Qwip and took 20 minutes to send one page. It's hard to imagine now; our industry has changed so much but it has been a great ride so far and I am looking forward to many more years!

Check out a classic photo of Dan on Flickr!

Labels: 25 years, RMI

posted by becky terhaar at 1:29 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A New Face for the DMA Nonprofit Federation

It looks like the DMA Nonprofit Federation has taken steps to show that they are really listening to their membership. They have recently launched a new more interactive web site. It can be found at www.nonprofitfederation.org.

Previously, you had to go through the main DMA site to get to it. The information was outdated and irrelevant in many cases. This new site looks more hip and it focused on delivery quality content, along with many more search capabilities.

In my mind it is of the utmost importance that a marketing organization keeps up on the latest formats and technologies available. Kudos to the leadership of the Federation for recognizing that as well.

Labels: DMA, DMA Nonprofit Federation

posted by Michael Kertelits at 7:20 AM   0 comments

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Taste of a New Generation

Saw an article on the Yahoo web site about a new tactic that the beverage giant Pepsi is taking this year in regards to Super Bowl advertising. They are not going to do it. That’s right; they have decided it is in their best interest to allocate this money toward launching a $20 million grant campaign, which will be distributed through social media channels.

The grant money will go to projects that cover six categories: including health, arts, culture, the planet, education, food and shelter. People will go to http://www.refresheverything.com/ to vote on worthy appeals and suggest other projects that may deserve the money.

Folks from Pepsi are buying in hook, line and sinker that the use of social media will spark a long-term movement instead of a few days of buzz like they get over a commercial seen during the big game. Time will only tell whether they are getting a better bang for their buck, but Pepsi is really trying to tap into the “tastes” of today’s generation.

Labels: social media

posted by Michael Kertelits at 11:37 AM   0 comments

Catholic Digest unveils a new website

Catholic Digest has been working on re-creating the look and feel of their new website for the past few months. Yesterday they launched the new site and I must say it’s a huge improvement. RMI is excited about the website and thrilled to share the news with our audience.

The home page is welcoming and clear in demonstrating what Catholic Digest is about. The navigation is easy; you can visit pages that focus on faith, family, people, recipes, well being, travel, making a difference, and more. I love the recipes and their readers’ stories which share true life experiences.

On the website they also announced the launch of the “Voices of Catholic Digest” blog.

Labels: client

posted by Cyndi Lee at 11:00 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Kelly gets roasted for a good cause!

The National Press Club hosted a dais of amateur roasters, who poked fun at and toasted Past-Chair of the DMA board Kelly Browning, to benefit the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s Conference Scholarship program.

Kelly, being a good sport, allowed the illustrious panel which included our very own Rich Leary to make fun of him and his long history and involvement in the direct mail industry. The packed room was filled with laughter and water was even seen coming out of a client’s nose as some obvious and some inside jokes were shared.

The response to the roasters by Kelly was hysterical and will not be forgotten anytime soon. The evening was wonderfully entertaining and brought in over $4,000 for the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s Conference Scholarship fund.

For more pictures of the event, click here.

Labels: client, DMA Nonprofit, DMA Nonprofit Federation

posted by Tally at 7:51 AM   0 comments

RMI’s 4th Annual Nonprofit Mailer Symposium:

RMI held its 4th annual Nonprofit Mailer Symposium in DC last week; this event was created to bring together nonprofits to have an open discussion of their accomplishments and concerns. Conversation flowed as we enjoyed the southern fare at Acadiana, started off by a DMA overview presented by Kelly Browning, Executive Vice President and COO of American Institute for Cancer Research, and immediate past president of the DMA Board of Directors. The agenda covered specific topics of Housefile strategies, Donor Recruitment and Creative. There was this year, as always, a tremendous amount of discussion and conversation related to Online and Multi-channel marketing and how everyone is utilizing the numerous channels.

The attendee feedback we’ve received tells us this event is consistently insightful and informative for all attendees.

Would you like to attend next year? You do not need to be a client to attend; send your contact info to Becky Terhaar to be added to our invite listing.

To see other photos of the event, click here.

Labels: Nonprofit Mailer Symposium

posted by Tally at 7:33 AM   0 comments