April 30, 2007
closing thoughts Beth Vendice, divisional president, Advanced Results Marketing in Marlboro
By Christina Davis
From underwriting to advertising
Beth Vendice was named president of Advanced Results Marketing in Marlboro earlier this year. ARM specializes in direct response marketing. The company recently merged with Mercury Media of Santa Monica, Calif., a firm that specializes in long form ads also known as infomercials. Here she discusses her position as divisional president overseeing ARM, the reason for the merger with Mercury, and her unique career path from underwriter to media buyer.
WBJ: What drove the merger between ARM and Mercury?
Vendice: The driving force was the desire for us to be able to offer our clients a greater suite of services. The merger gave us the ability to grow in size to a company with $350 million in billings. That size in terms of media buying power allows us to leverage our relationships with the media world, pass on the savings to our clients and provide added value to our clients. And from a strategic standpoint, there is no other company that specializes in both long form ads running about 28 minutes, which Mercury specializes in - and traditional ad spots ranging from 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 120 seconds and even 10 and 15 seconds, which ARM specializes in.WBJ: How does one company find another company to merge with? Do you take out a want ad on Match.com?
Vendice: We actually worked with an investment bank. They were approached by the group that started Mercury, Eos. We met several times, made many presentations and several months later, we merged.WBJ: ARM specializes in direct response marketing. What's the difference between that type of advertising and traditional advertising?
Vendice: Direct response marketing basically provides results-based media for clients. Everything is quantifiable. On every dollar there's a return on investment. In traditional media, you hope to see an uptick in sales over the next month or quarter. With direct response, the results are much faster and it is 100 percent quantifiable.WBJ: You realize of course you're speaking to someone who works within the traditional world of print media...
Vendice: We can do direct response advertising in print media as well by doing a lot of different things, like including a 1-800 number in an ad. There are definitely trackable elements in newspaper advertising as well.
WBJ: You got your start as an underwriter at Liberty Mutual. How did you get from there to the world of advertising?
Vendice: After leaving Liberty Mutual, I went to AIG pretty much doing same thing. The environment at AIG was very taxing and stressful. After a year or two, I decided to look for different opportunities. I had spent about 10 years at that point in the underwriting world. An opportunity at ARM for an account executive came up through a friend that I had known through business and I just jumped at the chance to do it. I had always been intrigued by the advertising world.WBJ: When you made that jump to account executive, did you think seven years down the road you'd be running the company?
Vendice: I had no clue, absolutely no clue. I really didn't. When I changed jobs, I was looking at it as an opportunity to get out of an extremely stressful environment. I was trying something different, but I was able to use the skills I developed in my initial career. As the years went by, I became more confident in what I was doing and I loved client management and just continued to be promoted in the company and take on direct responsibility. WBJ: What advice do you have for somene who is in an entry level position, but has aspirations to make it to the top?
Vendice: I would say hard work is one of the most important facets of advancing in any career. I feel really strongly that enjoying what you do is also extremely important to succeeding. And learning to focus on the big picture and strategy, versus the details, is very, very important.
WBJ: Up until recently, you were going to night school to earn an engineering degree, on top of the bachelor's degree and MBA that you already have. What made you decide to go back to school to study that subject?
Vendice: Really it just stems from my interest and my basic skills, which is in math. Also, my husband owns an engineering business called Norfolk Engineering in Walpole. I've always been fascinated by what he does. Some people do aerobics or ski to relax, for me it's going to class. I had to take time off from school three years ago, but I hope to get back to school to finish my degree.
WBJ: If you are in charge at ARM, and your husband's in charge of his engineering firm, who's in charge at home?
Vendice: I am! And that's what he'll tell you, too!This interview was edited for content and length by Christina H. Davis.
The Vendice File: Hometown:Newton |
Current residence:
WalpoleEducation:
Finance degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; MBA in international business from Bentley College; some credits toward an engineering degree at Northeastern UniversityBiggest career achievement:
Becoming president of Advanced Results MarketingBiggest career challenge:
Thinking strategically all of time, not just some of the time.Hobby:
SkiingLinguistic skills:
Speaks conversational Spanish and ItalianWBJ Web Partners
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