Silver Apples 2018

Presented in partnership with DMCNY

Each year the DMCNY presents its highly distinguished Silver Apple Awards to several professionals who have at least 25 years in marketing and who not only have excelled in their careers, but also have generously contributed their talents and time to the marketing industry. We’ll be introducing you to the 2018 honorees over the next few weeks, in advance of DMCNY’s annual Silver Apples celebration on November 8 in New York. –Ginger Conlon

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Today, meet…

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Pamela Haas
Senior Account Director, Experian Marketing Services

Pam Haas is a tenacious sales strategist and direct marketing expert who has dedicated her career to being a servant leader in the marketing industry.

Throughout her extensive career, Pam has brought her sales, marketing, and leadership talents to prominent marketing-focused companies, including Equifax, Epsilon, GoodMail, Lyris, Harte Hanks, and now Experian, where she serves as a senior account director. Her primary focus has been and

remains on educating marketers on growth-oriented customer engagement strategies. Pam has made significant strides in achieving that goal through her work with DMCNY, from serving on the board since 2005, to leading and revamping the Programming and Silver Apple Committees, and through her tenure as president and, currently, as past president.

Pam’s dedication to and enthusiasm for DMCNY and the marketing industry has had an unparalleled positive impact on people she has worked with and on the industry as a whole.

In a conversation with MKTGinsight for DMCNY, Pam shares her experiences, advice, and insights.

What drew you to marketing?

In college, I thought I wanted to major in hospitality—until I took an advertising class and it just drew me in. It shifted my whole mindset and I decided to major in marketing. That was the beginning.

Tell us about a particular career highlight or turning point.

It was when I left Venture Direct after being there for 12 years and moved into the dot-com startup environment. Even though it was volatile, it exposed me to more direct client relationships, to more face-to-face and strategic selling than inside sales and management training and all that. It let me bring my skills to a more enterprise level, which I really enjoyed.

What excites you most about marketing right now?

The ability to use data. I always say that data is the enabler and the foundation to making marketing come alive. All the different channels available, and the ability to measure success and bring the whole picture together is really exciting. Early in my career in direct response marketing, it was all about using data to generate measurable responses; now everything is response and measurement and brand is secondary. CMOs are realizing the importance of data and using every dollar to drive action, sales, or revenue. It’s a big deal now.

What’s overhyped in marketing right now?

Display and programmatic technologies are overhyped. It’s like the early days of email marketing: People just started sending millions of emails hoping some would stick. The same thing is happening in display and programmatic. That part of the industry still needs to mature.

What’s the best measure of success?

Right now, it’s the ROAS: Return on Ads Spent. I love that. For every dollar that the client is spending, we know that we are driving X number of dollars in sales.

Share a treasured customer story.

A favorite thing that a customer said to me was that I’m a “trusted advisor.” It was a huge compliment because I look to be a partner, not just sell people things just to sell them something.

What advice do you have for someone who’s just starting out in marketing?

Diversify. In marketing, there are so many different angles and specialties that you can focus your career on. Throughout my career, I’ve able to gain experience in multiple facets of marketing: direct response, email technology, and in databases and modeling. Digital is so sexy right now, but the fundamentals still apply, so it’s important not to pigeonhole yourself into one area.

What was the piece of business advice that you’ve received?

While in a mentor program at Equifax, my mentor was a woman and she told me, “You have to be your own PR person. You have to make your accomplishments known because nobody else is going to do that for you.”

Share an inspiring quote or personal motto that guides you.

I have many, but my one for work is, “Do what you say you’re going to do.”

Read about the other DMCNY 2018 Silver Apple honorees:

• Anita Absey, Chief Revenue Officer, Voxy

• Matt Blumberg, Chairman and CEO, Return Path

• Keira Krausz, EVP and CMO, Nutrisystem

• Tim Suther, SVP and GM, Data Solutions, Change Healthcare​

• Advocacy Apple of Excellence: Stu Ingis, Chairman, Venable LLP

• Disruptor Apple of Excellence: Bonin Bough, Founder & Chief Growth
  Officer, Bonin Ventures; Investor; Host of CNBC’s Cleveland Hustles;
  Author of Txt Me (646) 759-1837 

• Corporate honoree: Winterberry Group

About the Author

Claudia Conlon is working as the research assistant for DMCNY’s 2018 Silver Apple Awards. She’s a senior studying Economics and Political Science at the University of Miami. Her wide-ranging work experience—from customer service to social marketing to event production—gives her a broad perspective on the interplay of consumers and businesses and how customer experience impacts the economy. This experience and her drive and desire to succeed makes her comfortable taking on new challenges.