History of the San Diego Direct Marketing Association (SDDMA)

The San Diego Direct Marketing Association (SDDMA) began in 1977 as a private club. Initially called the San Diego Direct Marketing Club (SDDMC), it was managed by its owners, Gil Mombach and Jim Rosenfield. The SDDMC held "DM Days" events, where industry speakers would travel from all over at their own expense, including Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, to present to a growing group of direct marketing professionals over lunch. As a team, Jim and Gil worked to promote and publicize each event, with Jim writing the invite copy each month and Gil handling the printing and mailing.

Eventually, the SDDMC gained enough industry recognition to start presenting San Diego Direct Mail conventions. At the same time, the national DMA came to realize that San Diego was an up and coming market in the field and began a conference known as DM West, where Gil Mombach participated as its first chairman. After DM West, the San Diego Direct Marketing Club became economically viable.

There was a real need in San Diego for information and education on direct marketing. Even large companies struggled to understand basic concepts crucial to direct marketing success. The San Diego Direct Marketing Club became so successful that in 1985 Allen Greer and Jerry Marino approached Rosenfield and Mombach to turn the club into a more public association, allowing the club to more fully serve the San Diego community. They did, and the club was eventually renamed the San Diego Direct Marketing Association (SDDMA) and became the professional educational association it is today. To honor his contributions for launching the SDDMA, Gil Mombach was recognized as the SDDMA's first lifetime member.

As the Internet evolved, the SDDMA evolved with it, expanding from a print-and-mail focus to multi-channel print and online direct marketing. Today, the SDDMA's programming is based on the principles of integrated marketing communications, which includes e-mail marketing, one-to-one marketing, as well as traditional direct mail. The SDDMA remains the best local resource in Southern California for honing direct marketing skills and exploring new applications within the direct marketing field.

Principals of the San Diego Direct Mail Club

• 1977 - 1985 Gil Mombach and Jim Rosenfeld

Presidents of SDDMA

• July 1985 - June 1987 Peter Higgins
• July 1987 - June 1989 Allen Greer
• July 1989 - June 1991 Jerry Marino (Dates verified from wall plaque)
• July 1991 - June 1993 Ray Ellis
• July 1993 - June 1994 Gil Mombach*
• July 1994 - June 1995 Jim Elliott*
• July 1995 - June 1996 Karen Marchetti* (our first female President)
• July 1996 - June 1997 Anita Charney*
• July 1997 - June 1998 Mike Osborne*
• July 1998 - June 1999 Karen Marchetti*
• July 1999 - June 2000 Nina Hazard*
• July 2000 - June 2001 Maureen Murphy*
• July 2001 - June 2002 Maureen Murphy*
• July 2002 - June 2003 Ken Kaplan*
• July 2003 - June 2004 Chris d'Eon
• July 2004 - June 2005 Randy Gerson
• July 2005 - June 2006 Randy Gerson
• July 2006 - Current Ann Scott
  
  * · Verified through "Direct Talk", SDDMA's newsletter

Community Education

For more than 10 years the SDDMA had been an active partner in a Certificate program through the University of San Diego's Office of Corporate and Professional Education. Prominent members and Margaret Sellers Award recipients such as Allen Greer, Ray Ellis, Jim Elliott, Jerry Marino, Karen Marchetti, Michael Belch and Richard Warner have also taught direct marketing at USD, UCSD and SDSU.

Currently, the SDDMA has almost 300 active members and a 15-member board. The SDDMA meets monthly to hear nationally-renowned speakers and regularly.

Prominent SDDMA Founders and Leaders

• Gil Mombach - Bio and picture
• Jim Rosenfield, Rosenfield Associates - Bio
• Allen Martin Greer - Bio
• Gerald Marino - Bio
• Karen J. Marchetti - Bio

In Kind Sponsors of the SDDMA