Month: November 2006

Mark Goodman is the CEO of Twist Image. Twist Image is an award-winning digital marketing agency that connects today’s channels to tomorrow’s world by applying technology at every marketing stage and all consumer touch points. Mark was the Founder and President of FCB Direct which he helped build into one of Canada’s largest Direct Marketing agencies. He is a Board Member of the Canadian Marketing Association and is a recipient of the prestigious “Top 40 Under 40” Award from the Globe & Mail Report on Business Magazine.

One Degree: FCB to Twist Image is a big leap. What do you expect the major difference to be from your traditional agency experience and what you’ll find at Twist Image?

Not as big of a leap as one might think. At the foundation, marketing strategy development practices are similar between direct and digital. We create communications programs that revolve around creativity, targeting, offer structure, testing and measuring every step of the way. Of course, there is such a strong history of knowledge in the database marketing world to draw from, whereas in digital, the road is still being paved. So we need to balance the two strategies; in direct, we can almost guarantee a certain result, in digital, it takes a few more iterations to find the sweet spot.

The big difference is in the philosophy of the Agency and the team. Marketing in the interactive space is evolving so quickly. Twist Image has been successful by knowing where the space, and consumers, are heading. It is pretty much a full time job for us to stay at this leading edge to ensure our clients continue to win in marketing. Oh yes, one more thing. Speed of business is much faster online. We start and finish projects in hours, not weeks.

One Degree: You’ve got a solid direct marketing background. How do you think Direct Marketers have done when it comes to leveraging their experience when moving to the Internet?

I think direct marketers are a natural for online marketing. Both share a science for their disciplines, and both understand the importance of measuring results from prospecting right through to the final sale and continuing on to evaluate lifetime value of customers. Another core strength of direct marketing is in the rigour of testing. That has translated seamlessly to the online world. One other aspect comes to mind as well. Direct has always made interactivity with the communication a significant part of the creative because it generates more engagement with the offer and a better response. I have seen some great examples of online marketers using this practice with great success.

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