Mothers of Reinvention

I'll share at least one of my New Year's resolutions with you: I want to make each issue of PROMO a better “read.” Now don't get me wrong — I'm proud of the hard work the editorial staff pours into our content. We know our readers need a publication that covers all the interwoven threads of marketing, and we're uniquely positioned to give you that.

But, I've felt for several months that we could make the design of the book more reflective of the industry we cover, and consequently easier for our readers to use. So in late summer Kathryn Del Vecchio, PROMO's art director, brainstormed with me on ways to re-work the magazine.

Kathryn and I talked about our constituents: brand marketers, agencies and retailers — and our audience's audience: consumers. We talked about the preeminence of entertainment marketing, and the role of opinion pieces from industry leaders.

Is the result a dramatic departure from our earlier design? Perhaps. It certainly is sharper and cleaner, and we hope you'll find it easier to navigate. We like it a lot — but what do you think?

It's apt that in this redesign issue we highlight PROMO's picks for Marketers of the Year (starting on p. 14). The 10 people chosen this year are themselves masters of reinvention. Our list includes “comeback kids” such as Steve Jobs, and outside-the-box thinkers such as Southwest Airline's Colleen Barrett and Best Buy's Mike Linton. Cheers to each one on the list!

If you're looking for fresh ideas in the new year, where better than at PROMO's SMART Marketing Summit. Led by Jim Petzing, this two-day program challenges rote thinking. For a complete agenda, visit xcelerationtraining.com/pages/seminars_smart.asp. We're meeting in Manhattan on January 25 and 26, and we hope you can join us.