Clancy Mitchell Arlington Publishers Representatives, Inc. Florham Park, N.J. (973) 822-3522 Clancy Mitchell has been in sales and marketing in some capacity her entire professional life, but says she has finally settled into a job she can retire in – as an independent advertising sales representative working exclusively on Credit Union Times. She's been with the publication for four years. "I love the independence of my position and of Credit Union Times. I think it's an interesting industry and I like the fact that the people I work with understand marketing for the most part," said Mitchell. She said more companies are learning that while any ad in Credit Union Times is a powerful tool, they need consistency to "stay in the face of their customers." She also believes however that the credit union industry in general doesn't do enough marketing outside of the industry to let people know what they have to offer. How much does she like working with credit unions and Credit Union Times? She dropped her other publications to focus on Credit Union Times exclusively. On the personal front, Mitchell, who lives in Florham Park, N.J., said she enjoys living in "small town USA" as she describes it. "I think it's a wonderful area. We're 40 to 50 miles from New York. It's very parochial. It's only a town of about 8,000," she said. She and her husband John take advantage of their New Jersey location in the summer to explore America's past. "New Jersey has so much American history. We try to get acquainted with as much of it as possible," she said. Mitchell spends a lot of time working in the 11 gardens on her property. "I know why they call it the Garden State. You can grow just about anything here except tropicals," she said. She also enjoys vacationing at her place in Marco Island, Florida. Mitchell covers the following states/regions for Credit Union Times: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida-South, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia. Jim Oestmann Arlington Publishers Representatives, Inc. Arlington Heights, Ill. (847) 577-8980 Jim Oestmann has been in the advertising business since 1980 and representing Credit Union Times since 1996. He is the principal owner of Arlington Publishers Representatives. He took over the business from his father, and now his daughter Kim has joined the team. "So it's three generations now. When my dad started the company we had one tabloid in the chemical processing industry. Now we work with 15 publications. Credit Union Times is the leader in time spent on an account and dollar volume," said Oestmann. Oestmann said there are a lot of differences between credit unions and Credit Union Times than other pubs and industries he works with. "It's the only publication we work on that when the editorial calendar is complete in August, we have early reservations the first day they're available to try and get a premium position. The e-mails and the faxes are flying on the first day," he said. There are new advertisers coming into the industry all the time said Oestmann, and one false hope they may have is how fast advertising works. "Most advertisers want to see immediate results. With most corporate campaigns that doesn't happen, but if they can pick up two or three big customers it usually more than pays for the ad program. It takes time and frequency to build a presence. One ad just isn't going to do it," he said. Oestmann is thrilled to have his daughter Kim on board. She started working on Credit Union Times in 2002. "Oh man it's great. The good news is I let her get her wings for a few years working for another publisher. Now she's taken the ball and run with it." As for personal interests, Oestmann is an avid sailor, likes to bike, walk and golf, and tries to spend two to three days a week in the gym. He also spends a lot of time at his lake house in Wisconsin that is complete with pontoon boat and jet skis. He and his wife Mary recently celebrated their 30th anniversary. Oestmann covers the following states/regions for Credit Union Times: Florida-North, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Kim Oestmann Arlington Publishers Representatives, Inc. Arlington Heights, Ill. (847) 577-8980 Kim Oestmann is the newest Credit Union Times advertising representative having starting working on the publication in 2002. Oestmann graduated college in 2000 from Indiana University and worked for Putnam Media selling ad space before joining her father Jim's family business, Arlington Publishers Representatives, Inc. In addition to Credit Union Times, Oestmann works on four manufacturing publications. "The credit union industry is so strong when compared to the other industries I work with. We haven't seen a dip with the credit unions at all," she said. Oestmann said she had heard that the credit union industry was a different playing field than others, but didn't understand it until after her first major credit union conference, CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference. "That was my first taste of the friendly competition. Everyone is extremely nice. It's not so cut throat like for example the manufacturing software industry we work on," she said. Oestmann has a few new interests in her life. She just started kayaking and since she is now working with a golf magazine, she's playing golf. She also likes to roller blade and run. She does volunteer work four hours a week helping take care of a little girl with cerebral palsy, and spends a lot of time in nearby Chicago where her boyfriend resides. As for working with dear old dad, "I love it. I really do, He's been an awesome mentor to me in business and life." Oestmann covers the following regions/states for Credit Union Times: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee. Mike Walker The R.W. Walker Co., Inc. Los Angeles (213) 896-9210 Mike Walker has plenty of advertising history in his family tree. "I'm third generation owner of the company. It started in 1936 with my grandfather, my father and now me," said Walker who runs The R.W. Walker Co., Los Angeles. "It's great, we have such a good reputation. We're pretty much one of the oldest ad agencies," said Walker. The R.W. Walker Co. works with about nine publications in varying industries, including chemical, defense, legal, fishing and others. The agency is expanding. It has offices in Los Angeles, Northern California, and just opened a new location in Jupiter, Florida. The company has been representing Credit Union Times since it started publishing back in 1990. Walker said there's something special about the credit union industry. "It's great to be part of an industry that continues to grow. From an advertising standpoint, the vendors are some of the best we have ever dealt with." So what does Walker do when he's not selling ad space? "I spend a lot of time with my one year old son Nicholas and my wife Anna and on the side I do some music contract work with Nickelodeon and Disney," said Walker. Walker plays guitar in the band, "Keep Left", which produces music for popular shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Hey Arnold. Walker covers the following states/regions for Credit Union Times: Alaska, Northern California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon and Canada. John M. Wiley The R.W. Walker Co., Inc. Los Angeles (213) 896-9210 John M. Wiley has been representing Credit Union Times for four years and says the credit union industry is one of a kind. "It's the best clients in the world. I have a great time working with my vendors. The rapport is professional, yet friendly too. It's just a warm industry, as opposed to say the banking industry," said Wiley. Wiley entered the industry in a bit of a strange time on the vendor side." I came here at the tail-end of the dot-com failure." The dot-com bust wasn't a huge impact on credit unions, but a number of vendors that advertised, such as CU Shopper, MembersResources.com, Total1.com and others went belly up. Wiley feels his position is more of a consultant-like job, rather than pure sales. "Not being affiliated with an association or trade show, and being completely independent, we can offer up suggestions that are unbiased. People know Credit Union Times is the number one publication in the market, but I don't push insertions. I want companies to know what they want. If they have to wait a few years before coming in, I'm fine with that," said Wiley, who said he'd rather see companies come in strong and confident with their advertising dollars then stick their toe in too soon and make an early exit. As for his off time, Wiley still likes to hit the links. He is a former golf pro who loves the discipline of the game. "Out of college I worked for a brokerage house and got a little burnt out. I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of golf and had the incredible experience of becoming first assistant professional at Pebble Beach. I played some of the best courses you can imagine," said Wiley. Wiley also likes to cook, dabbles with the guitar, fly fish and spend time outdoors. Of course he said his main passion is his wife Kathryn. Wiley covers the following states/regions for Credit Union Times: Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming. [email protected]