It was during his time as an intern for Campbell's that Peter Koeppel got his first real taste of marketing and advertising. After receiving his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, he went on to be a brand manager for Heinz. In 1983, Koeppel left Pennsylvania and moved to Dallas, where he worked as a product manager for golf-equipment producer Ben Hogan before switching to the advertising industry at The Richards Group.

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	Peter Koeppel is the president and founder of Koeppel Direct.

Three years later, Koeppel and two of his coworkers left The Richards Group and created their own full-service ad agency. By 1995, Koeppel had branched off from the project and created Koeppel Direct, a "direct response agency specializing in direct response media buying."

"I think it might have been in reaction to when I was working with people in the traditional advertising space and seeing that they were, many times, more interested in winning awards for their creative work than in measuring the impact of the advertising on sales, and it just didn't seem like something that was in the client's best interest, and it just didn't seem like the type of business where you could judge or measure success. So I was attracted to direct marketing because of the ability to do that," Koeppel said.

Koeppel also said that when he first ventured into the direct-marketing field, it was a field that was looked down upon by many people in the advertising industry. But since TiVo and the Internet have become major components of everyday life, the demand for direct marketing has increased.

"I think the consumer is more in control now, and it used to be the advertisers who were more in control, and there was a limited number of stations you could advertise on," Koeppel said. "Now, the consumer can watch TV when they want and [skip] through the ads. In that environment, I think the advertisers are getting nervous, and the networks are looking for upfront buys; the advertisers don't want to pay for the people who are watching the program later through their DVR. So I think there has started to be a backlash because it is harder to reach the consumer and people are looking for more specific results from their advertising."

According to Koeppel, the advertising industry will continue to evolve, and people interested in pursuing advertising careers must be aware of that fact and must be aware of the latest trends in order to be successful. One of the trends he greatly stressed is the growing correlation between television and the Internet.

Q. What do you do for fun? A. I play golf, although it seems like I am not playing it as much as I used to. I ski, read, exercise, and I have two teenaged kids, and they seem to take up a lot of time. Q. What CD is in your CD player right now? A. The Rolling Stones. Q. What is the last magazine you read? A. Business Week. Q. What is your favorite TV show? A. 24. Q. Who is your role model? A. The first person that comes to mind is Donald Trump. He actually went to Wharton also. He is in a different style of business, but there aren't that many people in business who stand out and the general public knows about. Maybe John Kennedy; he was a great leader.

"There is a lot of crossover between TV and online. We find that if you give the consumer an 800 number and a website in an ad, anywhere from 15% up to 70% of people are going to go to the website to make the purchase or find out more information. And because [more than] half the people have high-speed, broadband connections, a lot of times, I think, 50% of people are watching TV simultaneously—are also online—so there is a convergence between the two mediums," said Koeppel.

As Koeppel Direct's president, Koeppel is in charge of marketing and branding the company and making new business presentations, and he is very active in the advertising industry. In addition to his traditional presidential duties, he also serves on the Direct Marketing Association's Broadcast Council and the Pharmaceutical Council for the Direct Marketing Association. He is also a columnist for the Electronic Retailers Association's magazine and frequently speaks at seminars and on panels.

On the net:

Koeppel Direct
www.koeppeldirect.com

The Wharton School
www.wharton.upenn.edu

The Richards Group
www.richards.com

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