A Chat with August’s Profile, Chris Harris, director, direct response marketing, Becker Group Direct

CS: What do you think you would have done with your career if you hadn’t gotten involved in the catalog/multichannel industry?
CH: It’s kind of one of those questions where if you’re regretting what you’re doing, then you’ve given it a lot of thought. But I haven’t regretted it so I haven’t given it much thought. You know what I wish though, and I think it’s something that we as an industry should pursue, and that is trying to take direct marketing onto college campuses — teaching the disciplines of direct marketing in formal education. Having gotten an MBA and having gotten a good undergrad degree, there really is very little, if any, kind of direct marketing education out there. I speak with a certain amount of knowledge on this topic. You have to kind of learn it on your own. I think we could legitimize our industry even better if there was a bigger push towards creating a curriculum for direct marketing.