20 Under 40 - 2005 Profile: Scott G. Pompe

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 2005

Los Angeles Times | Vice President and General Manager of Direct Mail

Ten years ago, when newspaper companies viewed direct marketing with alarm, Scott G. Pompe, then a regional account manager with ADVO Inc. in Milwaukee, was charting his career. He concluded that the most promising venue for direct marketing and the surest path to his personal success would be in newspapers.

His next move, in November 1996, was to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"When the newspaper industry puts the right distribution disciplines in place, it can offer a better turnkey solution for preprint customers," says Pompe, 39. "It has the power of brand, the integrity of the brand and the resources."

He proved that premise during his nine-year tenure at the Journal Sentinel.

Pompe launched Journal Sentinel Direct, which quickly became the fastest-growing segment of the company's business and a standard for the industry. It generates $26 million in nontraditional revenue, he says.

The total market coverage programs he introduced brought grocery business back to the newspaper, and the solo-mail shop he opened has made the Journal Sentinel the largest non catalog mailer in Wisconsin.

In 2003, Pompe became vice president of business development and turned his attention to interactive sales. He integrated online ad sales with the retail and classified sales departments, increasing interactive sales 50 percent, to $4.6 million in 2004.

That kind of success attracted plenty of attention. On Sept. 28, the Los Angeles Times named Pompe its vice president and general manager of Times Direct, its direct-mail operation.

Despite his deep affection for the Journal Sentinel and his lifelong ties to Milwaukee, Pompe says he couldn't resist the chance to test his mettle in the second-largest media market in the country.
"Life's all about calculated risk," he says. "Let the adventure begin!"