About Old School Marketing
John Reed is the founder and principal consultant of Old School Marketing. He has over 45 years of experience in marketing as a
program manager, VP of Marketing, consultant, and educator. John is exceptional at developing and implementing marketing strategies,
developing advertising plans and planning and executing direct response marketing strategies.
John earned his MBA from Harvard Business School prior to joining Citicorp Person-to-Person as a member of their new product development group. During his tenure there, he was active in product development, market research, and bringing new products to market.
Moving to MBI, Inc. (Norwalk, CT) in 1981, John joined one of the nation’s leading direct response marketers, founded by former senior executives
of Procter & Gamble. The firm grew from start up to over $500 million in annual sales through direct mail, catalogs, magazine and newspaper advertising, direct response radio and TV, and other promotional efforts, including digital in later years.
Taking the knowledge and experience he gained as a Program Manager, John started his own direct response consulting group – Reed Direct Marketing. During the fifteen years he spent at RDM, he provided consulting services and marketing research in direct
response for a wide range of clients, ranging from start-ups to huge multi-nationals.
In 1990, John returned to MBI, Inc. and assumed a VP role where he handled special projects, developing programs and expertise in various areas designed to increase sales opportunities and lower costs. These included a rapid and substantial increase in the company’s catalog business, development and implementation of their website, developing and launching infomercials, and broadening licensing programs.
Retiring from MBI, John took a short sabbatical before beginning a new career in teaching at the university level. He taught for 16 years at the BBA, MBA, and EMBA levels at four leading universities. Demonstrating a broad range of expertise, he developed and taught courses ranging from introductory core courses to MBA and EMBA courses using the case study method.
John is finishing his work career returning to his first love, marketing consulting. He brings an incredible range of experience and expertise to his practice. Also, he has built a phenomenal group of contacts with a range of skill sets whom he can call on to assist in projects as needed.
The goal of Old School Marketing is to provide clients with carefully crafted marketing strategies, objectives, and tactics, providing exceptional value for their investment. We do not undertake any project unless we are certain we can deliver this value to the client.