Meet the Broker: Allison Doyle-Eichler

Today we meet Allison Doyle-Eichler, business development manager at 1TouchMarketing in Boca Raton, FL. Doyle has morphed from being a postal list broker to a multichannel media broker over her 12-year career.

Doyle spent about nine years with Worldata and also brokered lists at Dunhill International List Co. Her career path has given her experience in list management and brokerage, working with both consumer and business-to-business response and compiled lists. She has worked with lists in the publishing, consumer electronics, seminars and other markets.

Since joining 1TouchMarketing about a year and half ago, Doyle has not only seen—but has participated in—a shift away from postal direct mail to e-mail and other Internet media in the financial services market—her specialty.

Doyle presently spends about 85% of her time working with e-mail lists. She also brokers deals for mobile marketing lists, online banner and pop-up advertising and Internet lead generation programs.

"I'm seeing catalogs cutting back. The catalog industry is not what it was five years ago," says Doyle. "Not as many catalogs are being mailed. It's trending down."

Only a few years ago, most direct marketing for financial services was done by postal mail, but increasingly it's done via the Internet, she adds.

Doyle brokers deals for financial newsletter publishers, companies selling stocks and other types of clients. Her client relationships include Redstone Investors LLC, Strategy Group International, Interep and Dell Computer.

At home, she and her husband have a two-year-old boy who keeps them plenty busy. Doyle calls herself a news junkie and enjoys reading when she can find the free time. She likes browsing in bookstores and her favorite genre is English history.

What's it like working with lists in the financial services sector while the stock market is so volatile?

"It's a very weird market right now," says Doyle, noting that finding lists of investors has become more challenging because many people are not interested in investing now. However, there is a silver lining because the investors who are still in the market are serious and are more likely to respond to offers for newsletters or stocks, she explains. The challenge as always is finding them.

How do e-mail list hygiene practices compare with postal list hygiene practices?

The short answer is not very well, considering federal Can Spam e-mail list regulations. Many e-mail list owners don't follow proper opt-in procedures to obtain permission to include e-mail addresses on lists, or suppress opt-out names in a timely manner.

"I don't even look at a list in my market unless I know the source. I cannot get one of my IPO clients blacklisted. That would be a nightmare," says Doyle.

Her number one concern is verifying that the lists she recommends are compliant with Can Spam regulations, she says.

As for hygiene, more list companies are offering e-mail change of address services, but practices have not been standardized, unlike postal lists, which are updated by vendors licensed by the U.S. Postal Service.

Know someone you'd like to suggest for Meet the Broker? E-mail Jim.Emerson@Penton.com