Meet the Broker: Guy Morra

Today we meet Guy Morra, who joined MeritDirect earlier this month as a vice president of list brokerage. Morra brought along brokerage client relationships with Advanta Corp., Globe Life and Accident Insurance Co., J. Walter Thompson Co. and HSBC.

Morra had just spent five years brokering lists at Direct Media Inc. Prior to that he did brokerage for six years at Paradigm Direct Marketing. He started at Walter Karl Inc. in 1989 working in list management. He also served as a list manager at Lake Group Media Inc. and Kleid Co.

"I moved over to brokerage in 1996. I felt pigeonholed in list management. Brokerage is more diverse work and I still learn something new everyday," Morra said.

Having experience on both sides, Morra said success in brokerage requires never underestimating the value of good working relationships with list managers.

"List managers make me look like a hero by keeping me informed of what's new, along my own constant scouring of the trades to find lists," he said.

Morra and his wife have an eight-year-old boy and a daughter, 5. He coaches his son's football team, and when he has the time enjoys hunting and fishing.

His passion is restoring Ford Mustangs. "I just finished and sold one," said Morra. "Now I'm looking for a 1965 or 1966 for my next project."

What's your experience with private databases?

"I see a lot of big mailers building private databases, but mostly with compiled lists," Morra said.

However, less expensive compiled files—even those with RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) data—can never produce the same level of targeting accuracy as response lists do, he said.

It's best to include some response files in the mix when building databases, in order to create more highly fine-tuned list models and test assumptions, he added.

Morra readily concedes that some companies bypass brokers when they build private databases, but he's not shy about being an advocate for brokers either.

"No broker wants to see a company going directly (to list owners). But there are definite advantages to working with brokers for negotiating prices, and the client doesn't have to deal with multiple vendors," he said.

How do brokers get proprietary information from clients that's useful for making list recommendations?

"A good broker is willing to sign a confidentiality agreement to get a client to share more information," Morra said.

Clients don't need to reveal much information to help brokers do their job more effectively, he explained. A few examples of which lists have worked in the past and which lists haven't worked can help a broker find common denominators and new variables to test.

"I had a client using a lot of lists and experiencing list fatigue. I was able to look at the lists they were using and found a new area to test," said Morra. "Three out of five lists tested were successful. For a broker that's like hitting a home run."

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