NEW YORK -- He was not even a day on the job when Jack Mannix, new
head of the Giants agency cooperative, sent a missive by e-mail and
fax to member agencies asking what is on their minds.
He wanted to know what they'd put at the top of their priority
lists if they were in his shoes.
Interviewed during his second day at the Giants helm, he said he
was planning a similar query for the group's preferred suppliers.
In both cases, he aims to confirm (or not) his perceptions about
issues that should take top billing.
Mannix joined Giants as president and chief executive officer
this month, filling a slot vacated when the group's board dismissed
Sue Shapiro last July in the middle of a widely publicized
dispute.
Mannix views the matter as history and said he is "not sure this
is an issue" with members or suppliers.
The only concern, he said, would be if the distractions of a
headquarters dispute hurt the sales momentum at Giants agencies. He
believes the damage has to be minimal, given that Giants'
production for preferred suppliers through the third quarter of
2001 was up slightly over 2000.
Mannix said his prime concern is moving ahead and ensuring that
Giants is providing all the tools members need.
In the first two dozen replies to his informal survey, Mannix
said he found a number of requests for help with technology,
including Web sites or database marketing.
The early feedback was mixed, however, on the number of Giants
suppliers, with some members saying there are too many and others
asking for additions.
Mannix said the issue of how many suppliers Giants can support
effectively "is something we will have to look at." He said there
are close to 100 suppliers, but that includes a full range, from
major cruise lines to the vendor of standardized forms.
As to Giants' size, with 2,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada,
Mannix said there is no need to grow the organization, but the
cooperative might target specific agencies that seem like a good
match.
For Mannix, the real issue is growing sales, making sure to
bring value to suppliers, and making sure they know it.
All suppliers, including tour and cruise operators, will go
direct to consumers when it meets their needs, he said, and "for us
to gnash our teeth and writhe on the floor is
counterproductive."
Instead, he said, "we have to fill a gap suppliers can't
fill."
One thing Giants has, he said, "is the ability to access
customers." Smart members, he said, have built good, deep databases
with which to "get to the right people at the right time."
"A Giants database would be powerful; it would be a critical way
to embed ourselves into suppliers' businesses," but "we have our
work cut out for us."
Mannix plans to host a series of brainstorming sessions, perhaps
monthly, with small groups of members, using teleconferencing and
Web technology.
His first full-blown member meeting is the annual convention in
Atlanta, April 25 to 28.