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FIVE MINUTES WITH
Rebecca Kollmann
Fox World Travel
A Long-time Distributor Switches Roles
Rebecca Kollmann spent nearly 20
years on the selling side of promotional
products, investing time and effort in the
advancement of the industry and earning
her MAS in the process. But when an
opportunity to work as a buyer on behalf
of an organization outside the industry
presented itself just over a year ago she
began a new journey. Now, as director
of marketing for travel agency Fox World
Travel, Kollmann shares her take on ‘the
other side’ and how her industry experience
and skills are helping her succeed.
PPB
How did you find your way to Fox
World Travel?
Kollmann
Interestingly, the position
description found me one evening on
LinkedIn. I thought about it for a few days; I
had heard great things about the company
and its growth and decided to reach out.
My passion is in marketing and it was time
for me to move back fully into that arena.
While it was difficult to leave the promotional
products industry, relationships can (and
did) follow, and everything just seemed right.
PPB
What did you do in the promotional
products industry, and how did it prepare you
for the work you do now?
Kollmann
I began in an inside sales role
for a distributorship, then took a marketing
position within that same company. That
led to account management responsibilities
as well. With my last company, I began in
a marketing management role and later
was responsible for business development,
which included recruiting, sales
management and marketing.
There are some aspects of marketing,
such as planning, budgeting and how you
reach your targets, that simply change
based on the mission of the company and
who the targets are. Some of the most
tactical of experiences within promotional
products have helped me, including helping
others understand certain decorating
processes and even knowing what other
products are out there (pretty much
everything!) and what will provide a better
value within the initiative.
In travel, we work with various suppliers
and the supply chain is quite similar to
how it works in promotional products. We
also have relationships with a number of
advertising partners across media channels.
Finally, making the most of the networking
and learning experiences offered within the
promotional products industry has helped
in a comfortable transition and skills that
transfer regardless of one’s next destination.
PPB
Have you had to learn any new skills, or
“unlearn” any old work habits, in order to do
your best work for Fox World Travel?
Kollmann
I had to brush up on various
mass media channels I’d not used recently,
and understand how events and other outlets
work within the marketing mix for consumers
vs. simply B-to-B. I obtained my Google
Analytics certificate and use this data daily.
There are so many pieces of the marketing
mix that work well together, and sometimes—
in promotional products—the synergies in
the mix are overlooked in the quest to sell
more promotional products. It was helpful to
step back and learn from my team, as well as
metrics, what was working, and where there
was opportunity to do more.
While I had the promotional products
background, I didn’t want to come in and
dictate how things were done and who we
would work with immediately. I needed to
take the time to learn and ask ‘why’ as well
as understand the successful relationships
that were already in place. Regardless
of where you are, you can come in with
preconceptions that are totally off base. It’s
so important to be a sponge when starting
with a new company—whether it’s in the
same or a different industry.
And, while the skills are similar, the
industry is new to me and there are a lot of
people who know a ton more than you do
ViewFromThe Other Side
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NOVEMBER 2016
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THINK