The appointment of Gordon T. Hughes II, most recently president of the marketing division at the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, comes nearly a year after John Emery said he would step down from the $225,000 a year job when his contract expired May 31, 1994.
When Mr. Hughes starts his job July 5, one of his first tasks will be determining how to spend $1 million budgeted for marketing purposes over the past year but never spent.
"We have a war chest, and we're going to use it," said Mr. Hughes, who expects to work with an ad agency to develop a campaign around the theme "First read."
An early 1995 break date is expected; no agency has been named yet.
Mr. Hughes pledged to stress marketing and to raise the profile of ABP, representing 730 business-to-business magazines.
"The old rules are gone," he said. "You can't do business as you've done it before."
During his 21/2 years at OAAA, Mr. Hughes hired Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, to develop the association's trade campaign. Before that, he was with CBS from 1966 to '91 in a variety of capacities including VP-marketing for CBS stations and as a producer for sports and entertainment specials.