Marketing Manager, Beamscope Electronic Entertainment, Toronto
In 1984, Richard Clarke earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics from McMaster University in Hamilton then joined Sooters Studios of Toronto as a territory supervisor.
At the same time, he continued to study part-time at McMaster and, the next year, earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science.
In 1986, Clarke left Sooters for Toronto’s Majestic Sound, where he took a position as a product buyer.
Concurrently, he began part-time studies in McMaster’s business administration program and continues to work towards a master of business administration degree.
In 1989, Beamscope Electronics Entertainment, one of Clarke’s accounts when he was a buyer for Majestic, hired him as its new marketing manager.
His manifold responsibilities at Beamscope include co-ordinating, and in most cases creating, all programs related to national advertising, public relations, promotions and in-store merchandising.
In addition, as an authority on the consumer electronics industry, he reviews hardware and software products, analyzes trends and compiles ‘top 10’ product lists for 26 magazines across the country.
– Put Beamscope on the consumer electronics map with a stream of articles to 26 magazines nationwide
– Was one of the pioneers of the home office market
We asked:
Q. Are you a believer in marketing by science or intuition?
A. ‘I prefer to think of marketing as a science being aimed at providing solutions to problems. I believe that gut feel plays the role of the `fifth’ strategy element of scientific marketing decision-making and should not be ignored, but rather studied.’
Q. Was there a significant turning point in your career?
A. ‘Joining Beamscope in ’89 when I could actually impact on and be directly responsible for the overall success of the marketing function.’
Q. Who or what influenced you the most in your marketing career?
A. ‘Managing a consumer electronics store [Majestic Sound] enabled me to realize that marketing meant not only buying the right products at the right time, but having the ability to make what products you have disappear. The combination of the two makes for true success.’
Q. What is your favorite marketing campaign (not including campaigns with which you have been involved?)
A. ‘McDonald’s’ current pizza campaign.’
Q. What is your favorite ad (not including ads with which you have been involved)?
A. ‘My favorite, by far, is the Coca-Cola Christmas tv ad from the ’80s, which featured people of all ages/races singing `I’d like to teach the world to sing.’ For the viewer, Coke was the unifying ingredient to world peace/equality, etc.’
Q. What do you do in your spare time?
A. ‘I enjoy painting [watercolors], billiards and reading.’
Q. What do you love most about the marketing business?
A. ‘The pace, the action and the constant change and, yes, the chaos.’
Creative/strategic sense
‘In all the years I’ve worked in the comp`uter industry – 10 years – I’ve never come across anyone who can write like him and understand trends and understand our business.’
‘Richard is an idea machine. He’ll spit out 10 ideas, and it is up to us to pick the one that will be realized.’
‘He’s wacky and creative, and he comes up with more of a retail approach to what was typically a business-to-business industry.’
Management skills
‘He’s not a `pressure’ kind of guy. He’s very team-oriented. He’ll always say `Why don’t we do this?”
‘He’s very in tune with sales. The sales force respects him, which is not always the case as far as the way the sales force views its marketing people.’
Business sense
‘He is terrific with budgets. He’s always under budget.’
‘He’s very astute at recognizing opportunities in the marketplace. And he’s also fairly decisive when he makes a decision to go ahead with something.’
‘He’s an unusual hybrid marketer in that he has both a public relations sense and a sales and marketing sense.’
Competitive sense
‘He’s very aggressive about getting ink for the company. If he sees someone else getting coverage and he doesn’t, that really bothers him.’
‘He’s a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. Things seem to come so easy for him. You know, he has an incredible memory and never forgets a number.’
‘Richard seems easy-going and he really is, but he has an aggressive side to him. You don’t want to rub him the wrong way.’
Next issue: Marilee Harris, vice-president of marketing, Coles Book Stores, Toronto.
