Me and Joe…

Joe Sugarman is a groundbreaking Direct Marketing genius. His accomplishments in marketing innovation alone give him the right to be called a legend.

Sugarman used direct marketing to get the world’s first pocket calculator into as many hands as possible. This led to the formation of the JS&A Group, Inc. which led the industry in space-age technology. Sugarman introduced the cordless phone and the digital watch to the public with his marketing techniques.

Sugarman also introduced the concept of using toll-free numbers to take credit card orders over the phone, which was unheard of at the time. After only one year of using toll-free numbers to process orders, thousands of other companies followed suit. This led to a revolution in the merchandising industry.

His skills also led to the sale of twenty million pairs of BluBlockers. One of his lasting advertising innovations is the “man on the street.” This involved a public demonstration of the product to strangers passing by and was completely new at the time. It’s now one of the standard tricks used in infomercials.

It was an honor to meet him!