Wakeman Leaves Dot.com in Pioneer Move - Brief Article

Brandweek, Dec 6, 1999 by Todd Wasserman

Many marketing execs these days are abandoning their posts with established companies for the world of dot.coms. Michael Wakeman, who was named to the newly created position of executive vp of marketing at Pioneer Electronics last month, took the opposite tack. Wakeman left a vp-marketing slot at Communities.com, a Cupertino, Calif., "virtual community" Web site after about four months to work at the Long Beach, Calif., maker of audio products.

A lifelong audiophile, Wakeman said he jumped at the chance to work at Pioneer. "It's a great brand name with great underpinnings," said.

Wakeman hopes to bring some of the branding experience he culled at Communities.com and Gibson Greetings, a competitor to Hallmark and American Greetings in the greeting card business. At Gibson, Wakeman scored some important licensing deals, including comic strip character Dilbert and experimented with different distribution channels, like record stores, office supply stores and even car washes. Gibson is currently being bought by American Greetings, pending Federal Trade Commission approval.

Before that, Wakeman, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an MBA recipient from Harvard University, worked in an entry-level marketing job on Gatorade at Quaker Oats.

At Pioneer, Wakeman, 39, sees opportunities for the company to redefine itself in the digital age with MP3 and DVD products. "Our idea is to take it to the next level," he said.