FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN
2018
ISPA BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
AS SOON AS YOU HEAR THE FIRST BEAT of certain songs
you know they will be playing in your head for hours. Early in my career
I served as an adjunct marketing professor and used a video on
YouTube to capture the attention of my students. Imagine
“Profiting is easy if you follow the four p’s—price, product,
place and promotion” set to a Paparazzi by Lady Gaga beat—
VICE CHAIRMAN
Todd Hewitt
Shangri-La International
ACTING SECRETARY/TREASURER
Todd Shaw
Technogym
my students still have those four words embedded in their DIRECTORS
Sharilyn Abbajay
Mattison Avenue Salon Spa Suites
ISPA Foundation Vice Chairman
thoughts when crafting marketing strategies. Noel Asmar
Noel Asmar Group, Inc.
let’s just say that one will stick with you for a while. Hopefully
My passion for marketing is driven by the constant need to
solve a problem. I am a firm believer of having both a
proactive and reactive marketing strategy in place. Don’t get
“My passion
for marketing
is driven by
the constant
need to solve
a problem.”
ELECTED OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN
Garrett Mersberger
Kohler Co.
Damien Craft
Four Seasons Westlake Village
Scott Duncan
Spa Gregorie’s
me wrong, I’d always prefer to be on the proactive side of Brennan Evans
Trilogy Spa Holdings
things, but we all know how volatile the hospitality Blake Feeney
Living Earth Crafts
industry can be. One patch of bad weather or a cancelled Kelleye Heydon
The Edgewater Resort & Spa
wedding can quickly leave us scrambling to fill the void.
Having a reactive emergency plan of attack in place when
Patrick Huey
Montage Hotels & Resorts
those things happen allows us to jump into action immedi- Kristine Huffman
Hutchinson Consulting
ately. Unlike a traditional product on store shelves, spa Laura Parsons
The Resort at Pelican Hill
services are gone forever once the appointment time passes. Frank Pitsikalis
ResortSuite
ISPA Foundation Chairman
At Kohler Waters Spas, we work hard to develop a
marketing strategy that creates brand evangelists who help us
spread the word about all that Kohler offers. Hearing rave reviews from a peer or reading an
article highlighting an experience are worth their weight in gold. That’s one of the many reasons
why Kohler has chosen to be a sponsor at the ISPA Media Events year after year. ISPA brings
together the who’s who in media and makes it easy for a spa brand from the Midwest to gain
exposure in the national media market while supporting our industry research. Who knows,
maybe I’ll even pass by Lady Gaga in
NYC and impress her with some
Eric Stephenson
Elements Massage
Michael Tompkins
Hutchinson Consulting
Immediate Past Chair
Robert Vance
Sensei Retreats Lana'i
Lynne McNees
International SPA Association
MEDICAL ADVISOR
Brent A. Bauer, MD
Mayo Clinic
marketing beats.
CHAIRMEN’S COUNCIL
Past ISPA Chairmen who are
current members:
Gayle Brady • Brady Spa Consulting
—GARRETT MERSBERGER, CHAIRMAN
Ella Kent • The Spa at Sea Island
Jeff Kohl • Spa & Club Ideations
Jean Kolb • Well By Choice
CliCk Here to check out the video that
will leave you humming about the four
p’s of marketing.
John Korpi • Korpi & Korpi
Kate Mearns • LIVunLtd
Jim Root • Mii amo
Jane Segerberg • Segerberg
Spa Consulting, LLC
2
PULSE
■
August 2018
Deborah Waldvogel • ResortSuite