NSI Key Management Profiles
Phil Gruber
President
Phil@nichesampling.com
As the founder and president of NSI, I have over 30 years of experience in marketing, advertising and brand management. Prior to receiving an MBA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, I worked in New York as a media planner at SSC&B (Lintas) and as an account executive at William Esty.
Post MBA, I worked in Brand Management for ten years at Helene Curtis and S.C. Johnson and performed numerous consulting assignments for Bausch & Lomb, the Hunter Group and The Center For New Product Development.
As a brand manager, sampling had always been my most effective — yet also my most expensive marketing initiative. As a result, our goal at NSI is to be the number one sampling company in efficiently and effectively reaching the heaviest users and most influential consumers.
Lee Hessenthaler
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Lee@nichesampling.com
The venues offered by Niche Sampling help brands reach targeted audiences, and deliver a controlled environment, minimal waste, partner endorsement, and a positive social context. The brand-specific market research provides assurance that the investment made is building awareness, creating trial, and prompting purchase.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, my background includes brand and field management roles within both Fortune 500 and rapidly-growing packaged goods marketers, including Anheuser-Busch, Northland Cranberries, and Pabst Brewing.
I understand first-hand the value sampling and sales promotion serve as part of a balanced marketing mix, and the need to achieve both effectiveness and efficiency within budget parameters. My focus is on understanding clients' goals, tailoring specific programs to help achieve them, and providing timely communication throughout our relationship.
Jennifer Schmitz
Marketing Operations Manager
Jennifer@nichesampling.com
My job is to ensure that our programs run smoothly and efficiently. I work with the client to keep program details and deadlines on track.
Prior to joining NSI, I spent four years in the advertising industry. I worked on new business development, corporate communications and a wide variety of consumer brands including, Dremel, Master Lock, Rayovac, Bombardier and American Italian Pasta. This combined advertising experience taught me how to evaluate a client's marketing needs and execute against those needs in a strategic, effective and cost-efficient fashion. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University.
Nancy Picker
National Sales Director
Nancy@nichesampling.com
After spending 11 years on the client side in a marketing capacity (Cartier and then Cosmair/Ralph Lauren Fragrances), I made the switch to the publishing business and for the past 16 years have held management positions at: Mirabella, SELF, The Parenting Group, Diane the Curves Magazine and Zumba's Z-LIFE Magazine. I am now rounding out my knowledge base by entering into the field of sampling and coupon promotions. Throughout my career in marketing, sampling was without a doubt the most effective strategy we used to increase our customer base. Nothing comes close to being able to actually try, taste, smell, feel and experience a new product.
Anne Warchol
Anne@nichesampling.com
Have you ever noticed, people love getting free stuff? Surveys have found that 92% of consumers find free samples the most influential source of information about products. Although extremely effective, sampling can be expensive if not planned and executed properly.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, I've seen a lot of marketing dollars spent on various tactics over my 17 years in the business. Tenures with Advantage Sales & Marketing, Laughlin Constable, and DCI Marketing have provided me the opportunity to work with top marketers such as Unilever, MARS, Del Monte, S.C. Johnson and Fruit of the Loom and to learn what's important when making decisions on the best use of promotional funds.
NSI's Synergy Sampling ensures an efficient use of marketing dollars by bringing together the elements of an optimal trial experience: the right target audience, the right distribution partner and the right social context. As National Account Director, my job is to provide our clients with the information and the means to achieve the most efficient optimal trial experience possible.
