Elizabeth Marron Cooper '71
Named the 1997 Direct Marketing Woman of the Year by Women in Direct Marketing International, Elizabeth Marron Cooper ’71 is regarded as an “industry titan” in the field of direct marketing and advertising at one of the world’s largest marketing and communications companies.
The recipient of the Alumnae & Alumni Association 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award, Betty Anne Cooper is Senior Vice President/Director of Strategic Services at Gillespie-A McCann Erickson World Group Company based in Princeton. There, she has introduced innovations that place Gillespie at the cutting edge of the advertising and direct marketing industry. She is chief branding strategist to such clients as McNeil Super Consumer and Household Finance and director of list targeting for many clients, most notably Microsoft Xbox Live.
According to Gillespie Senior VP and Executive Creative Director Darrell Grysko, Betty Anne is “a marketing institution within herself — something that never was before, and probably never shall be again… She is an alchemist who turns reams of data into gold nuggets which my colleagues and I mine in order to develop advertising creative which speaks to people meaningfully.”
Robert K. Sher, a leading marketing specialist, has known and worked with Betty Anne for more 25 years. “No matter what role she was called upon to perform, she did it with unsurpassed excellence, astonishing innovation, and sheer brilliance. Let me be blunt,” Sher continues, “Betty Anne has always had no equal, no one to surpass but herself. And she does it, all the time, every day, every way.”
Betty has been acclaimed for developing innovative segmentation strategies, creating and implementing proprietary marketing products for clients and agencies, and for her negotiation and cost control skills.
Prior to joining Gillespie, Betty Anne held top positions at other prestigious New York advertising and marketing companies, including McCann Direct, Ogilvy & Mather Direct, and Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt. Clients include AT&T, American Express, Merrill Lynch, Marriott, AARP, Sears, Squibb and Merck. Betty started her direct marketing career in advertising on the client side, first at Doubleday Publishing and then at Margrace Corporation.
Betty Anne Cooper has received numerous accolades and awards in her industry, including the prestigious “Forty under Forty” Award. She was named one of the TM 200 Most Influential Direct Marketers by Target Marketing Magazine. In 1997 she was chosen Direct Marketing Woman of the Year by Women in Direct Marketing International. She is the only agency executive who has held three crucial positions on the board of the Direct Marketing Association: Head of the Privacy Protection Study Commission, the DMA Ethics Policy Committee, and the DMA Ethics Operating Committee.
Her strong sense of values, faith and integrity is notable in a field known for its cynicism. Many charities are dear to Betty Anne’s heart, especially those she instituted, including the Reverend Joseph P. Marron, CM Foundation to assist the elderly in living with dignity.
Elizabeth Anne Cooper has become a leader in her field and an example to countless young women hoping to have her success by keeping God and her faith at the center of her professional life. Carol Sondesky, president of Sondesky Design, Inc., says Betty is “as unique as the input she provides, so she inspires the uniqueness from us.”
It is with great pride that the Chestnut Hill College Alumnae & Alumni Association names Elizabeth Marron Cooper ’71 the 2006 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award.
