Ian Kennedy OAM - Adviser
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Ian has been in marketing most of his life. In 1969 he moved to New York with the Australian TV phenomena, Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet. From the highly successful U.S. TV series, Ian marketed an extensive range of foods, cookware and cookbooks, branded Galloping Gourmet, in over 15 countries. He sold both the GG brand and the business to Hasbro Industries in 1972.
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In 1972, he returned to Sydney and founded Bond International Pty Ltd, which became Australia ’s largest independent Direct Marketing Group. Bond commenced as a classic direct marketing business and built a database of over 200,000 Australian clients. Bond originated was marketed through other mail order companies in over 15 Countries, mainly the UK and the USA. Out of the highly successful mail order business Bond acquired major consulting clients like Qantas, Optus, State Bank of NSW, AMP, Diners Club and many others.
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Ian is often referred to as “the Father of Direct Marketing” in Australia. He has won every significant Australian direct marketing award including Australian Direct Marketer of the Year and is an inductee into the Australian Direct Marketing Hall of Fame.
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In 1988, Bond International was bought by George Patterson Bates. In 1995 Ian started to develop for George Patterson Bates the first integrated Direct Marketing resource for a major Australian Agency. That resource currently has 60 dedicated direct marketers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For Patts client SOCOG, Ian had the responsibility for the below the line ticket marketing for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the most successful ticket marketing campaign in Olympic history. For the ARU, Ian is the architect of the highly successful 2003 Rugby World Cup ticket marketing strategy.
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A professional speaker in direct marketing for 20 years, Ian is represented by Saxton Speakers’ Bureau.
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He is the co-author with Bryce Courtenay of the bestselling marketing book, The Power of One to One, which reached the Australian top 10 non-fiction list and his monthly column in AdNews, the Direct Marketer’s Diary was widely read for 15 years by the marketing community and often quoted in the media.
- In 1990, Ian brought the brand Polo Ralph Lauren to Australia , and he with his partners held the Master Licence for Australia and New Zealand until 1998 when it was sold to Oroton.
- Ian has for 16 years been on the Board for the Starlight Children’s Foundation having served as Chairman for 7 years and is currently National President.
- He was the only non Telstra appointee to the Board of Constanzia, formed to launch Telstra’s successful DVD rental venture now called BigPond Movies: Fellow Board Members were Jerry Sutton, Telstra Media and Justin Milne, BigPond.
- Ian served on the Council of Art Gallery Society of NSW as a Councillor for 3 years and as Vice President, retiring in February 2005.
- He is currently the only independent director on the Board of the Innovations Group of Companies, the largest Direct Marketing group in Australia with sales in 2004/05 of over $300 million.
- Owner and Marketing Director of Legends Genuine Memorabilia.
- Chairman of Direct Marketing at George Patterson Partners.
- In 1990, Ian brought the brand Polo Ralph Lauren to Australia , and he with his partners held the Master Licence for Australia and New Zealand until 1998 when it was sold to Oroton.
- In the January 2002 Honours list Ian was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the General Division for community services at Starlight, also for Marketing and the Olympic Ticket Book.