Enterprising woman leads marketing firm

Campbell has come a long way for someone who didn't want to leave basement

When Connie Dee Campbell founded Vista Marketing in 1996, she intended to keep her business small and manageable, an enterprise she could operate from her basement. Instead, her fledgling company landed the contract under former Gov. Tommy Thompson to be licensing and retail agent for the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1998.

The business of promoting the state at fairs and festivals large and small raised the company profile considerably, and eventually brought about a move to an 8,000-square-foot headquarters in Freedom.

For Campbell, a single mother who now employs her son Barry and who once worked three jobs to make ends meet, the company represents a fruition of a dream in an area she calls "paradise."

Q: What kind of company is Vista Marketing?

A: We are a promotional marketing company. We can sell you a jacket, a T-shirt, a pen, a mug. But our strength is specialty services which focus on projects, event planning, product promotion, incentive programs. The way Vista has grown is customers being pleased with the service they get and then saying to us, 'Well, if you can do this for us, then can you do this for us?'"

Q: You say the Sesquicentennial project was something of a mixed blessing?

A: It actually was taking us away from what we do. I had to breath deep and hope I could perform because they thought I could and I wasn't sure I could. But at the end they gave us accolades for the way we represented the state.

Q: And you got noticed?

A: It gave us recognition that we would not have ever gotten. It gave us a different level of respect that corporations would start to look at us.

Q: And how many clients have you?

A: 30 or 40. (But) the same way we serve Kimberly-Clark is the same way we'd service anybody. It's not a matter of you not being big enough.

Q: How many employees do you have?

A: 16. We have another 12 or 15 who come in for projects.

Q: Have you any competition?

A: We have thousands of competitors.

Q: What sets you apart?

A: It's not about sales. It's about being more reputable, being more sincere, caring for people. Putting their needs ahead of ours'. Ultimately, we need to make a sale. But our main focus is service.

Q: Where do you go from here?

A: I have a strong heart for missions (in a religious sense). I love this company and I love my staff. But I'd like to be able to step aside a little bit and maybe take an extra day of the week and fulfill that passion in my heart. But I can't ever do that unless I know that we have established the right team and that our focus is not lost and that our company standards stay the same.

Making the Switch

Who: Connie Dee Campbell, Appleton

Age: 63

Current occupation: President of Vista Marketing, Freedom

Former occupations: Sales manager for advertising firm in Fox Valley; bank employee; Tupperware sales in the Milwaukee area

Pete Bach: 920-993-1000, ext. 430, or pbach@postcrescent.com