Company: Sundance Vacations/Dowd Marketing, Wilkes Barre, PA
Company Description: Dowd Marketing/Sundance Vacations has two divisions. Marketing delivers clients to the sales team of Sundance Vacations. Founded in 1991, we provide a wholesale priced, destination-based program and offer clients the opportunity to vacation in many popular resort areas, where the company and its partners own, lease, or otherwise have access to resort condominium accommodations.
Nomination Category: Company, Office & Product Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Overall Company

Nomination Title: Sundance Vacations/Dowd Marketing

1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

In 2006, Dowd Marketing/Sundance Vacations had no physical plant growth (we did not open any new sales divisions or marketing offices), yet we increased revenue by 15%. We accomplished this by direct and focused efforts on our marketing practices. We were able to drive more sales by simply making changes to our lead generation events. 

Analysis of our sales data on NASCAR fans supported the sport’s claims
regarding its brand; therefore we have continued our sponsorship of a NASCAR
Nextel Cup Race Team. This analysis was a painful process, because separate
divisions of the company stored the data. The process of this necessary and
valuable analysis was made easier by the deployment of a new centralized
database for all company data led by General Manager, Joe Molitoris.

Sundance Vacations/Dowd Marketing generates leads at various events, securing
permission to contact them. The normal cost in the vacation ownership industry
is generally greater than $285.00 per tour. Under Joe Molitoris’ leadership,
our marketing team has been delivering clients to the sales team at an average
of $170.00 per tour, 40% less than the industry norm.

After the enormous project of developing and launching the company wide
database, Sundance Vacations is not resting on its laurels. Led by our General
Manager, Joe Molitoris, we have begun the implementation of the VoIP network. 
VoIP facilitates tasks that may be more difficult to achieve using traditional
networks. Once complete, all six call centers will be networked with all six
sales centers to direct high volume phone traffic. It converts the high
volumes of long distance traffic to local calls and enables the company to
spread the incoming calls to any available agent. This allows for excellent
time management and helps to establish and maintain good customer relations
with both internal and external customers. 

Imitation, they say is the sincerest form of flattery. Sundance Vacations
continues to succeed in markets where historically, our competitors leave, or
completely avoid. Apparently encouraged by the success of our office in
Downers Grove, Illinois, a competitor followed us to the Chicago area. 

Dowd Marketing/Sundance Vacations began as a single marketing office and has
grown into a company that now employs hundreds. Committed to exceptional
standards of ethics and integrity, it won the 2005 Better Business Torch Award
for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Every single employee is trained to always try
to see things from the client’s point of view. We take a very active role in
charitable events, which gives us a sense of satisfaction that we are not only
a business but also a group of concerned citizens doing our part to better the
world. The company’s commitment to its clients, its neighbors and its
employees is always evident, and a major factor in it’s continued growth and
success. 

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.nepa.bbb.org/
http://www.mcglynnracing.com/

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

Joe Molitoris joined Dowd Marketing/Sundance Vacations as General Manager in
1997. He is responsible for all phases of marketing and now controls both the
lead generations and direct marketing divisions of the company with total
Profit and Loss responsibilities. Joe leads the development of several
technological advancements to further improve company efficiency. 

Prior to 1997, Joe served as General Manager/Sales Manager of Technical
Development Company in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania. Before that, he spent
eleven years in the stock brokerage industry: first at Butcher and Singer, and
finally eight years at Shearson Lehman Hutton. Joe began his post college
career as a teacher/coach in Berwick, Pennsylvania. Dowd Marketing/Sundance
Vacations continues to grow and increase its revenue under the direction of Joe
Molitoris.