“And now for a word from our sponsor.”
That famous line, part of radio and television jargon for decades, is expected to be heard in the near future at the Orthodox Union, thanks to the recent appointment of Barry Mase as Media Sales Director. Mr. Mase explained that he has been charged with “developing branding relationships with companies and non-profit organizations that lead them to partner with the OU in sponsorship and advertising relationships across the broad spectrum of OU media outlets – including the vast OU online network of websites as well as the highly acclaimed Jewish Action magazine.” These sponsors, he said, would be searching for a “niche market of those interested in kosher, where sales are growing by leaps and bounds every year.”
The vehicle for these ties will be oukosher.org, OU Kosher’s popular and informative website, which is now undergoing major expansion.
“The goals,” Mr. Mase said, are for these partners “to advertise, sponsor and promote with the OU. The OU brand is a strong one and is synonymous with kosher worldwide. ” Revenues produced by these partnerships will be used to support OU programming in both North America and abroad.
Mr. Mase, of Pomona, NY, in Rockland County near Monsey, arrives at the OU with a record of achievement in…records! Of course, there are no phonograph records any more, but Mr. Mase’s company, Water Records, Inc., where he was Executive Producer for a decade, was a success story for the Mase family.
An independent label distributed through Warner Brothers, Water Records marketed the music of Mr. Mase’s songwriter wife, Dana, both to Jewish and general audiences. The promotional musical website he created produced seven million hits in its first seven weeks and attracted more than 100,000 subscribers. His variety of marketing initiatives resulted in two “Top 40” radio singles, and “Top 10” Billboard Chart sales.”
OU President Stephen J. Savitsky, in announcing the appointment of Mr. Mase, declared, “Barry Mase has proven that he has a creative approach to marketing that should lead to excellent results both for the OU and its partners. The OU Kosher website is extraordinarily popular and informative, with a worldwide reach. Barry will develop methods of reaching potential partners and conveying the OU story to them.”
In addition to his work in music, Mr. Mase has served as Executive Consultant to Stonehill Management Consultants in Milford, PA, for whom he marketed and facilitated leadership seminars for management at Fortune 500 companies.
“OUkosher.org is a perfect vehicle for firms or individuals who want to get involved with the OU and to get their message out that way – for example, a company whose products are certified by OU Kosher might want to sponsor part of oukosher.org. It’s my job to find these partners, to generate traffic to our websites, to link them to other sites, and to expand our horizons beyond their already substantial current reach,” Mr. Mase declared.