YA makes executive board and council appointments

Young America (YA), a leading multichannel marketing promotions company, has named two of its executives to industry board and councils.



YA president and CEO Chris Behrens is on the board of directors for Brand Activation Association (BAA), a division of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). BAA is the nonprofit, national trade association for brand activation with members in four member segments: brand marketers, agencies, attorneys and service providers. BAA focuses on industry learning, best practices, advocacy and innovation to support brand marketers and the significant challenges they face in today's rapidly changing marketplace, so they can thrive and their businesses grow.



In addition, YA VP of payment services Cletis Hoffer joined BAA’s Sampling Council. The council is a confederation of member companies with interests in product sampling, which provides leadership to member companies on the methods, metrics, distribution alternatives and trends of sampling vehicles. This thought leadership enhances the value of BAA membership for those brands seeking to engage their consumers through sampling, and for those with products and services in the sampling and demonstration business.



Hoffer also joined MasterCard’s Prepaid Policy Council as of July 1. The council is a group of key industry leaders of issuers, processors and program managers of MasterCard prepaid card programs. The council is supported by the MasterCard Government Affairs and Prepaid Product teams. Its purpose is to inform and discuss changes, trends and the impact of regulations and legislation in the industry.



Behrens is the principal architect of YA’s strategy, vision and execution. As chief evangelist for the business, he works closely with clients, partners and team members to create extraordinary omnichannel experiences that motivate consumers to engage the brand, take action and spread the word. Prior to becoming president and CEO, Behrens was chairman of the board of directors for YA. Before joining YA, Behrens has been working with the Baird Capital Partners to develop and execute acquisition and investment strategies to build a company in the digital marketing services industry, serving as CEO and/or board member of the acquired business. Previously, Behrens was president and CEO of SourceLink, which grew to become the 4th largest privately held marketing services company in the US. Prior to SourceLink, Behrens was president and CEO of ETrac, a software services (SaaS) business. He also held various positions at GE Financial Assurance, including SVP sales and client marketing. Behrens began his career at OAG, a global publisher of airline and hotel information. Chris received his degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago.



Since joining YA in 2004, Hoffer has been instrumental in launching YA’s Payment Services Division while introducing many payment firsts in the promotional marketing world. Hoffer is no stranger to leading a changing industry by using data and the latest technologies to meet consumer demands and improve the consumer experience, the company said. During the last 25 years he has lead teams that introduced electronic nursing notes to home health care, developed predictive risk models for the maternity management industry and revolutionize the ability of consumers to get promotional rewards they want faster.



For more than 40 years, YA has delivered digital, social, mobile and traditional promotions such as rebates/rewards, enter to win and loyalty programs for the nation’s top brands.