[longhornjunkie]

I recently conducted an interview with Upper Deck PR Manager Don Williams to get some insight into what's going on at UD as well as with Don himself. See what he had to say below - and look for more interviews in the future!


What are your personal collecting interests?

I like to collect players from the teams I follow. I like anything Seahawks, Mariners or Sonics related.


How did you get started with Upper Deck?

I was working for a competitor in Seattle and several of my friends/colleagues had made the move to Upper Deck, so I looked into the company. I found out they were looking for a public relations manager and the rest is history.


What product lines are generating the most buzz around the office these days?

All of them. Baseball is back. The changes to the baseball business and the non-stop marketing have really helped to get collectors hyped up again. The new class of NBA rookies has everyone at UD extremely excited for the next season to tip off. We signed some amazing rookies to represent us, seven of the top 13 picks are UD exclusives for autographs. Thos guys are Kevin Durant (Seattle #2), Al Horford (Atlanta #3), Corey Brewer (Minnesota #7), Joakim Noah (Chicago #9), Michael Conley, Jr. (Memphis #4), Jeff Green (Boston #5) and Julian Wright (New Orleans #13).

I think we have another group of NFL rookies that has the marketplace excited. These guys might not have had as much hype as the 2006 draft class but they will certainly hold their own once everything is said and done.

We still have a few really great hockey products coming out that are sure to get collectors through until the new season starts such as Be A Player Portraits and Ultimate Collection.


Upper Deck has started to market vinyl action figures. Is UD looking to expand into any other products or other areas of the hobby?

We are always looking for new creative ways to broaden our product offerings to further distance ourselves from our competition. We feel we have the best company providing the most complete and diverse product portfolio for collectors, but we cannot sit back and watch. Upper Deck is constantly looking to bring new things to market.


How long has UD been involved with independent hobby sites/forums such as Trader Retreat?

Since the beginning. We really like to work with independent sites to reach collectors. We realize not every collector goes to the same site for hobby news so we work with a wide range of sites to help get the word out on Upper Deck.


Who writes the press releases seen on Trader Retreat?

The internal public relations team with the help of the product guys, just to make sure everything is factually correct.


Some people say the hobby is drifting too much toward high end collectors. How would you respond to this?

We would respond that Upper Deck caters to every type of collector. We have retail product starting at .99 for entry level collectors and we have super premium products loaded with value and long term collectibility for the veteran hobbyists. Each of these products are specifically tailored by theme and type of collector.



Many thanks to Don for his time and effort to answer our questions and for keeping us updated with Upper Deck news and press releases.