Client Testimonials

  President | VP | Director 

★ Joseph DeStephano, Senior Director of Research & Development | HP Hood LLC  [April 2023]

PMA has been a critical partner in the improvement of how my function runs and how we are perceived.  As I was unable to tend to the day to day management of the program, over the last 2+ years, Dave led the team through surveys, analysis and change management.  He was persistent and thorough in the execution of the program. The result of this program is a team who is confident, proud and continuing to build cross functional equity.

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★ Robert Struble, Director Brand & Innovation | Vitro Architectural Glass   [April 2023] 

Dave Oshlag and Project Marketing Associates has worked for PPG flat glass and now Vitro for over two decades. They’ve been a reliable source not only of market research, but of genuine analytical interpretation and strategic guidance. Their mastery of research methods and practice make PMA an irreplaceable business partner. They’ve led our Customer Satisfaction initiative since 2018 and the process alone has served to improve relationships even with our most difficult buyers. PMA’s guidance and flawless execution has had a decided positive impact on our most important business relationships.

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★ Danielle B. Lemack, Assistance General Counsel and Vice President | HP Hood LLC   [April 2023] 

Dave brings excellent project management skills and acute business acumen to the projects he manages. We had a complex project on a tight timeline that required input from many internal and external stakeholders. Dave brought everyone together, organized the project into manageable elements, and helped us meet the deadlines.  He then helped us transition the project into an established program to benefit our company as well as external partners.  I consider Dave a trusted advisor and strategic business partner who adds value to our organization.

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★ Natalie Scott, Director Platinum Program USCA, Automotive Refinish | PPG Industries   [August 2022] 

If you're looking to partner with someone who is dedicated to understanding your business, has patience to ensure you understand the process and impeccable attention to detail, Dave O. from Project Marketing Associates is the right person for you. 5 out of 5 for Satisfaction!

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★ Karen Tobin, Director | HP Hood LLC [January 2022]

We had a great experience working with Dave on our internal business partners (360) survey. Dave was an excellent project manager keeping us on target and holding us accountable for feedback and participation. 5 out of 5 for Satisfaction!

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★ Nathan McKenna, Marketing & Innovation Director | Vitro Architectural Glass

The project was our annual Customer Satisfaction Survey over the Summer of 2020, while dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. Dave was very responsive, helped keep the project on track despite our own road blocks. Appreciated how easy he was to work with and how his past experience made the project flow much simpler. 5 out of 5 for Satisfaction!

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★ Demi Lin, as Global Director - Market Development & Strategy , PPG Industries | currently VP Global Business Development & Strategic Marketing, Axalta

Dave is an experienced and professional project leader, completing multiple VOC projects for our business successfully.  We appreciate his expertise and collaboration in supporting our marketing initiatives and helping our team be more effective and efficient in strategic planning and execution.

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★ Andrew Capozzi, as Director of Global Key Accounts, Packaging Coatings, PPG Industries  | currently Key Account Director Ardagh Group

Dave and Project Marketing Associates hit it out of the park with our customer satisfaction and segmentation surveys. He brought tremendous strategic insight to us and his attention to detail ensured flawless execution. I slept better at night knowing PMA was working hard for us behind the scenes. I highly recommend Dave and PMA for your next strategic marketing project.

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★ John Parran, Director Marketing US & Canada, Automotive Refinish | PPG Industries (retired)

Project Marketing Associates conducted very short (2-3 minute) Voice of the Customer interviews for us for over 2 years. By having a third party talk to your customers you will learn critical things the customer won't tell you or your sales people about deficiencies in your product or service offering because they feel too close to you (or your company). We also learned the personal phone call had a 85%+ success rate versus less than 5% for online or email surveys.

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★ Patrick J. Kenny as Director Marketing, Vitro Architectural Glass | currently Founder CEO Value Ingineering Consulting, LLC

Dave has worked ... on a variety of complex marketing projects involving product positioning, market research, and communications. He has proven to be a valuable team asset with his strong analytical skills, broad marketing expertise, and extraordinary project management skills. Additionally, he provides his services in a problem-focused, team oriented manner that facilitates progress and learning. I strongly recommend Dave for those marketing projects that require substantive marketing expertise and an extreme focus. Please feel free to call me as a reference if you are considering Project Marketing Associates for a project.

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Patrick Seiffert, Sr. VP Marketing American Textile Corporation 

I have worked with Dave on a number of projects over the years.  On each project Dave has led, he was always thoroughly prepared, kept me and others appropriately informed of his progress, and delivered on time and within budget.  We will continue to leverage Dave's expertise as the need arises.

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Michael Smith, as Marketing Director Heinz North America | currently Sr. Director of Analytics and Revenue Growth Management, T. Marzetti Company 

I counted on Project Marketing Associates to assist my business in many areas like trade promotion and market research. I was able to outline the objective of a particular project and then hand it off knowing that it will be completed on time and on budget.

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Gina Dickson, as Director Infrastructure Products, Black Box Corporation | currently VP Marketing, DDI

In preparation for making some significant investment into our business we decided we needed to better understand the needs of our customers ... We reached out to Dave to help us select a model to collect this information. The results using the Ideamap.net approach were enlightening. As a result we discovered some naturally occurring trends within our existing customer base which we didn't know existed, and it's allowed us to target our investment in sales, marketing and support programs - using the data to make key decisions and grow our business.

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Tom Dougherty, as Marketing Director, Architectural Coatings, PPG Industries | currently VP Marketing, Allegheny Land Trust  

Dave's assistance with our agency RFP project was invaluable. We couldn't have gotten to such a satisfactory solution in so short a time without him.

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Michael A. Hoops, Business Manager, Chemicals | PPG Industries (retired)

We utilized Project Marketing Associates on multiple occasions for specific (B2B) market research activities. Dave is the consummate professional and we are more than comfortable in having him present research findings to our key customers as though he were part of our own team .. we actually consider Dave to be part of our team.

The hallmarks of PMA are thorough preparation, diligence with the process, and the ability to distill the research down to actionable recommendations. Most recently, we completed extensive real-time, in-season research that was presented to executive management of our largest customer. The information was pertinent, extremely well-received, and enhanced an already solid relationship with the customer.

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Scott Hart, as Marketing Director, Heinz North America | currently VP Marketing with Florida's Natural Growers, Inc. 

I contracted with Dave Oshlag to temporarily assume complete responsibilities of the T.G.I. Friday’s Senior Brand Manager until a full-time replacement could be hired. The more high profile responsibilities included:

  • Leading a complex new product initiative
  • Leading the development of new advertising creative
  • Coordinating the activities of both a multi-discipline new product development team and our advertising agency
  • Thoroughly analyzing media tactics and making recommendations on media strategy
  • Providing sound judgment and counsel on a variety of business decisions
  • Providing support for various presentation decks
  • Training and development of a new Brand Assistant

Dave’s leadership on these projects was motivational and thorough, delivering promised results within time and financial budgets. His follow-through was particularly strong, keeping his teams, peers and myself well informed of progress. I have recommended Dave’s services to others and would not hesitate to hire him again.

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Larry Lupori, as Director Heinz Consumer Products | currently Independent Finance & Accounting Consultant 

Dave was a great business partner for Heinz.  He had a tremendous amount of consumer goods experience and has easily changed gears as we deployed him on assignments ranging from leading individual New Product Development projects to helping us think more strategically. His work is first class and he is very results oriented.

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Christopher Marshall, as Director New Business Development, Giant Eagle | currently VP Fletcher/CSI

We utilized Dave and PMA for the newly created Business Development group at Giant Eagle.  He provided experienced, strategic thinking, general manager mindset resources to temporarily staff our organization and get things moving quickly.  Each New Business Development project included: Competitive Analysis and Industry Reviews, Financial estimations and profitability, Business model option definitions, Concept and consumer value proposition, Strategic fit evaluation, Risk and regulatory considerations. Objectives and deliverables were clearly discussed, defined and delivered.  I would not hesitate in utilizing him and his team again.

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Mary Ann McCullough, as Director Strategic Marketing , PPG Industries | currently Director Annual Giving Carnegie Mellon University 

Project Marketing Associates has delivered value on time every time. The beauty of this resource is the ability to add assets to meet short term requirements with highly capable, top-quality marketing professionals. Most importantly, they have been able to penetrate the cultural environment successfully and think they way we do.

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Jeff Jokl, as Director Corporate Development | PPG Industries (retired)

Dave Oshlag was a valuable resource to PPG Flat Glass/market research efforts. He brings a wealth of directly applicable experience and he has been involved at all levels of each project – from designing the methodology, to writing the concepts, through completing the research and summarizing the findings. I particularly note, in working with Dave, that he completes assignments very quickly, pays attention to the details, and is extremely insightful in suggesting adjustments to the research based on interim feedback. I am very glad to recommend David for marketing project work.

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Lisa Detwiler, as Director Business Development, PPG Industries | currently President Axiom Higher Education

Dave was a valuable resource for our residential glass marketing efforts. His market research experience coupled with his vast marketing knowledge, strategy development and facilitation skills assisted us in multiple projects. He is a great non-biased resource for brainstorming new ideas and then figuring out how to implement them. If your business requires these skills, I would highly recommend Dave as a resource for your marketing team.

Want to let you know how well the (Ideamap.net) segmentation work was received by the sales force ... it was absolutely right on target. The guys in the field believe they can really use the information to develop new value packages and programs for their customers. Got so many positive comments, it really validated the entire project.

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Robert Ziehl, as GM Heinz North America | currently Marketing and Sales Executive Company Advisor

Dave Oshlag was able to hit the ground running. He picked my business’s most important project and we didn’t miss a beat. Cross-functional teams immediately accepted his leadership, loved his style and delivered for him. Dave’s attention to detail is outstanding and his communication ensured that I was informed despite not being directly involved in most aspects of the project. Finally, I appreciated Dave’s ability to provide well reasoned insights and suggestions about this particular project and other business issues not directly related to his assignment.

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  Brand and Product Managers

★  Frank Schiffman, as Product Manager, PPG Industries | currently Business Manager & Marketing Director Westlake Chemical

Dave is a grand slam hitter when it comes to market research. His approach to obtaining sound, up-front information from his clients sets the tone and pace from day one, and the results and analysis that follow hit the mark time and time again. Recently, we used Dave to help us better understand what consumers of swimming pool products value most from retailers. The project was to be used to help a key PPG customer better target promotional offerings and operational needs for the following year. Before getting started, we did a mock presentation to show how the research would work, and because of thoroughness with which the pre-work was done, we had to convince the customer that we hadn’t already conducted the project! When we did the real thing, the customer was delighted, and now wants to expand the program. It’s a home run for them because they now have a better defined path forward…one for PPG because we drafted Dave to be on our team and put him in front of our client…one for him because he now has more work…and one for consumers of swimming pool products because their needs will be better met.

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Ryan Aspy, as Market Development Manager, PPG Industries | currently Marketing Manager NICO Corporation 

We worked with Dave on a new product we were bringing to market. This product represented a huge leap in technology over what was currently being used in the industry. So much so that OEM customers were having a hard time clearly understanding the value this product would bring to their end users, simply because there was nothing of its type currently being used. We had strong data to show our customers how the technology would perform, and we had great demo units that allowed them to visualize what the technology would do. However, that did little to give them insight into how their customers would react to it. Therefore, Dave directed a survey effort of end users focused around getting their input on how favorably they would respond to this technology and how they believed it would improve their customer experience. Dave’s expertise in this area was very evident. His leadership enabled us to devise a professional survey aimed at achieving our strategic goals. The result: we now have hard data representing end user preferences that not only allow our customers to make more informed decisions but also demonstrate to them our depth of knowledge of this overall market. I would highly encourage working with Dave on a project of this type.

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Michelle Fuscaldo, as Brand Manager Heinz North America | currently VP Account Director 9 Rooftops Marketing 

Dave Oshlag worked with me on various projects for the Heinz frozen meals brands as we searched for an associate brand manager. Dave integrates very effortlessly into our cross functional project teams and knows what needs to get done here at Heinz to get a project from point A to point B. Dave was an immense help to me in this facet as he ensured that we didn't skip a beat on any key initiative due to limited people resources.

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Steven McGowan, as Senior Brand Manager, Heinz North America | currently RVP Omni Shopper Activation& Strategic Partnerships Mondelēz

Dave Oshlag worked extensively with the brand team on the launch of Boston Market frozen homestyle meals. The launch was the fastest brand in the history of Heinz North America to reach $100MM in net sales. Dave was instrumental in developing an extensive forecast and pro-forma P& L that was integral in the negotiations with Boston Chicken, Inc. for licensing arrangements. He was also the key contact with ACNielsen BASES and filled out all the inputs for the BASES home use test. Dave also helped in the analysis and ultimate recommendations for the final marketing mix (pricing, products, distribution, spending, etc) based on what was gleamed from the BASES data. After launching the product, Dave was the key contact with SPECTRA for setting up control and test stores to place in-store display units in based on the account, store and location demographics. I would highly recommend Project Marketing Associates for any brand management, research, project management or analysis work.

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  Product Development Managers

Bud Rosevear, as R&D Manager, Heinz North America (retired) 

I worked with Dave for over a year on our Club and Alternate Channels business. Dave was fulfilling the role of marketing Brand Manager on the Ore-Ida, Smart Ones, and Boston Market brands. The breadth of these product lines, the number of overall projects, the complexity and the fast pace of these projects could be overwhelming. Dave’s project management skills combined with his team communication skills and tireless follow-up was highly beneficial to my product development team. Dave is well versed in technical, marketing, business and market research principles. I enjoyed working with Dave and highly recommend him to any client looking for a very astute high-powered marketer.

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★ Joe DeStephano, as Director R&D, Heinz North America | currently Senior Director R&D HP Hood, LLC 

Dave Oshlag joined our project teams to take full responsibility for our Senior Marketing Manager who was on temporary leave. He took on the full responsibility of two projects that were at different stages of development. Both projects were high exposure with short timelines. Dave came in and immediately integrated himself into the project team.

The team accepted Dave and complimented him on his style. I credit Dave with spending time with each functional area identifying the project scope, risks, functional needs and personal work styles. His team approach was appreciated by all team members.

Dave made many contributions during his tenure at Heinz North America. A few of those were:

  • Flawlessly leading two cross functional groups through the development process.
  • Leading the development of innovative and functional packaging instructions.
  • Motivating individuals through his actions and style.
  • Identifying external resources that provide needed project competencies.
  • Complete and through communication and follow-through.

Personally I enjoyed my time working with Dave. His open style was refreshing and re energizing. I hope to have the opportunity to work with Dave in the future.

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  International

★ Nicole Sinclair, Marketing Lead, Collision Products | PPG Industries

Data to support an ever changing market is critical in any business. Dave helped us understand the ever changing needs of our customers by demographic profile.  The project itself took over 3 months of planning and 4 months of execution. Dave listened to the business need, provided a solution to answer the business need and uncovered some interesting segmentation along the way. Dave is more than a vendor, he is a business partner. His goal is not to complete a project, but to create a long term partnership that is value add for the business. We now have a baseline in which to measure the changing landscape of our business for many years to come.

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Jo Thompson, European Marketing Manager | PPG Industries

Dave and his team at PMA provided the PPG Refinish business with the highest level of marketing support - including exceptional project management, clarity on market research technique and correct fit of research firm to our business needs.  Our project is global in scope and Dave not only provided attention to detail, focus on results and planning / organizational skills that exceeded our expectations, but his adoption to our global business and reach into market contacts has been outstanding.   Dave is one of the Refinish team - worldwide and we will continue to call upon his market strengths now and into the future.

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Steven Oakes, as Vice President Retail Marketing, Heinz Canada | currently VP Marketing, Retail Sales and R&D, Burnbrae Farms 

Dave Oshlag was a very valuable adjunct member of the Heinz Canada marketing team - working on behalf of Heinz Canada out of our company home office in Pittsburgh.  He did a terrific job for us helping to coordinate major new product initiatives across the two geographies - most notably the full scale launch of the Weight Watcher's Smart Ones brand in Canada. Dave is a very buttoned-down well organized project manager who also has the ability to "improvise" to solve problems when they came up.  The Canadian Smart Ones launch was a great success - and Dave played a critical role in making it so.

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Daniel Pilas, as Senior Brand Manager, Heinz Canada | currently General Manager SC Johnson Canada 

One of our key initiatives at Heinz Canada was the expansion of the Frozen Portfolio through the launch of Smart Ones Frozen Entrées. I contacted Dave Oshlag to play a major role in the project as a result of his strong expertise in both Frozen Foods and the US Smart Ones business. During the launch, due to our limited resources, Dave was asked to take on numerous tasks. His key role was to be our Canadian liaison in the US office and ensure that the appropriate airtime and push for our initiatives were being met. In response, not only did Dave ensure that the Canadian needs were met but he exceeded expectations by delivering upon extremely tight project timelines and providing sound, strategic council & leadership when needed.

Through his exceptional project management, strong communication skills and results oriented approach, Dave was an extremely valuable resource to myself and the entire Canadian team. I would highly recommend Dave and Project Marketing Associates to any marketing organization.

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  Market Research Managers

★ Erin Morganti, Senior Marketing Manager, Insights & Analytics, PPG Industries

Project Marketing Associates, truly acted as an extension of my team to complete this (Customer Satisfaction) project and were great partners to work with.  They delivered actionable information on time and on budget. I recommend Project Marketing Associates to teams who need agile and knowledgable research support. 

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Wendy DelVecchio, as Sr. Manager Consumer Insights, Heinz North America | currently Director Consumer Insights & Analytics @ Bob Evans Farms 

Dave Oshlag and I worked together on several challenging project teams.  Dave always integrated very quickly into our cross functional teams and knew not only what needed to get done when, but he also knew how to go about collecting the right resources.  He owned each aggressive timeline and always kept people moving in the right direction.

While I especially appreciated Dave’s talent for consistent and clear follow-up after team meetings, it was his ability to help the team transform rather complex and often ambiguous projects into detailed action items for all that really differentiates him from other managerial consultants.

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Andrea Mar Harkins, Research Director | GlaxoSmithKline (retired)

I worked with Dave Oshlag for over 10 years. His analytical and organizational skills contributed to the success of many joint research projects we worked on. He is "buttoned up" and attends to the detail of complex assignments while bringing to the table the marketing knowledge that enables research to be actionable. His independence and proactivity made my job easier. I highly recommend Dave as a consultant for both marketers and researchers alike.

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  Project Management Presentations
★ Lauren Norris, as President | American Marketing Association, Pittsburgh Chapter

... executed on the topic of project management at our Educational Eats series that spoke to all career levels and industry verticals. The content was applicable across the board and his quick wit and added humor made the time fly by with you wanting more. He also provides a book recommendation list that has been an invaluable resource for improving your own project management process.  I highly recommend Dave on this topic, as a speaker and trusted advisor.

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Mark Bodkin, Director of Manufacturing | II-VI Incorporated

I had the opportunity to work with Dave on providing a customized training course on Project Management to a group of managers, supervisors and engineers within our organization.  The material Dave provided was right on target to our expectations.  Dave integrated in-house examples into the training material that allowed for quality interaction and communication between the members. He delivered the information with passion and excitement keeping the team engaged in the training material. Dave was always available for support during the process and quick to provide feedback on any questions or concerns.

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Jamie L Rossi, Assistant Director of Graduate Student Initiatives | Carnegie-Mellon University

I was introduced to Dave through outreach from Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). It was clear from the beginning that Dave has a passion for his work with project management and W5 Templates. Dave met with our office several times to develop a 90 minute seminar on the basic tenants of Project Management that was tailored to our audience and informative while being entertaining. We offered the session in January 2015 to overwhelming success and graduate student desire for a deeper dive into the topic. We opted to have Dave back over the summer to do an in-depth Project Management three-part series with our PhD students and couldn't have been happier with the tailored, engaging experience delivered.

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Susan Hovanec, Member Services Manager | Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce

Dave was one of the speakers in our Chamber's Education Series. His presentation "Improving your Bottom Line through Project Management" was a very informative, engaging and entertertaining seminar tailored to the attendees. Dave is a professional who is great to work with and attentive to details. A  chamber member who attended many of the education seminars, commented "Dave was the most engaging speaker we've ever had and his presentation was excellent!" He is an expert in his field and very passionate in sharing his knowledge with business leaders. I'd recommend Dave as a presenter for any size audience.

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