Scott Parker has joined Banc One Credit Card Services Co. as a senior vice president and marketing manager.
The appointment reflects a strategic focus on consumer marketing and a desire to build a unique and differentiated credit card brand, said officials of Banc One, which is based in Columbus, Ohio.
"I'm charged with creating a marketing organization that will take Banc One's credit card offerings to a new level and make them more competitive," said Mr. Parker, 39, who is the first person to hold the marketing manager title within the $87.8 billion-asset bank's card subsidiary.
"My biggest challenge will be sorting out the marketplace and creating product differentiation," he added. "To do that, I will have to make sure we understand the needs of the consumer by creating a knowledge base of consumer research."
Mr. Parker is now responsible for all of the marketing activities for the card group. He reports to Mark K. Tonnesen, president of the subsidiary.
For the past nine years, Mr. Parker has been with Dial Corp., where he handled marketing for the soap and detergent division. Prior to that, he was a product manager with Procter and Gamble for five years.
"Banc One has a long history of bringing in people from different backgrounds," said Mr. Tonnesen. "What Scott needs to concentrate on is building a unique Banc One product."
Initially, Mr. Tonnesen said, the company had concentrated mostly on operations and on simply getting the credit card business up to speed. Now, Banc One is preparing to take "a very, very active role in selling consumers and developing brand awareness."
"The industry needs fresh thinking for the paradigm shift," said Stephen P. White, managing director in the Atlanta office of Dove Associates Inc., a Boston-based consulting firm.
Mr. White, who was speaking in general terms and not specifically about Mr. Parker's appointment, said, "What is needed is diversity of expertise that is not necessarily industry specific."
Executives in the card subsidiary hope to increase the growth rate, but did not make any predictions about the future.
Banc One Credit Card Services, a subsidiary of Banc One Corp., is among the top 10 companies in credit card lending, with a total card portfolio of more than $7.8 billion, up from $7.4 billion as of March 31, 1994.
