Being a marketing director for a mall involves more than planning lunches with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Besides being in charge of in-mall advertising and the visual appearance of the mall, Daspit analyzes the sales returns of the 110 inside locations and the mall's four anchor stores. If the returns need to be better, she coordinates promotions and sales. Marketing focuses on sales figures, seasons and the kind of audience the mall wants.
Public relations involves crisis and issue management.
It's my job to build relationships with members of the media. In late April, an explosion in the mall called for immediate and constant interaction with the media. Although the explosion injured no one, the mall lost revenue from being closed for a day. Daspit helped the mall by dealing with local radio stations and newspapers to inform the public of the incident and to assure them that the mall is a safe place. Specifically, he cited Daspit's personality, intelligence, knowledge of advertising and experience with handling the press.