About Us

Response Mine has been helping businesses like yours master direct response marketing for more than 20 years.

Helping businesses for more than 20 years.

Your budget can only stretch so far, and that’s okay. Even with a minimal investment, a strategy tailored to your unique business needs can substantially impact your bottom line. This belief is the foundation of our firm, and our team is committed to helping you drive more revenue and outperform the competition.

History of Response Mine

Our paid media services take a five-step approach to deliver unmatched results that make the most of your budget.

The beginning
In 1996, Brent Kuhn recruited me to work at BKV in Atlanta. I had gotten to know Brent and learned about his agency over games of 8-ball in his living room. “Ken, we don’t do advertising,” he confessed in his inimitable Chicago accent. “We’re direct marketers — and there’s a huge difference!” And indeed there was.
Pushing the Envelope
The creative, first led by Dick Bennett, had to touch on all the basics — compelling offer, persuasive selling copy, powerful design. Maribett Varner would pour over media spreadsheets looking for opportunities to optimize campaigns. Brent would attack the creative and argue that it wasn’t clear enough, there wasn’t a good enough offer or a unique selling proposition.

They weren’t just entrepreneurs; they were also visionaries.To wit: In 1997, Brent Kuhn required that everyone in the agency take HTML classes so we could learn how webpages worked. He saw the Internet coming as a new, viable channel for our clients.
A Culture of Continuous Improvement
More than just the client work, BKV was a training ground. Between the hundreds of millions of pieces of direct mail annually and dozens of DRTV commercials at any given time, along the print and eventually digital campaigns, BKV gave unlimited on-the-job training to hundreds of young marketing executives — teaching the principles of media analytics, strong benefit-oriented copy, list selection, tracking and measurement and optimization.
The Origin of Response Mine
In 2001, Brent Kuhn and Maribett Varner backed me in starting Response Mine Interactive. Along with Rick Skaggs and Brent Wheeler, they remain my trusted partners, advisors and friends two decades later.
The BKV Legacy
Today, some of the greatest hardcore direct marketers leading the industry are people I worked with at BKV in the ’90s and early 2000s — people like Angela Hilton, Roxana Shershin, Virginia Doty, Stacy Pierce, Jana Ferguson, Zachary LaVoy, Todd Chambers, Leah Farmer, Michelle Gunn, Jason Rhoades and so many more.

Meet Our Team

Our executives aren’t just marketing experts—they’re well-trained in goal setting, system dynamics, throughput accounting, public speaking, talent coaching and development.  

Ken Robbins

Founder & CEO

Brent Wheeler

President

David Secrest

Executive Vice President

Igor Vladimirovskiy

Vice President, Data & Analytics

Mark Hamilton

Senior Vice President, Finance

Ryan Melby

Media Director, Lead Generation

Kyle Brauer

Director of Client Services

Tyler Wilson

Director, Analytics

John Saenz

John Saenz

Director of SEO & Product

Shawn Wellner

Director of IT & Software Engineering

Our core values and beliefs

We believe in transparency, honesty, gratitude, and a strong effort.
These are the seven principles that guide our business and our people.

Our word is our bond.

If we commit to doing something, we do it. We make agreements with care, and we tell the truth.

We encourage our employees to innovate.

All businesses must evolve to thrive; our employees are vital to that innovation.

We strive for excellence.

Quality is scalable. Every client deserves high-quality thinking and results. Our business is designed to deliver.

We do not take advantage of others.

We believe the best business is built on a fair exchange of value. This is the only way for both parties to win.

We respect each other’s property.

Whether items or ideas, we do not tolerate theft in any form.

We recognize performance.

Every day, there are heroic efforts and brilliance in our company. We aspire to see them and recognize each team member's contribution. This is what makes business so much fun.

We are grateful.

Gratitude is essential to growth. Without the trust and confidence of our clients and employees, we wouldn’t be in our third decade. We are extremely thankful.

Meet our CEO, Ken Robbins

RMI CEO & Founder Ken Robbins got his start in business when he dropped out of Georgia Tech and earned his real estate license. He began knocking on doors—sometimes 150/day— and became the youngest board-certified multi-million dollar producer at age 24. 

The man behind one of those doors was a veteran ad agency owner who recruited Ken out of real estate to start a new initiative at his then agency, BKV, and eventually backed him, founding RMI in 2001. 

Ken has been featured in articles in Inventor’s Digest, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Strategic Healthcare Marketing. Ken has also been a featured contributor to the best-selling books, Socialnomics and The Digital Leader and is an avid Keynote Speaker and business podcast guest.

Experience the Response Mine Difference.

Call or email us today to build a direct response marketing strategy that suits your business and budget.

People Who Love Our Place

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