It’s about time—restaurant marketing veteran Tom Feltenstein, the legendary prophet of four-walls branding and neighborhood marketing, has finally joined the pizza industry and will apply his many decades of industry knowledge toward helping PMQ readers make more dough. Beginning in this space next month, Feltenstein will write a regular column on marketing, and PMQ publisher Steve Green is excited to have him on board. “I’ve been trying to get Tom involved for more than 10 years,” Green says. “But it took a personal trip this summer to West Palm Beach to finally sign him. Now our industry will have access to the very same ‘secret weapon’ enjoyed by McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc."

Feltenstein is a straight shooter and a risk-taker who isn’t afraid to try an outlandish approach. As Kroc’s disciple, he began his career with McDonald’s, rising up to become a senior-level executive. He served as senior vice president of Bozell Advertising, an international, billion-dollar advertising agency, and has been a consultant to Fortune 500 companies and top restaurant chains—including Pizza Hut, Boston Pizza, Topper’s Pizza and Papa John’s—for the past 30 years.

Feltenstein is the CEO and founder of Power Marketing Academy, a leading consulting firm, and the author of 14 books, including Change Is Good, You Go First—21 Ways to Inspire Change and 501 Killer Marketing Tactics to Increase Sales, Maximize Profits and Stomp Your Competition.

However, before Tom begins sharing his insights with our readers in December, he wants to hear from you on your best marketing ideas. Submit your most successful or outrageous marketing ideas, and you will be entered to win a copy of Tom’s latest book, Marketing: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Ten winners will be selected in the contest. To qualify, submit your ideas to tomfeltenstein@pmq.com.