Media’s changing fast. Business models are shifting, as are sales skillsets. To maximise your sales potential, your yields, and your career, it’s all about context. The Media Sales Summit provides it.
Margins are lean. Disruption is the new industry norm. Traditional selling and buying skillsets are being challenged and businesses models face headwinds. But there remains one constant.
“Everybody in the industry needs more context about the environment and the place they sit within the broader industry, their contribution, their piece in the puzzle,” says Henry Tajer, global COO of IPG Mediabrands.
If media sales people better understand that context “they can position their product in the best possible way”, says Tajer. “The Media Sales Summit allows context to become clearer. Those that attend will take it away and be able to sell and position their product in a more meaningful way.”
That is is crucial, given the pace of change across media. “It is more complex [for media sales people] because there are more variables that everyone has to deal with.”
Tajer, who will be a speaker and panel chair at the event, said that the reason IPG Mediabrands was sponsoring the summit was “because we want to be seen to be acknowledging the role of the sales person”.
“It is very important for industry for client solutions to be created properly. It is a three-way street.”
Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing for media organisations, however, says fellow Media Sales Summit speaker Ian Perrin, CEO of ZenithOptimedia. It just mirrors what is happening for clients and in the wider world.
“We are going from linear, analogue, one-way, structured and closed to interactive, digital, integrated and open models of communication.
"In an open world we need to fundamentally change the way we operate our businesses. Younger workers don’t do things in a linear fashion. Now people are educated to be more creative, think differently and use technology to empower creative solutions.” What that means for businesses was “going to flatter structures and collective decision-making”, said Perrin. “That means the type of people we are employing has to change.” As does the operating model.
“We’ve created specialist silos and regimented processes. But think about how many people are involved in the process from marketing to market. Think how quickly markets and technology change. If your process takes too long, you are out-of-date. If you take a three-month brief process for an ECD to solve your brand problem you are closed. That means integration at the start of the process.”
Collaboration with other companies at speed was critical, said Perrin. One of the panel sessions at the Media Sales Summit will look at media and creative agency crossover as the debate around a return to the full-service agency model continues to rumble on.
Perrin said that those that argue that the “toothpaste cannot be put back in the tube” were “probably right” but media companies “have to get past the silos”.
Some people “get upset when creatives want to bring channel planning and strategy into their agencies but that is ridiculous”, says Perrin. “They should be doing that if that is what their clients want. But we might need to look outside our agencies. Agencies have to evolve to the collaborative model.”
The AdNews Media Sales Summit is held in Sydney on 22 May at the Royal Randwick Racecourse. Attendees will learn how industry bosses are mapping out their future around structures, strategy, innovation, technology and people.
They will also discover the state of play across media owners and agencies via highlights from the second annual AdNews Media Benchmark Study. Conducted by Roy Morgan, it’s the only comprehensive report on media companies and agencies. Last year there were nearly 1,300 respondents across media companies, agencies, marketing and PR.
The Summit will also award the best media company and best media brand, with Fairfax and Seven aiming to defend their crowns.
Book tickets for the Media Sales Summit here.
Meanwhile Media Pitchfest, organised by ThinkSayDo director Marcia Raheb, is new for this year’s event. Based on a speed-dating concept, media sales people will present directly to marketers and key media agency decision-makers at their own pitch tables.
They have five minutes to pitch and will receive feedback from a list of buyers including:
• Mediabrands – Henry Tajer
• ZenithOptimedia – Ian Perrin
• OMD – Peter Horgan
• UM – Mat Baxter
• Initiative – Andrew Livingstone
• Match Media – John Preston
• Mindshare – Katie Rigg-Smith
• Vizeum – Nick Behr
For more details see Media Pitchfest.
Book tickets for the Media Sales Summit here.
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