Title: Senior VP and director of national broadcast at Bates USA.
Recent interesting deal: “The deal that stands out is a cross-platform deal for Wendy’s with AOL Time Warner that linked TV, print and the Internet. While these deals are certainly becoming more popular among the ad community, it is increasingly important to understand that these partnerships go well beyond cost efficiencies-the platform needs to make sense on a number of different levels for the client as well as the media conglomerate.
The next big thing: “Realization that multiplexing will need to exist on some level in order to offset the rising costs of programming. As this concept leads to a number of concerns from an advertiser’s standpoint, buyers will need to determine how to account for these issues in future negotiations. We will be forced to change our approach to the marketplace as we deal with multiplexing, vendor consolidation and a shift in the marketplace.”
Is there anything you wish you had bought less of? “Less Enron stock. Actually, to be honest, there’s really not much I wish I bought less of, with the exception of underperforming programs. Unfortunately, none of us has a crystal ball, but we do constantly shift our strategies depending on the marketplace as well as each of our clients’ needs in order to buy the most appropriate packages.”
Is there anything you wish you had bought more of? “I hope to get involved with more cross-platform deals. This business is no longer about just buying rating points; rather, it’s about truly understanding our clients’ brands and how we can develop media partnerships to best suit their needs.”
If you weren’t in media buying you’d be: “Definitely a teacher-after college, I promised myself that I’d give advertising a shot, and if I wasn’t happy I’d go back for a teaching degree because I love working with kids.”