Title: Senior VP, advertising sales, Speed Channel
Recent interesting deal: “Two deals show the abilities of a targeted, focused channel. The first was for the Mercury Marauder relaunch, which ran exclusively on Speed. … [It] was a historical piece which re-introduced the brand to today’s consumer. The second show was a Speed Channel Test Drive, which utilized [two] championship drivers to introduce the new car prior to its release.
“The second deal was a cross-platform deal we did with Corvette to highlight their launch in the American Le Mans Series of racing. We worked with Corvette and the leading automotive magazines to create an advertorial section that highlighted the Corvette entry into the series and directed readers to the actual races on Speed.”
The next big thing: “Advertisers and marketers dealing with the fundamental changes in technology, delivery and viewing of TV, coupled with the changing habits of the next generation of consumers.”
Is there anything you wish you had sold less of? “Prime and weekend direct response for the affiliate breaks. I truly hoped that the national interconnects could do a better job for all cable networks selling that inventory, so the national networks didn’t have to put DR [direct response] in to cover the holes. Those of us in the business, we understand, but our friends and family say, `I watch your channel and I love it, but are you doing a good job? I see DR in prime time.”’
Is there anything you wish you had sold more of? “Wish I was around to sell `Monday Night Football’ in the ’70s with Frank, Howard and Dandy Don on the air.”
If you weren’t in media selling: “Professional hockey, play-by-play on the radio or high school lacrosse coach.”