TheMediaBriefing has co-devised a training session with Flume Training on multiplatform sales techniques for senior sales executives in London on 19 July - there are still places left and you can book here. Here's some background to the issues it will cover...
New challenges in media monetisation require new techniques. One of the biggest challenges media companies face is how to a) retain and protect existing revenue streams while b) building news ones successfully.
It sounds simply but in practice, it isn't.
But there's a huge opportunity for sales teams in media businesses to succeed and here's why: brands and clients are in exactly the same predicament. They're not sure which platform to focus on either - and when proof of ROI is even more crucial, now is the time for media sales professionals to be creative, across platforms, and work with clients to help them reach their goals.
This white paper from the Client Solutions team at UBM's Built Environment division, illustrates many of these themes in action. These are B2B media case studies but many will be relevant to the consumer media world.
Adding value
One of the key findings from UBM's experience is that adding value to commercial relationships - for example by adding a digital element to a previously print-only deal - has a genuine upside for both the client and the publisher.
This also plays a role in making clients think more digitally once they have seen the benefits of having access to a brand's audience through online advertising, email newsletters, partnerships, social media and so on.
Editorial and commercial working together
The phrase advertorial is nothing new - but it's evolving. A symbiosis between journalism and commerce is essential to making this work.
A good example of this in action is a typical campaign for UBM's Building magazine which might include: a full-page feature in the magazine, previewing a roundtable discussion of industry leaders sponsored by a client; a four-page write up of the event the week after; a further live debate with readers of Building.co.uk, with the debate archived on the site, with sponsored email newsletters and online ads thrown in.
If the client in this case had just paid for a print ad or two they would have reached 72,000 people. But with the digital reach UBM's campaign created 235,490 opportunities for readers to engage with the brand. And that's the kind of thing that brands should be willing to pay a premium for.
Our course
Flume's expert trainers will take course delegates through this process and talk about the details behind building a campaign for clients, adding ROI, using story-telling to create a narrative for customers and simplifying digital media for clients.
You'll leave with an understanding of how this works in real situations and how you can build creativity and growth into your business.
See more details and book your place here.
Picture by CJ Isherwood on Flickr via a Creative Commons licence
