I’ve been in and around media ad sales long enough to have opinions that aren’t popular. I believe most “data strategy” projects don’t move revenue. I believe most AI pilots die in year two. I believe the gap between what ad sales technology promises and what it delivers is large enough to have made a […]
Every year, I talk to ad sales leaders about upfront preparation. And every year, the conversation covers roughly the same territory: reach numbers, audience guarantees, content highlights, deal structure flexibility. And every year, the publishers who close fastest aren’t the ones with the best reach numbers. They’re the ones who walked into the room with […]
Let me paint you a picture that every publisher ad sales leader will recognize. You’re sitting across from a performance-focused advertiser – let’s say it’s a CPG brand with a heavy household-income skew. Their media buyer has been making noise about brand safety. They want contextual targeting. They want first-party audience data. They want proof […]
I’ve spent enough time with my friends in ad sales and helping them to know what a good meeting prep looks like – and what it costs when you skip it. You know the scene. It’s 8:47 a.m. Your AD has a 10 a.m. with the brand’s CMO. She’s furiously tabbing between Salesforce, last quarter’s […]
