MBPT Spotlight: Media Business Planners Ride Waves of Change

RELATED: The Strategists -- TV'sTop Media Planners

Media planners say they are getting more information about
consumer behavior, and that's changing the way advertising dollars earmarked
for television will be spent in the future.

Broadcasting & Cable reached out to some of the top planners and
strategists at the major media agencies in order to identify the industry's key
issues and the people that will be sorting them out.

The planners—who decide the best ways for brands to connect with consumers—are
increasingly willing to reach customers via video content on new platforms as
broadcast TV ratings wane. But digital technology is providing new ways to both
enhance the TV experience and measure its effectiveness. The surface has only
barely been scratched on interactivity, addressability and t-commerce.

The changes are coming at a furious pace, and the planners say a key part of
their job is to keep up. While the newly available data is needed to satisfy
client demands for more precise measurements of the returns on their media
investments, it also satisfies the curiosity of a group of professionals whose
job is to be obsessed with new insights into human behavior.

Here, B&C business editor Jon Lafayette polls the industry's top
planners on some of the media business' big questions. An edited transcript
follows.

With broadcast ratings eroding again last year, how comfortable are you
substituting cable for broadcast TV in your media plans?
Eric Blankfein, Horizon Media:
Cable television has answered the bell
with quality original programming that is delivering broadcast-size rating,
making the migration of dollars easier. Without question, our strategies
have found opportunities to use more and more cable programming, and it's not
just because of ratings erosion. We find the synergies of both environment and
brand fit to be an increasingly powerful reason for us to migrate client funds
toward cable programming.

Andrea Cardamone, PHD: The paradigm started to shift a few years ago so
I don't think it will necessarily be a dramatic change from broadcast to cable.
Most apprehension will be around shifting TV dollars to other platforms and
devices where content is distributed and accessible such as online and mobile
video, streaming services and VOD.

Tara Cioffi, Maxus: Cable is a dynamic arena that is consistently
challenging traditional broadcast and because of this, I was comfortable with
substituting cable and I continue to be comfortable. But in my mind, it's less
about broadcast vs. cable and more about viewer engagement and interest. With
niche networks, cable provides a larger opportunity to speak to clients via
endemic content.

Mac Hagel, Zenith: In its simplest form, my job is to find the most
effective audience for the brand and subsequent product/campaign I represent.
Audience is attracted to content and cable now represents the most diversified
and compelling content available with an ability to align and in some cases
partner with by developing specific programs that help drive greater brand
engagement. From a strategy standpoint, cable performs well for the clients I
manage.

Jason Harrington, Optimedia: Cable has been a big part of our buys for
many years. But ratings are only part of the reason. When you consider the most
talked about content on TV, cable accounts for upwards of 60%. We would rather
be where the conversations are happening, not chasing rating points.

Richard Hartell, MediaVest: Our total market activation strategies are
about content, and through tracking consumer behavioral changes, we can best
identify the message vehicles, including cable, to deliver best against brand
KPIs [Key Performance Indicators].

Omara Hernandez, Initiative: When building our media plans we are more
focused on the quality of the content and the opportunities it offers our
clients to engage with their core consumer. While we certainly pay attention to
ratings, our thought process is not bogged down in broadcast vs. cable, but
rather which network brand or program delivers the right audience for our
client's product-in my case autos.

Jaime Hukkanen, J3:Within most of our plans, we find it
effective to maintain a balance of broadcast and cable. Within cable, there are
of course varying degrees of quality programming, but many of which are
comparable to broadcast. Some first-run cable programs command the same viewing
attention, following and buzz from certain audience groups as many of your
notable broadcast shows. What's most important when planning TV is identifying
its role in your communications plan and planning accordingly.

Andrea McAteer, Mediacom: We already use a significant amount of cable
in our plans, given the efficiency and incremental reach it
provides. Adding even more cable will not make up for the loss in ratings
from network TV, particularly if we are looking at a constant budget.

Seth Walters, Mindshare: We don't really think about it as broadcast vs.
cable. It's more about finding quality programming that delivers our target, is
a good fit for the brand and has a strong social quotient. My core interest is
in figuring out how we can effectively position ourselves across longtail cable
networks, attaining additional exposure against an untapped audience for
increased reach. Furthermore, as technology on the [Original Equipment
Manufacturer] and [Multiple System Operator] side advances, we are thinking
about how cable can serve as a possible gateway to T-Commerce, transforming the
First Screen to the store shelf.

Diane Weeks, OMD: It really depends on a client's specific objectives. I
don't think they are completely interchangeable. In general cable continues to
prove itself with breakthrough programming across genres, with hits like AMC's Walking
Dead
. However, for many of our national advertisers we still need to rely
on the environments, impact and fast reach that broadcast offers, particularly
around premium events such as the Academy Awards. Cable is becoming more and
more a viable alternative to broadcast, particularly when specific environments
are required to reach a niche audience.

Ellie Williams, Starcom:Our recommendations are fueled by how
consumers engage with the content and which types of programs are best at
driving the client's business. For our client Best Buy, we focus on content
that works hardest to drive critical business metrics such as in-store and
online transactions, in addition to indirect business metrics such as search
queries, positive social chatter and digital interactions with the brand.
Currently there is an abundance of video content being produced by broadcast,
cable and online media as well as companies like Netflix; performance drives
their inclusion on plans, not the distribution channel.

What will it take to make you comfortable shifting a large share of your
clients' dollars from traditional television to digital video?
Blankfein:
I think that our proprietary research, as well as various
syndicated sources have all shed light on the fact that digital video has
become a large part of consumers' lives. Brands have eagerly adopted our
thinking around moving what is typically referred to as 'TV' money into all
video platforms, including mobile, cinema, broadband and place-based video.
The catch for keepers of both strategy and investment like us is to make sure
performance metrics and business analytic methodologies keep up with the
evolving consumer consumption landscape to include these fast-growing video
destinations. At the same time, the industry desperately needs a standard form
of video ratings measurement and the lack of scale and the amount of quality
video available as of now is still a concern.

Cardamone: I do think there will be a continued and steady shift in
investment towards digital video but it still comes down to scale. Recent HBO
campaigns, such as a recent one for Game of Thrones, prove you can
achieve greater reach and recall by orchestrating your assets and creating
synergy across both TV and digital platforms. We have to reframe our mindset so
that we are considering tactics that enhance the type of experiences we are
trying to create for the consumer within any environment. We are slowly moving
away from the 'TV vs. Digital Video' conversation and making advances toward
considering a more 'video neutral' approach to make an emotional connection
with an audience that is not necessarily platform agnostic.

Cioffi: Measurement for digital video is in its infancy right now and as
a result clients are hesitant to use it to make large-scale decisions. Clients
need to feel comfortable in decisions regarding their money, and having an
ample amount of data-using a currency that they can compare to existing
measurement-would allow them to do so.

Hagel: We think of video as fluid and have been making a large shift to
online video over the past few years. From an engagement standpoint it
outperforms linear TV across metrics, demos, content genres and ad verticals.
It's proven to have a reduced clutter environment in terms of competitive
advertising and unit load, and provides an abundant amount of data and
measurements. In my opinion, reallocating a larger portion of dollars to online
video builds higher quality and more effective reach, but that said, we will
have to continue to watch this space develop as more and more investment pours
in.

Harrington: For premium video, we're making shifts, as it's less about
the platform and more about associating with the right content. Unfortunately,
the majority of digital video lacks the quality, scale or experience most
consumers would regularly choose over TV content. If more digital video was
built around the social and interactive nature of its platform, it might be an
experience worth choosing over TV and ad dollars would follow.

Hartell: Money is earmarked for content that resonates and engages our
consumer. Our total market conversations go back to what's best for each
brand's communication goals, and convergence: the connected experience across
screens. At MediaVest, we believe our role in convergence is to recognize the
changing behavior and connect consumer experiences across screens, distribute
content across paid, owned and earned channels in real time and then measure
the impact on consumers and our clients' business.

Hernandez: We have already been using a holistic approach to video for
quite some time now and don't have these battles of 'shifting money from TV
to digital video.' Both media have their place in the marketing mix and the
decisions on where to place money have more to do with the goals we're trying
to accomplish and audience we are trying to reach. For major national
advertisers the need to plan and invest in both television and digital video
options is not an and/or choice. If you're not in both places you're missing
opportunities for your client.

Hukkanen: We are already comfortable doing this. Although arguably, we
are often times more comfortable than our clients. In order to gain greater
consideration within the 'TV landscape,' digital video sites, especially the
big ones-like Hulu, ABC.com, etc.-are going to have to start providing greater
flexibility in allowing media agencies to buy program-specific programming.

McAteer: On an agency level, many of our clients have greatly benefited
from shifts to digital media, taking advantage of hyper-targeting to generate
lower CPMs [cost per thousand viewers] and decreased waste. For the brands I manage,
we've generally approached this by taking things in incremental steps; there
will be no wholesale move into digital video. We evaluate our brands' targets,
their use of digital video relative to other vehicles, the cost, and most
importantly the efficiency of the acceptable content within digital video. For
those brands where it makes the most sense we will then add it as one piece of
our overall plan. Of course we have to deal with the issue of 'like for like'
GRPs. We have to solve for that. And the fact that Nielsen charges extra to
measure this on a brand-by-brand basis and it is not part of their standard
measurement package is causing issues for brands.

Walters: It will take two things to make me more comfortable with
shifting significant investment from traditional TV to digital video: 1) More
comprehensive cross-channel measurement, and 2) Fluid investment models with
networks that have multiplatform distribution, allowing us to optimize across
TV and digital properties based on performance. American Express has a
video-first mentality, so we're already striving to evaluate our plans by the
number of 'views' vs. GRPs [gross ratings points]. The challenge to date
has been establishing the value of a 'view' on one platform vs. another.

Weeks: Three areas need to improve in order for digital video to see
sizeable shifts from traditional TV: reach/scale, common metrics and guaranteed
brand safety. Reach/scale and common metrics have been topics of discussion for
a long time now. Once we have comparable reach/scale and common metrics such as
GRPs across mediums, the discussion becomes more focused on environments and
measurability, which will bode well for digital video. Guaranteed brand safety
is a critical area that needs to be sorted at the industry level in order to
give advertisers the comfort of shifting large shares of investment from
broadcast.

Williams:Based on the premise that not all impressions are
created equal, three years ago we started to re-evaluate video content based on
impact and effectiveness. Today we have a custom measurement strategy that
supports growth in video investments across all devices: TV, PC, mobile and
connected TVs. Best Buy is already heavily invested in digital video, so our
particular focus is to gain a deeper understanding of how people consume video
on these digital platforms. We are working to enhance the consumer experience
on these platforms through unique content and interactivity. Another proof
point for digital video is watching my 60-plus-year-old parents who live in a
small town in Texas stream content on their tablets. Mass adoption is close, if
not here.

What sorts of metrics or analyses are clients asking for that they didn't
seek five years ago?
Blankfein:
Clients are seeking engagement-flavored metrics more and
more. We term this broadly as 'stickiness,' regardless of the channel. We
have also seen a larger appetite for performance metrics around more granular
forms of media like unit length and high record-rate programming. It's being driven
by an appetite to be more cost effective, less wasteful, and most importantly,
more immersive.

Cardamone: Our ecosystem is so much more complex than it was five years
ago. The connected consumer makes non-linear decisions. Because of this,
cross-platform media measurement and attribution are hot topics. Clients not
only want to better understand the relationship among paid, owned and earned
media but they want to quantify it as well. The fusion of 'digital video'
with traditional TV GRPs is something we also might not have considered five
years ago-like oil and water-but here we are.

Cioffi: ROI. ROI on everything: attribution to sales, media synergies,
on threshold and saturation points, online vs. offline. The traditional metrics
of GRPs, reach and frequency, effective reach, share of voice, etc. are now
secondary to "Is my media investment moving my business?" Even now,
ROI as a metric is morphing into something new and evolving as paid, owned,
earned and shared become a truer reality. Linking in other "outcomes"
such as viral reach to the existing outcomes such as
"transactions" is going to be exciting.

Hagel: Five years ago, media reporting was conducted in somewhat of a
vacuum with different solutions for each media channel, while today, clients are
challenging us to deliver holistic exposure and metrics across all media types,
effectively moving closer to one uniformed channel currency. In addition,
engagement measurement and first-party client data targeting now drives how we
plan and buy media focusing in on content alignment and
syndication while tying media performance back to our specific
customers/prospects vs. our standard buying demo. It's becoming an ever
expanding cycle where we continue to evolve by creating data enhanced sub
segment targets successfully focusing as well as augmenting our qualified
consumer base.

Harrington: The questions haven't really changed. Clients still want to
know the ROI. What has changed is our ability to answer the question more
effectively through attribution modeling, media mix/econometric modeling and
improved capabilities in data gathering and analysis.

Hartell: New consumer behavior and an evolved media ecosystem call for
new measurement solutions. It's about measuring and trading on more than
viewership-focusing on each client's KPIs and ultimately measuring behavior and
real business results.

Hernandez: Brand health measures five years ago rarely tied back to
specific media, and most of the measurement we were getting in the media space
was all around digital metrics. As advertisers expand the number of media
platforms within campaigns, clients are looking to cross media effectiveness
studies to understand how each media type independently and holistically
delivers on consumer attitudes and perceptions. In addition, multi-touch
attribution modeling is allowing clients to understand how exposure to other
media impressions, including TV, contribute to advertisers' key performance
drivers and website traffic.

Hukkanen:Let me say that there are no metrics that are still in
play from five years ago, and that anything we measure today wasn't even a
discussion five years ago. Media has reinvented itself many times over in the
past decade and metrics and analyses are a huge part of that. For everything we
do, we ensure that we can measure its contribution to the business.

McAteer: First, the time frame for reporting has been one of the biggest
changes. As we spend more in digital media, reporting is expected to be
delivered in real time with much more granular levels of detail. That means a
greater focus on analysis rather than just data collection-we need to be able
to disseminate what it all means for the brand's business. An overall view on
how media elements are working together is becoming more critical. In the past,
we could issue separate reports for TV, print, radio, digital, search and so
on. Now there is a need to review how the combined elements are working in
tandem to deliver these results. Finally, we're thinking about ways to look at
results beyond just at the brand level and instead across multiple brands,
ensuring that we can help our clients determine where to invest their next
dollar.

Walters: We're doing a lot in the advanced TV space. American Express
launched a 24/7-365 Interactive TV brand channel with distribution to over 58
million households. Visitors have come to the channel in droves, staying for
substantial lengths of time to be entertained and learn about Amex. To level
the playing field and instill accountability, we've begun evaluating 'time
spent' and 'cost per 30 seconds spent interacting with brand content' across
channels. This enables us to look at the net-effective cost for driving a
viewer to our brand channel, compared to engagement for a TV spot, a banner
that drives consumers to our website, the brand's YouTube channel, an
interactive ad, etc.

Weeks: As media has become more accountable and is now an area of focus
throughout the C-suite, we have seen clients task us with broader business and
marketing related challenges. The types of analyses that we have seen and
increase around are: real-time reporting/analysis, predictive modeling and
long-term brand impact. 

Williams: The "ask" is similar to what it was five years ago:
Prove that the investment is driving the business. However, the metrics and
data available to answer those questions have improved, although they're still
not perfect. Starcom has created a client-specific, custom analysis to
understand the convergence of all media and its influence on other media channels,
consumer actions such as search, social conversations, and online traffic, as
well as Best Buy sales. Our analysis supports similar findings in a marketing
mix model, which gives our team the confidence these decisions are right for
today's marketplace and our business goals. As the analytics continue to
improve, we are better able to tailor our measurements so that recommendations
can be altered and adjusted in real time to ascertain changing consumer
behavior and evolving client priorities.

How is big data affecting the way you do the business? Has it provided
any insights that contradicted conventional wisdom and change the way you do
business?
Blankfein:
You can't stuff this genie back into the bottle. Advanced
analytics are now enabling us to identify key marketing and non-marketing
factors that contribute to our client's business. It certainly differs from
case to case, but we have learned through our own data analytics and supplied
insights that channel mix recommendations are now being influenced to more
timely and accurately reflect how people are living their lives, engaging with
messaging and sharing information and opinions in this fragmented media
landscape. As we get smarter on the data side, we have to remain nimble enough
to use the data intelligently and fold in the insights to focused communication
tasks. The biggest opportunity is to synch data directly into our planning,
buying and performance optimization tools. That's a huge effect, yes.

Cardamone: Big data has enhanced how we identify, connect and engage
with our existing and potential consumers. It has enabled us to go well beyond 'traditional' demo buying and gain deeper insights through more complex
segmenting and targeting across multiple platforms. While I don't think it has
necessarily altered conventional wisdom, it has given us a lot more to
think about. With an abundance of data out there that can be measured and
analyzed every which way, the real challenge is determining which data actually
matters. Asking the right questions and then determining the best application
of that data -- based on client priorities -- can impact results in
a meaningful way.

Cioffi: At Maxus, we have a process called 'relationship media.' Big
data is anchored at the beginning and the end. Big data gives us insights at
the beginning. One of its beauties is that we can see patterns with clarity
without the bias of an assumption and it gives us accountability at the end. Is
the plan working? How well? Where is it falling short? What can be optimized?
The granularity of big data is amazing. We can disaggregate a consumer base
into many meaningful segments-and track their changes. This is truly amazing
vs. just a few years ago.

In terms of contradicting conventional wisdom is the idea that one uniform plan
is working equally well in a host of local markets is not true. No matter how
well reasoned the R/F/flighting/media mix logic you have on paper, markets are
unique in how the consumers who live there react at the register. A lot of what
I do is utilize big data on a DMA level and create plans based on that.

Hagel: At Zenith our mantra is 'Live ROI' and we strive to reach,
resonate and react in live time which is powered by big data or as we call it,
using data as a weapon. It allows us to be quicker, smarter and cheaper in how
we approach media on behalf of our clients. It moves us away from syndicated
tools towards targeting off of actual live customers/prospects, which in turn
enables us to knock on doors vs. mass media communication. The common question
I receive from the industry is, What's your planning demo/target? My answer:
Our target evolves daily.

Harrington: Data plays a major role. We are actively moving beyond
Nielsen as a decision making tool. Tapping into other data sources like social,
set-top boxes and search, we have uncovered many insights that have resulted in
identifying both competitive advantages as well as overlooked, undervalued
programming.

Hartell: We are using data to inspire and personalize how we build
experiences for our clients. We've actually moved from optimizing and reporting
at the end of the process to inspiring at the beginning of the process.

Hernandez: Data has helped to fundamentally change the way we work on
behalf of our clients especially in the auto space. More than ever, we have the
ability to gauge -- sometimes in real time -- how effective our campaign
strategies are for a client or product and adjust when needed. The data
provides a deeper look into how consumers behave and helps us shape future campaigns.
This allows us to be more focused and ultimately deliver the ROI all clients
demand.

Hukkanen:Big data has become the foundation to all of our media
plans actually. Despite the fact that we've only been working with it for the
past few years, I almost can't remember planning without it, and I know for
certain that our plans wouldn't be as sound without it.

McAteer: This is a fascinating area of our industry right now. While it
holds a lot of promise for uncovering insights, it also takes a commitment in
terms of resources to make it a reality. We are undertaking an in-depth
project for one of our brands right now, and while the project is being
explored with a specific goal in mind, we really won't know the results until
we uncover them and test them out in the market. We fully expect to find
some surprises, but not anything that would fundamentally change the way we do
business. However, with the size of some of our brands' businesses, even a
small win can have a big impact to the bottom line.

Walters: Leveraging data to advance our work has become table stakes in
media and advertising, particularly as a means for extracting insights and
strengthening our communications plans. However, the biggest pitfall is that it
should not be viewed as the end-all-be-all...data is not a replacement for
instincts, nor does it take the place of unique and compelling storytelling. I
liken it to book smarts vs. street smarts...the most successful strategists I
work with strike a balance between the two, combining science -- learnings
gleaned from data -- with art -- discovery around human behavior -- to tap
into consumer passions.

Weeks: Big data helps us make smarter decisions. It has changed the way
we do business in that often times the media agency is at the intersection of
tremendous amounts of data-campaign related data, proprietary client data, and
publisher and third party data. This means the typical account management
structure no longer works, but rather, account leads need to be linked closely
with business intelligence people that can best manipulate and interpret this
data to come up with the best insights.

Williams:Data is affecting our business through multiple facets.
Growth of data and improved analysis has become increasingly useful in campaign
development around defining the business opportunities, gathering deeper
audience insights and delivering more personalized messaging to our consumers.
This approach is quite different from a few years ago when data collection
focused on measurement at the conclusion of a campaign. Today, clients assume
data should provide a quantitative answer for all questions. Media historically
has been a business that fuses art and science, but the abundance of data
available is tilting the client's expectations that all decisions are supported
by quantitative analysis.

Consumers are changing at a hyper pace and predicting their behaviors is still
not pure science. The gathering of data allows us to better understand
performance of past decisions, but it does not necessarily drive innovation. I
believe that being innovative in the current marketplace requires going back to
some 'old fashion' business basics, and building strong partnerships and
relationships with key media partners. We work closely and upstream in our
planning process with partners like Google/YouTube, ESPN, Twitter, Microsoft
and YuMe to ensure that media buys are not just a commodity, but allow us to
try new things that will work for our clients and stay ahead of the game.

It is said the media business will change more in the next five years
than it did in the last 50. What can you do to make sure you have the skill set
to take advantage of the opportunities the new media world will present?
Blankfein:
Listen. Learn. Apply.

Cardamone: Next five years...more like next five days! It is moving
faster than ever. Staying educated is important but being able to adapt is
critical. As a planner, having both foresight and flexibility primes you for
those roads less traveled. We need to think about our clients' business and the
media landscape a few years down the road so we can anticipate change and
create new opportunities because of it.

Cioffi: At Maxus, our motto is 'Lean Into Change.' And by accepting
these changes, it means we need to be prepared to walk away from the old. Maxus
is a media agnostic environment steeped in collaborative teams. We learn from
each other, push each other's professional boundaries. This gives me exposure
to people on the forefront of new ideas and experts in the field. This is an
opportunity to grow professionally, as well as provide a platform that allows
my clients to grow.

Hagel: Set the pace! Don't silo yourself but rather engage with and
understand all media-know enough to be dangerous-be a sponge whenever and wherever
possible, put yourself in the best position to take an action at all
times-there is knowledge and opportunity around every corner-and make sure to
write everything down. Challenge the industry, challenge your agency and
challenge your clients to take a qualified leap.

Harrington: Celebrate change as an opportunity to do bigger and better
things, never stop learning and adopt a digital and social mindset to
everything you do.

Hartell: As an industry, our role is to understand changing behavior,
and I believe the future of our industry will be shaped by screens. Regardless
of platform and technology, whether Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, mobile or
myriad other services and devices reshaping media, I believe in learning by
doing. Be an early adopter and more importantly, an early user.

Hernandez: With the amount of media fragmentation we're seeing it will
be critical that a media planner have a strong understanding of all the various
platforms advertisers will need to reach consumers. Getting this type of
knowledge requires time and persistence, meeting with companies, pairing out
what is a scalable opportunity against a passing fad. Making smart strategic
decisions will require having a strong team around you and subject matter
experts who are immersed in these areas. This is how I approach my own team to
ensure we don't miss the next big opportunity or place the wrong bet on a new
platform. It's my job to make sure the team is exhausting options across the
entire spectrum and using them in concert whenever possible to deliver the best
results for our clients.

Hukkanen:I think that to be successful in the future media
world, it's less of a skill set as it is a mindset. As I tell everyone who
comes into our organization...there are two key characteristics that will make
you successful in this ever-changing media landscape: curiosity and
passion. 

McAteer: This is what I love most about this business. You don't
have to change assignments to learn and grow, since the consumer-and,
therefore, the industry-is always changing. Yes, technology is accelerating the
pace of change, but change has always been an integral part of the business. In
terms of keeping pace, I attended [the Consumer Electronic Show] this year, as
well as many other industry forums. Both MediaCom and GroupM host several
sessions throughout the year on emerging trends for clients, employees and
partners. And of course, the blogs, news feeds and articles in the trades make
my commute on public transportation a great time to connect every day.

Walters: Generalists need to be adept at synthesizing complex
information from experts so that they're able to have a conversational
understanding of whatever technology is on a client's radar. I try to
accomplish this by meeting regularly with the big players -- for example, Google,
Apple, Twitter, Facebook, etc. -- and approaching them as extensions of my own
team. Additionally, since change happens so fast, we hold people on our team
accountable for being subject experts, empowering them to identify trends and
up-and-coming companies with the potential to become the next game changer.
Regardless of how the media landscape evolves, a strong understanding of brand
positioning as well as the target's mindset and motivation are key to career
success and client impact.

Weeks: Three key areas: 1) Be a consumer of all media. 2) Talk to people
outside your industry/category. 3) Testing-Encourage clients to test, but be
prepared with a measurement plan. Learning about why something didn't work
is as important as learning about a success.

Williams:I am fortunate to be a part of an organization at
Starcom that has the capability and focus to relentlessly change and challenge
conventional thinking. I leverage my peers and team for experience and new
ideas. I have the privilege of leading a multi-agency Publicis team across
Starcom, Razorfish, Big Fuel and Tapestry, which allows me to be exposed to
leadership and resources by some of the best in the business across a variety
of capabilities. Being a successful leader in the media business requires
understanding consumer technology and the changing business environment, along
with listening skills, a confident team and the ability to find where all those
points converge.

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Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.