How do you handle your ad products

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Published by: Charles Eggleston , AccuWeather.com, us
Published on: May 18, 2012

Hello AdMonsters!
Just reaching out to see how other publishers manage their ad products. Do you have an Ad Products Manager in your company who is responsible for discussing new ad products and specs with sales,tech and product departments or is that managed jointly by Adops, Tech and Sales etc? I'd love to know what process you have in place.

Thanks in advance!
Charles

Comments

Paid Member
#1 Brian Lineweaver - June 22, 2012

Hi Charles,

I'd agree with Katie's comments that a person to manage the new ad product throughout the process is needed. I've seen it done with a dedicated Project Management function that coordinates across all of the groups (ad ops, product, sales, IT/Dev, etc.), which insured representation from all of the various groups/stakeholders. But, as long as your Product Manager is serving that same function and coordinating across the org and resolving potential conflicts among competing priorities, then that should cover the Project Manager role.

One thing I’d also add to the list is to have your Product group/team make sure Products are viewed at a portfolio level so you can manage the intersections and also the resources required to deliver those Products.

Feel free to contact me at blineweaver@admonsters.com if you’d like to chat in more detail.

Brian

#2 Katie Tankersley - June 22, 2012

Hey Charles... I'm at ajc.com and my role is new - Manager of Digital Ad Products. Essentially, among other duties, I am the connection between the digital newsroom and the sales/ops teams. We meet weekly to vet new product pitches or vendor pitches and I'm responsible for project managing the implementation of any new products that we determine are valuable for both sales and content. The ops team always has a seat at the table for discussion to ensure we're accounting for back-end implementation concerns like tagging and reporting, etc. I'm relatively new, started this past January, so it's all a work in progress but evolving well. Feel free to reach out to chat if you like: katie.tankersley@coxinc.com and good luck.

#3 Gemma Screen - June 6, 2012

Ours is a collaboration between Ops, Tech and Sales. It's really hard to get your sales teams buy in if they arent involved in the process from the outset.

Also, the sales guys will know which clients are most likley to be open to new products and try them out.

Gemma

#4 Martin Calhoun - May 23, 2012

Charles,

You can reach me at 612-673-7598. Email is martin.calhoun@startribune.com

Martin

#5 Martin Calhoun - May 18, 2012

Charles,

We launched a custom ad cell that handles exactly what you describe, and it is working well. They are the interface between Ad Ops, Content and Sales. It has been working well for us.

Drop me a note if you would like to discuss in detail.

Martin

#6 Charles Eggleston - May 22, 2012

Thanks for replying Martin. I'd definitely like to discuss further. What’s the best way to reach you?