Brand & Advertising Sales Manager
Gulf News
Total years of experience :21 years, 4 Months
Key Responsibility Areas
Revenue generation & business development across print & online media for Gulf News magazines
Currently heading print & online sales for alpha & WatchTime magazines
Sponsorship sales for ground events for advertisers & readers of alpha & WatchTime magazines
Innovating & adding value to clients campaigns across mediums handled & our social media
Client and Advertising Agency relationship management
Have also sold magazines in other genres like Friday (Family), Wheels (Automotive), Aquarius (Women’s Lifestyle) and Scene (Leisure & Entertainment) in my 7 year tenure at Gulf News
Have handled and successfully delivered on revenue targets ranging upto 25 Million Dirhams an year
Management Functions
Annual budgeting and pricing strategies for the media products handled
Strategizing with editorial & marketing teams for product development & to increase reader value
Motivating and managing my team to achieve their individual targets
Regularly measure performance of the team, & conduct appraisals and trainings when needed
Working together with the editorial, design and marketing teams for client solutions like PR coverage, advertorials, photo shoots, marketing tie-ups etc.
Achievements
Consistently over-achieved the brand and revenue targets the last 4 years in a row
Proposed & successfully carried out innovative sales ideas incorporating multiple mediums such as events, print, tablet, online and social media to clients
Generated revenue across all new mediums such as Tablet Apps, social media, voucher books etc.
Cross sold other mediums in the Gulf News Media group such as print, internet and radio
Obtained a merit in an internal sales program titled “Selling in Recession”
1. Was a part of the founding team that launched MINT, the business paper from HT Media Limited, in association with The Wall Street Journal
2. Handling events and industry associations - event tie-ups, marketing and sales
3. Liaison with leading Indian industry bodies like CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM for events on various industries and topics
4. Coordinating with the above mentioned industry bodies and internal departments to jointly conceptualize, promote, monetize and conduct events.
5. Conceptualizing avenues to create excitement and interest around events e.g. response activities such as visitor / reader quizzes done for the 9th Auto Expo 2008.
6. Providing various avenues for event partners and exhibitors, to promote their events through the medium of print, by liasoning with internal editorial and design departments to create special advertorials / features / pullouts in MINT related to the event topic.
7. Arranging on ground presence during various events to the MINT circulation and subscription teams, to promote the brand and augment their sales.
1. Handled advertising sales for the group’s business channels in English and Hindi languages. This included pure airtime sales as well as sales of special properties, innovations and business events
2. Creating, providing and marketing effective communication solutions for corporate clients through on-screen and on-ground innovations
3. Created and marketed innovative programming such as “Bike to Super Bike Contest”, wherein India’s top automobile designer was roped in to redesign and transform 3 lucky winners motorcycles into super bikes.
4. Conceptualized and organized a special award function for the Real Estate Industry. This was a National level Award Ceremony that recognized achievements of Real Estate industry and generated good revenue for the organization
5. Maximizing shares of client spends towards network channels vis-à-vis competition
6. Client and advertising agency relationship management
1. Handled advertising sales for the group’s news channel Zee News. This included pure airtime sales as well as sales of special programs and on-screen innovations.
2. Generating Revenue for the organization from new clients and agencies
3. Developing new clients for the organization through concept selling and onscreen innovations like cricket score bug, aston bands, vignettes etc.
4. Collection of client outstanding dues towards the channel
1. Handled advertising sales for educational clients for the Times of India newspaper and the group’s weekly education supplement Education Times.
2. Planning and successfully selling periodic features that generated additional revenue for the organization.
3. Planning and organizing various educational fairs and events in association with leading players like Amity University, Career Launcher, Professional Tutorials, The Princeton Review and Rau’s IAS Study Circle. Successfully organized close to 25 education events successfully in the period 2003-2004.