The Blade, a division of Block Communications Inc., is the most trusted local source of news in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan and has been since 1835. The Blade has evolved with the times, growing from a great newspaper to a digitally savvy provider of news and information. Blade employees live and work in the communities we cover, and reflect the communities' diverse population, ideas and contributions.
The Blade is looking for a Digital Sales Strategy Manager to support our advertising team by using sales and market data to identify prospects, maximize digital offerings for clients, assist with sales proposals and close digital advertising business.
The Digital Sales Strategy Manager is responsible for:
• Strategizing with the sales team to develop effective digital advertising campaigns for clients, identifying needs and making recommendations that utilize options on toledoblade.com as well as third party solutions such as Targeted Display Video, Streaming TV (CTV OTT), Streaming Radio (Pandora Spotify), Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), Targeted Content Marketing, Paid Search (Google Bing) and remarketing on multiple channels.
• Collaborate with the Director of Sales and Marketing to organize and lead training for both sales leadership and sales staff on digital products, tactics and analytics.
• Work closely with sales leadership and sales representatives to prepare and analyze proposals for clients that predict digital advertising performance using budgets and targets to optimize and meet campaign goals.
• Attend and actively participate in sales calls along with sales staff/leadership for high-value sales targets.
• Ensure that digital campaign reports are in line with client expectations and needs.
• Actively communicate with The Blade's key digital vendors to maintain a productive and mutually beneficial relationship.
• Study past sales data to determine trends in productivity.
• Collaborate with other internal departments on strategic initiatives.
• Meet or exceed goals and service levels as set by the Director of Sales and Marketing.
• Other duties as assigned.
Education and Experience:
• 3-5 years in digital advertising sales or related work.
• Undergraduate degree in communications, advertising, marketing or related field or commensurate experience.
• Must be digitally savvy and be skilled in marketing and sales technologies.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills and the ability to solve problems creatively.
• Ability to be self-directed and to set priorities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in an active environment.
• Knowledge of media options and budgeting.
The Blade is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)