Many local media companies now rely on a single sales force to sell both traditional and print advertising—but that might be a shortsighted strategy, says a new report from Borrell Associates. The company found major differences between companies that employ digital-only sales forces and those that instead employ a “digital first” strategy.
Borrell finds that the number of digital-only sales reps—employed by legacy media companies (newspapers, radio and TV) has dropped 23 percent since 2009 as companies focus instead on the idea that “a single sales (and content) force can do it all, and that everything should be focused first on online publishing and sales.” On average, 46 of local media companies now have at least one online-only account executive, compared to 60 percent in August 2009.
