iHeartResearch: Radha Subramanyam on Media, Metrics and Mentoring

After receiving her doctorate Radha taught for a couple of years before beginning her media career quotI always wanted to work in mediaquot she explained quotbut I wasn39t exactly sure where What I did know was that I wanted to be part of the actionquot And she has been in the center of the action ever sinceIn this interview Radha talks about her career in research the differences and comingling of classical and new data research metrics research principles mentorship and attaining worklife balanceCharlene Weisler Can you tell me how you got into research as a careeramp160 Radha Subramanyam It was logical for me with a doctorate to start in research but I actually started on an internal consulting team at NBCU working on all types of projects in several departments When I finished my rotation I wound up in research which was a good fit for someone highly analytical and driven by curiosity amp160I was able to work in all areas of research amp160programming branding marketing ratings ad sales digital amp160the entire spectrum I moved to Viacom and after more than a decade in pure TV I moved into pure play digital at Yahoo Next I had the opportunity to be part of the Nielsen McKinsey joint venture which included a deep dive into social mediaamp160 I have been at iHeartMedia for four years now and have been building a next generation insights function amp160We are transitioning research into the Big Data universeCharlene How do you marry classic research with new data analyticsRadha I think of data as a way to tell the consumer39s story It39s a way to illuminate and understand the consumer journey through various touchpoints Both classic and new datasets have robustness statistical meaning and thinking grounded in years of practical research Adding digital dataamp160 to broadcast data has more granular capabilities and might offer a more interesting story At iHeartMedia we have tons of digital data and classical research databases that we merge together We have announced investments in companies like Unified Social and Jelli to enable us to think of broadcast media in a digital way and to activate broadcast in the programmatic universe The blending of classical thinking with the expansion of big data is where the action isCharlene What metrics are most important to youRadha We look at a whole range of metrics depending on what problem we are trying to solve At iHeartMedia we are strong in both digital and broadcast performance and can now talk about the listener across devices with a high degree of granularity amp160what interests her through the day what she buys and what drove those decisions amp160We are in the results business and harness all ROI capabilitiesCharlene How are you able to bring all the behavior back to ROIRadha iHeartMedia has over 850 radio stations several TV shows 20000 live events concerts and festivals each year and we reach over a quarter of a billion people in an average month This is massive scale and we are in a growth mode We can measure ROI in many ways amp160Nielsen Catalina tied to Nielsen audio for example can literally show how we can move product off the shelves We also have multiple attribution models to ascertain the impact of marketingCharlene How does research need to be done today vs years agoRadha We39ve had multiple datasets for decades All of those datasets amp160from digital to ratings to surveys amp160were siloed Now data is a core asset and we try to stitch it all togetheramp160 And we bring in outside datasets to enhance the internal dataset We have partnerships to build something unique and different Today we are data creators not just data analysts amp160We have become product people For many this is a scary scenario but for me it is exciting and full of opportunity If you are comfortable with uncertainty if you are adventurous and if you are open to rethinking things every few weeks analytics is for youCharlene What is your research processRadha I always focus on the business problem and then look at the dataset and toolkit to solve the problem at hand We used to count on the facts now I am more comfortable using data as a starting point and then taking a leap of faithCharlene How do we get the next generation interested in a career in researchRadha We currently have significant interest in research and analytics from students But how you train them is important You need more investment in grooming and training Hire for smarts and not for skills Hire those who are nimble in their thinking and truly curiousCharlene Tell me your thoughts on mentoringRadha It is very valuable and important for both the mentor and mentee It helps me keep in touch with the next generation I invest a lot of energy mentoring young women who seem to lose confidence in the STEM fields There is no one place to ascribe blame though amp160We need larger cultural shifts to young women really engaged in STEM fieldsCharlene How do you attainamp160worklife balanceRadha That is a misnomer I don39t know anyone who is truly balanced There are times when parts of your work command a lot of you and vice versa For me it is about being flexible in both my personal and professional lifeCharlene What is your philosophy regarding career success in researchRadha Stop thinking of media through the classic channels approach It is not just TV it is not just radio and it is not just digital Think of the whole consumer journey and you will be much better off We are holding on to things we will need to shed You need to be willing to be flexible and you will have funThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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iHeartResearch: Radha Subramanyam on Media, Metrics and Mentoring

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Charlene Weisler

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