Moving Forward in a Media Career by Moving Back

My first year out of college I developed a firm desire to make it to the top of the retail chain and swore to never look backamp160 As part of my original quotfiveyear planquot I had worked my way up to management at a retail store in Madison Wisconsin with no intention of stopping or changing pathsamp160 Many people don39t realize that retail management essentially involves the same elements of overseeing your own business financials hiring talent planning sales strategy inventory marketing etcIn year four my fiveyear plan was almost complete when I decided to hit resetamp160 With a somewhat intense fear of the unknown but an underlying need for something more I moved on from my wellbuilt fully functioning quotsmall businessquot and relocated to New York CityWith no firm vision of where I wanted to take my career an old friend pointed me to a job post from DISH Media Sales for a Sales Coordinator positionamp160 The previous skills I39d learned working in retail were nowhere to be found in this entrylevel job descriptionamp160 What was this foreign language I was reading aboutamp160 Linearamp160 Clustersamp160 General Marketamp160 Addressableamp160 Every bit of the terminology was new to meI had my work cut out for me but something about this opportunity attracted me and I felt aamp160new fiveyear plan formulatingamp160 And with four years of salesdriven retail experience under my belt I knew I had the foundation to succeedThrough my interview prep research I began to understand the basics of advertising and how brands were placing their messages on networks and programs relevant to their brandamp160 But I began to realize this job was part of something much biggeramp160 The conversations turned into Where is this industry goingamp160 What39s nextamp160 How do we get thereamp160 It was the start of something different and it was somewhere that would allow me to be in control of my own career projectamp160 This was my resetI quickly found out that things in media sales change every dayamp160 It39s not just quotspots and dotsquotamp160there39s innovation industry firstsamp160and a consistent need for education across the marketplaceamp160 My own education began with addressable advertising the hot topic at DISH Media Sales and one that I needed to immerse myself in fastamp160 quotYou39re telling me my neighbor and I could see different ads on the same network at the same timeamp160 Because of my buying habitsamp160 Hold on amp8230 they can target me based off where I shop and what I buyamp160 They can tell I have a catquotamp160 That resonated with my retail experienceI would never have ever sold different people with different style preferences or body types the same outfit so why would we send the same advertising to everyoneamp160 I was hookedamp160I caught on quickly so was promoted quickly from my initial Sales Coordinator workamp160 As addressable started to pick up team roles were changingamp160 I stepped in with no training and had to learn how the addressable business really workedamp160 For me the behindthescenes stuff was the most fun to work on amp160the extensive data the campaign analysis the deeper relationships with agenciesamp160 This product was different from anything else on the market and it was thrilling to see it evolve and change day by dayamp160But the everchanging landscape of media salesamp160and the introduction of Sling TV made me realize I was missing out on how digital advertising works I had been working at DISH for a year and a half and I was loving it but I felt the need to switch gears once againamp160 So I took an opportunity at a new company to learn to quotspeak digitalquot in a new ecosystem with the intention of getting as much as I could out of itamp160 And although that experience was extremely valuable in its ownright I realized that the addressable space was still growing around me amp160and I needed to be part of itamp160Dipping my toe in the digital advertising pool actually helped me make my way back to DISH Media Sales and secure my current position as the Manager of Addressableamp160 My better understanding of digital advertising helped me jump right in to the evolving addressable landscape If you think back to the very core of addressable as the right advertisement to the right person at the right time it is about the person and really doesn39t matter how they are watching content whether it is through traditional or digital televisionamp160And that brings me to where I am today bridging the gap between traditional television and digital through crossplatform addressable campaignsamp160and writingamp160and rewriting my path forward every dayamp160amp160I have learned that there is no reset button no set path amp160only experiences and skills that you are consistently developing and adjusting as you growamp160Coming to New York and proving myself in an industry that can be cutthroat tiringamp160and stressful was among one of the scariest and most rewarding things I have doneamp160 I am thankful that it brought me to media sales where every day is different and the business is progressing quicker than ever into uncharted territoryIf you no longer wish to receive updates from DISH please click hereamp160Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Moving Forward in a Media Career by Moving Back

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Shauna Brown

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Moving Forward in a Media Career by Moving Back

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