Director, Advertising Market Development (Cars.com)

The Director of Advertising Market Development will lead a team whose goal is to develop and increase Cars.com’s advertising revenue base and strengthen key advertiser relationships.  The individual will accomplish this by developing packaging strategies and analysis, as well as to:

 Serve as champion of sales strategies designed to demonstrate Cars.com’s core advertising product value.  Provide sales strategy guidance and leadership for the national, direct, and affiliate advertising teams that grow revenue and increase ROI. Coordinate the development of sales pitches for national clients and dealer group clients and prospectsLead team that will conduct market analysis, audience research, and presentation creation to develop consensus among internal stakeholders.  Provide frequent status updates to Cars.com senior management regarding team goals and plans. Manage Co-op staff, provide strategic direction and internal Cars.com tactical guidance for the growing Cars.com co-op advertising program

 

Major responsibilities/Project: 

Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesLead team that develops unique and compelling analysis and communication that supports advertising value throughout the sales cycle by identifying creative solutions, developing ideas and products, drafting proposal documents, pricing the product or solution, and analyzing the post-sales success.Collaborate with sales management to develop strategies to increase revenue from Cars.com key advertising customersDrive efficiencies within the advertising sales organization through consolidation of data repositories, analysis and market assessments.  Oversee team responsible for summarizing third party research reports and communicating impact on Cars.com business. Oversee team use of web analytics tools to provide answers to business questions.Demonstrate initiative to identify opportunities, create solutions, and assist in attainment of all three advertising team’s revenue goals.Develop unique ways to communicate Cars.com product proposition to key advertiser customers through client specific analysisAdvance the development of manufacturer co-op initiatives for application across the Cars.com business.Oversee close collaboration with Dealer Products’ development of price-to-value analytical ratio for new and existing customers based on market size, dealer product penetration, competitive environment, and Cars.com’s business direction and goals  Recommend and implement long-term profitability strategies, including market positioning, assessment, pricing parameters, and risk profiles

Supervisory ResponsibilitiesPosition will manage four person Market Development team, with potential additions to headcount in future

 

Experience/Education/Requirements: 

 MBA preferred, Undergraduate degree required.8+ years of professional experience in advertising, marketing, business development, or strategic planning; management experience preferred.Thorough knowledge of online automotive advertising environment.  Specific experience with Cars.com products, clients or other key relationships helpful.Independent critical thinker capable of planning and organizing team time while managing leadership priorities.  The position requires ability to manage multiple projects across own team and sales organization.  Flexibility and adaptability to short turnaround times and client meetings critical, as well as to the rapid changes in the online advertising business environment. Knowledge of audience segmentation and its impact on advertising goalsStructured approach to problem solving and attention to detail paramount in presentation review.  Will supervise analytical team so must be comfortable managing and contributing to the preparation of detailed quantitative analysis. Candidate must have strong communication skills and should be able to prepare and deliver concise and impactful presentation to support business arguments and plans. Team player and leader with the ability to navigate across a variety of departments and  levels both within the Cars.com organization and our key customers’ organizationsPolished presentation and negotiation skills.  Excellent project and time management skills required.   Candidate should be extremely comfortable with Secondary Research tools, Excel, and PowerPoint.Travel up to 20% of time to clients, prospects, and markets.