Editor's Note: Solutions for Tough Times May 05, 2008 May 2008
By Jennifer Juergens
You don't have to read the latest headlines to know that there is a recession going on. And the media industry—especially traditional media, like television, radio, magazines and newspapers—has seen ad revenue drop considerably. Even Incentive magazine is not immune.
But there's also an upside. In our cover story, "How to Save Media," writer A.E. Smith points out that online advertising is up, and to compete in the current market some companies are taking a more strategic approach to selling. The story starts on here. One of our cover subjects, Scott Andrews, is helping those companies. He started MediaAscent to sell reward programs to media companies. He says to survive, media salespeople will have to become consultants, and by having an effective rewards program, companies can help salespeople make these changes by rewarding behavior—rather than just sales figures.
In Rob Carey's story, "Make a Second-Half Rally" we also touch on the economy. Incentive experts say firms can adjust their programs to get the most out of 2008 in this down economy. You'll see how. You'll also see what's happening to the budgets and management of sales incentive programs in our latest original research, the 2008 Sales IQ Report. That starts on page 36.
New this month, Incentive welcomes guest columnist Christi Gibson, the executive director of Recognition Professionals International (RPI), formerly NAER. Her column, called Recognition@Work will focus on workplace issues, and online Gibson will answer questions at www.incentivemag.com/recognition. Gibson is also featured in our Incentive Interview this month (page 22).
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