Cablefax The Magazine - July 2014 - 17

CABLE MARKETER OF THE YEAR
Becky Jones
Viamedia
Never underestimate the power of an internship. Becky
Jones, newly promoted to SVP of Marketing and Research
at Viamedia, is living proof of that.
As a student at Eastern Kentucky University, Jones
had a summer internship at Insight Communications. " I
decided right then I was going to go into cable in some
way, " she says. Her first job was in hospitality, however.
" I was just waiting for the opportunity to get into cable. "
Eventually she gained a research position with TCI just
as it was being acquired by AT&T. When Jeff Carter left
AT&T to start Viamedia, Jones joined him, becoming one
of the firm's original employees and helping to establish
its sales support infrastructure.
Now as a 14-year veteran of cable, including 12 with Viamedia,
Jones, one of her company's most senior women, is
" passionate about giving back. " That means doing all she
can to provide the opportunity to others that she had; not
surprisingly, she's a big advocate of internships. " We have
had interns here every summer, " she says, noting she is a
mentor through WICT and the T. Howard Foundation. Appearing
at college career fairs also is a priority for Viamedia,
she says.
Thanks in part to Jones, Viamedia this year announced
a program to donate $2 million in advertising time for The
Ad Council's campaigns that support United Way, Feeding
America and Goodwill.
With main offi ces in NY City and Lexington, Kentucky,
Viamedia lets MVPDs do what they do best, Jones says:
create satisfi ed customers with their video, voice, data
and now increasingly security systems. " They contract
with us, " Jones says, " to outsource their local advertising
sales... we take care of everything, sales, back
offi ce, production... it's turnkey. " It's also focus and
service. " Since advertising sales business is Viamedia's
only business, our focus is wholly on the success of our
MVPD partners... When they grow, we grow. " Customer
service also is key.
" Our business has to
be about that, " she
says.
Jones has two
major roles: primary
oversight for
branding, marketing
and positioning the
company to general
media markets to
drive awareness and
new business; and
providing support to
the sales team. She
is most proud of the
series of 13 print
ads that position the
company. Winner of
a Silver Addy award, the distinctive ads with their purple
background appear regularly in cable trades. " We're very
strategic about where we place our ads and how we
promote our brand, " she says.
Of course we have to ask, 'Purple?' " We wanted
INTERNALLY GRATEFUL: Jones
became obsessed with a cable career
during an internship with Insight.
something memorable and different, eye catching and
that stood out from the crowd, " Jones says. " When we
started Viamedia, we had grand plans to change the
color in our logo periodically, but quickly realized purple
set us apart. Now when you see a purple ad, you know
it's Viamedia. "
Positioning Viamedia, Jones says, also means doing a
lot of affi liation with groups like NCTC, ACA, WICT, NCTA
and many others. " We have to make sure we are staying
ahead of technology and trends, attending the right
[industry] meetings, sponsoring the right events, getting
on the right panels. "
Supporting Viamedia's sales team of about 300 with research
means providing " tools, presentations and research
to help them sell, " she says.
Jones' efforts are working. Since signing WOW! as its fi rst
partner, Viamedia has grown to 53 partners in 66 DMAs,
400 employees and has relationships with more than 12,000
unique advertisers.
As Viamedia President/CEO Mark Lieberman says,
The 7 dots in Viamedia's logo represent the 7 original
team members of the company, including Jones.
Viamedia sees advertising moving toward impressionbased
sales. It works with Nielsen and even more with
Rentrak, Jones says.
Cablefax: The Magazine
July 2014
" Becky has been essential to our rise... she has proven
to be a visionary leader, and her deep industry knowledge
and insights are highly valued as we look to the
future. " That's what you get when you hire a former
Insight intern.
- Seth Arenstein
cablefaxmag.com
17
http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - July 2014

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