From "A dedicated follower of fashion,'' a profile of Chief Marketing Officer Maryam Banikarim, in yesterday's Financial Times special report on digital and social media marketing:
Every morning, Banikarim takes the subway from her home in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood to Gannett's midtown offices, where she oversees the 100-year-old media company's marketing efforts.
Her commuting habits are part of Banikarim's policy of being "externally focused." Indeed, she works from New York, 200 miles from GCI's headquarters outside Washington. "My goal is to bring the outside in," she says.
Instead of spending all day in team meetings, poring over details of marketing plans, Banikarim, 43, prefers to be out in the city, holding meetings, attending presentations from other companies, and learning what some of Gannett's media properties are doing to use technology to engage their audience.
Read the full story on Page 3 of this pdf.
Earlier: GCI said renting NYC space for new online unit.
Related: Google's single-biggest office complex is in Chelsea.
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| Banikarim |
Her commuting habits are part of Banikarim's policy of being "externally focused." Indeed, she works from New York, 200 miles from GCI's headquarters outside Washington. "My goal is to bring the outside in," she says.
Instead of spending all day in team meetings, poring over details of marketing plans, Banikarim, 43, prefers to be out in the city, holding meetings, attending presentations from other companies, and learning what some of Gannett's media properties are doing to use technology to engage their audience.
Read the full story on Page 3 of this pdf.
Earlier: GCI said renting NYC space for new online unit.
Related: Google's single-biggest office complex is in Chelsea.
For those keeping count, number of times the following words appear in this story:
ReplyDeleteGannett: 12
Banikarim: 11
Martore: 1
geez Jim as time goes on you appear more and more jealous of Maryam. Please don' t compare your own lack of success to her accomplishments in life. You will lose every time and feel bad.
ReplyDeleteWhat a breath of fresh air. Ok Founders have at her. Lets here all the same tripe. Heaven forbid a woman rises to success in this company.
ReplyDeleteSee what you don't get Jim is the business community in NYC think the world of her. You and your pals are so fixated on tearing people down that you have no idea what goes on in the real world. Its time for a couple of the former marketing folks that she successfully led to the door to chime in.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, what sites has she visited?
ReplyDelete4:07 writes: "Heaven forbid a woman rises to success in this company."
ReplyDeleteActually, the woman who's really risen to success is Gracia Martore.
Shouldn't Banikarim be arranging for the trades to profile her?
If Gracia has an issue she will deal with it. Once again you attack a successful woman. Jim take it to the bank, NYC business leaders and CEOs kniw and respect MB. They never heard of you
DeleteJim has it right. Banikarim is all about Banikarim.
ReplyDeleteWhere is her PR effort to put Martore front and center. Martore is one of the few female CEOs in the world.
Or better yet, isn't it her job to put GANNETT front and center, not herself?
In an e-mail, a reader notes that Banikarim told the FT she brought in an agency to train her team on how to use social media.
ReplyDeleteGannett has a full-time director of social media, Jodi Gersh. And the company has countless other people who've been using social media for years.
Why was it necessary to hire an outside firm to do this training? What did that cost the shareholders?
Obviously it was. How you doing with other story Dr ZZZZ? This is what you are concerned about?
Deleteto 4:07:
ReplyDeleteOver the years, plenty of women have risen to success in this company. Banikarim is not one of them.
....unless you have a definition of "rises to success in this company" that we don't know about.
I'd never have gotten on The Facebook without the two-day seminar.
ReplyDeleteI admit, I had no idea that Ms. Banikarim was a member of the Traveling Wilburys.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPAwrtm-JK8
Jim you have rarely if ever written anything positive about a successful woman within Gannett. Hell you even encouraged folks to take Jodi G and you had t even heard of her.,there is a word for that......
ReplyDelete5:22 Hilarious! Because, of course, I write only positively about all the men. (Hi, Craig! How's retirement?)
ReplyDeleteYou are partly correct in that the majority of the comments that you generate are negative but you have a palatable resentment toward powerful women. Refute all you want but you sur have a problem with women in leadership roles
DeleteI'm sick of reading about this woman!
ReplyDeleteGranted, if she'd boosted the stock price through innovation and creativity, and had been responsible for hiring thousands of new employees (ie, Steve Jobs) then it would be deserved. But that is far from the case here.
I've seen lots of smoke and mirrors, but little substance.
Great leaders let their work stand for itself, and avoid the limelight.
5:48 Banikarim has no idea how to lead that way. "Avoid the limelight" would kill her!
ReplyDeleteAs far as Jodi Gersh is concerned, Jim defended her from what I recall.
Banikarim has under-managed the social media at Gannett. There are so many journalists and marketers who are utilizing social media extremely well at Gannett. I credit Gersh for some of that and the journalists themselves. Banikarim is just now "learning" social media, as she herself states in the article.
Jim's not attacking Banikarim, just her style of "look at me, look at me". He's right to question why the article isn't more about Gannett..
Get out of Manhattan Maryam. You might learn a thing or two about being humble.
I guess lunching and hobnobbing in NYC with "other companies" is more important to her than working to help fix Gannett.
ReplyDeleteShe is in her own world. Sad.
So much vitrioloic jealousy. Keep doing what you're doing Maryam. Jimmy and his crew of under achieves historically have to attack successful leaders in order to make themselves feel better and more accomplished. When they look in the mirror they know it so they come to the blog and suddenly feel better.
DeleteWe should all have a problem with ineffective PEOPLE in leadership roles.
ReplyDeleteI suspect 4:07, 4:10, 5:18, and 5:22 are all the same person.
ReplyDeleteThey could use a dictionary. Or even spell check.
Ouch. Snap! U so clever
DeleteWe should all have a problem with ineffective people who whine at this blog. Especially when that's all they have done for years.
ReplyDeleteBanikarim has not hired a single man since she started at Gannett.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone prove otherwise?
Stop your griping about powerful women. She seems to be on a mission.
Sorry 3:22 but you are wrong. The nice thing is I don't have to prove a thing to you. But I love the idea that you resent her for hiring a number of well educated, successful women. That alone means she is doing the right thing. WOMAN power baby !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL 4:07 as your comment suggests your new to Gannett.
ReplyDeleteWomen long ago broke into executive positions including at three of Gannett’s largest papers -- Arizona Republic, Indy Star and the Cincinnati Enquirer (Publisher, VP of Sales/Circ and Editorial are all women now) years ago.
Arizona’s ultimately led the newspaper division. Matore leading all of Gannett is further proof.
Regarding Banikarim, Fast Company’s inclusion of her in a group of “top ten thinkers” really seemed to prove she’s anything but given the example she cited.
It’s time for meaningful, bottom-line contributions.
Nice speech. Doesn't excuse the comments in this string.
DeleteThe real issue is no publisher of distinction writes much about Hopkins so he really goes after any Gannett executive that gets good press. The only award he ever received was for coverage of the Newseum a non Gannett entity. So basically his resentment is based in envy. Keep attacking Maryam Jim, I'm sure there is another Mirror Ball in your future.
ReplyDeleteNice try, MS Maryam, but arrogance, ineptness, selfishness, crassness, deceptiion knows no gender. But it sure defines you.
ReplyDeleteTrying to slap a sexist label on Jim is absurd and you know it...but it's been the only creative thing you've attempted to do since arriving on the scene.
As for bringing the outside in...you're doing a heckuva job by hiring all of your out of work cronies.
Now about that marketing thing you're supposed to be doing? When are you going to get around to that?
Look forward to your Back on the Road AGAIN to all those Cannes parties you crashed last year on the Gannet dime.
Let’s see 6:42 PM, since everything really boils down to results…Jim’s created a blog that’s long been proven a valuable source to Gannetters, including as a source for others following Gannett (one of which has been the WSJ). Banikarim’s done what of note since her arrival at Gannett?
ReplyDelete6:54, I assume you know nothing about results if those are your guidelines.
ReplyDeleteFail. Fail, your post. Fail, your life.
4:07 4:10 5:18 5:22 6:27 6:30 6:36 6:42 6:56
ReplyDeleteYou are the same person and there is one golden rule about posting on a blog: don't do it when you've been drinking.
Geez....have some coffee and calm down.
Nice to see you read your own blog Jim
DeleteCalm down, Maryam. Jim didn't attack you. He merely pointed out yet another of your self-serving "interviews." will we have to lay another $40,000 for another ad in Ad Age congratulating you for being out and about?
ReplyDeleteSee you at the Carlton Hotel soon. Have another $400 bottle of wine with Lee Jones for all of us!
Was lucky enough to meet Ms. Banikaram on her visit to Florida properties. She is more than impressive. She is clearly a breath of fresh air and while I think she ruffles feathers daily she's making headway.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I couldn care if this woman is a raging narcissist or salt of the earth. She wants to promote herself as a media player, no problem. Likewise, hire as many women as she wants. Outside consultants? Dubious. what i havent seen from MB? Results. Thats what we need at Gannett. Badly. Everything else is just wasted space and time.
ReplyDeleteCathy Black was a far better example of a successful woman at Gannett than Banikarim can ever be. She had deep roots on Madison Avenue. Knew how to sell and bring in revenue.
ReplyDeleteNOTHING else matters. Stop all the BS about women vs men. Gannett has promoted and rewarded thousands of women over the years.
Baniakrim and her crew of elite New Yorkers have bulldozed their way into here as if they know better than anyone. They seem to have more ego and more hot air...and certainly more insecurity. But they are NOT better than the women I have seen here through the years.
The women I have known at Gannett have been exemplary....as have many men.
Banikarim reminds me of the typical Bard/Columbia/Manhattan snob: they think their education buys them respect. The truth is that performance and humility buys respect.
CB has only been gone, oh I do t k ow, 20 years. Nice to hear from another person whose feet are cemented in the past.
Delete6:54 is an expert on being out of work.
ReplyDelete7:02 is an expert on nothing.
7:03 what has she done that you can point to that says she is making headway?
ReplyDeleteJust curious.
Name three things Maryam has done. (Lame Powerpoints don't count).
ReplyDeleteShe has "gently managed" the cloggers out!
DeleteI agree, we shouldn't fault anybody for being successful. But I have a question for all the supporters of Ms. Banikarim- What has she done at Gannett? What has she done that has resulted in value to the stock holders and employees counting on managements' decisions? This does not include bringing the outside in, and grand plans, what has been accomplished other than great quotes and plans?
ReplyDeleteI think that GCI certainly doesn't look like an industry leading marketing solutions company when our CMO is only just now getting up to speed on social media. Her biggest social media decision to date has been the use of bit.ly? Seriously? We have seasoned, old school journalists who are more social media savvy than Maryam.
ReplyDeleteAs for her being loved and respected in nyc, this is just not true. Most people in the industry in nyc say that Maryam is very nice on a social level, but she is in way over her head with this gig.
Yeah you know so many people in NYC. Please
DeleteBanikarim could be the most talented CMO in the world but she won't succeed at Gannett because she hasn't tried to understand the culture before she started shaking all the trees.
ReplyDeleteLesson number one in managing transformation: you cannot bulldoze a deeply entrenched culture and expect to be successful.
It must be embraced and gently managed.
It's the number one reason she is so hated by people at Gannett. it's her "look at me" and "I know better" attitude before she tried to get among the troops, in the trenches and work with people.
heather Frank has the same issues.
She does not understand that all business is about people. I'm not sure anyone in Gannett's management team knows that.
What a joke. We've been "gently managed" for years and our business is in the toilet!! No we need people to break it wide open and push like hell! You go girl!!!!!!
Delete7:11 has learned how to use a fork. Yay!
ReplyDeleteI7:21 I know it's hilarious. The use of bit.ly shorteners have been around journalism forever.
ReplyDeleteUSAToday even has their own, as does the NYTimes.
This is what she is spending time and money to hire consultants to figure out? The use of bit.ly?
And then to say it in the press, like it's some big break-through?
I actually think Maryam is uncomfortable with close relationships. Her two lieutenants Micek and Goetz seem to be the gate keepers for her.
ReplyDeleteShe keeps her distance from most people.
Maybe it's better to be detached from people if you have to do a lot of firing and disrupting of people's personal lives.
How wonderful that Banikarim is so good at forging relationships with others. Perhaps that will be useful when Martore finally realizes that her CMO has accomplished absolutely nothing in her time at Gannett. And, no, rehashing existing research and promotion ideas does not count.
ReplyDeleteWhy does this company hold its officers to a lower standard of performance than its rank-and-file?
I'm still waiting for this woman's supporters to tell me what she's done that warrants all of these stories.
ReplyDeleteWhat are her achievements at Gannett?
What are yours? Don't hate because someone brings some gravitas to The company.
DeleteMaryam Banikarim knows one thing very well: how to hire a PR agency to get herself press.
ReplyDeleteHow much money is Gannett paying this PR agency to pitch stories about Banikarim and help advance a single executive over all others?
What about our CDO...aren't we a Digital innovator? Where are those stories about our CDO?
Buesse? Haven't seen Banikarim's PR agency get any press for Buesse.
The woman is all about herself. On Gannett's dime.
Before it's too late, and relative to this thread, I want to wish everyone a happy International Women's Day.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean as long as the woman doesn't work for Gannett?
Delete"You go girl!!!!!!"
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell kind of corporate-speak is that?
Maryam, we know you're scrolling and posting and defending.
ReplyDeleteSo the floor is all yours.
What have you accomplished so far? What can you actually point to and say with any degree of pride that has made a difference?
If you think Maryam would post here you are delusional. But me, I have plenty of time to comment on your petty, uninformed, jealous postings. It's fun but no contest. You guys never get creative. Same old silly crap.
DeleteLet's see where the business is this time next year. Firing good people is not a business strategy.
ReplyDeleteBetter have some better ideas than that.
Fail 6:56 PM? Now that’s funny.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize the simple point is that Jim has created and engaged a loyal reader base of current and former employees, a varied media following that routinely sources him about changes at Gannett and an actual revenue stream.
All for a relatively low investment on his end so again, what results has Banikarim delivered, let alone anything that delivers such a great ROI?
Same goes for 7:11 et al as all have offered little more than name calling which speaks volumes.
8:58 I see you are back with the over-usage of exclamation points.
ReplyDeleteHave another cocktail.
Your time will come when you too will be forced out. Gannett has no other strategies except laying people off.
Hi everybody. This is Maryam on the road again. Do you think I should get a new head shot?
ReplyDeletePlease give me credit for continuing to dismantle USAT and strip as much power away as I can from Hunke.
Give me a few more weeks, that's all I ask, and then I'll be able to proudly call myself Editor AND Publisher of USAT.
It would be an improvement
DeleteWhen does Susie get her own string. She has a long list of accomishments right?
ReplyDeleteYou can slap and insult Jim all you like but he has created a valuable resource for all of us who care about this company.
ReplyDeleteFor you naysayers, why are you on here? Go create your own rose-colored, naive blog.
This one has proven and continues to prove itself as an accurate assessment of conditions, directions and attitudes of Gannett. And Jim's accomplishment and dedication have been recognized and awarded and will continue to be.
Thank you, Jim, on behalf of thousands of staffers.
Look, I'm not on either side of this argument (for now), but at least one other poster here (not me) has repeatedly asked a very rational, reasonable question here about MB, and none of the MB Army here is offering anything of any substance as a result:
ReplyDeleteWhat has she accomplished?
More specifically: What has she accomplished to further the strategic goals of the company?
Even more specifically: What has she accomplished on the marketing side that can be quantified to clearly establish valuable ROI on her hiring, as well as all of the expenditures she's initiated as far as consultants and such?
These aren't cynical questions attempting to tear her down. They're legit questions that any good company would require of a high-ranking officer.
So please, MB Army: Answer them. At the moment, I'm keeping an open mind. But if all we get here as responses are "Grrl Power!" and "You go Grrrl! You Rock!," then we'll assume the answer to this perfectly valid and, frankly, simplistic, inquiry is this: nothing.
Ypu are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. I enjoy these energetic discussions. Most of the posters on this string are ex marketing folks who have an axe to grind. It's so obvious. One is a former NYC ad leader. Just providing a little balance
ReplyDeleteEllwood's accomplishments are marked daily in protecting David L Hunke and ducking and hiding from Banikarim and never turning her back on Micek who is determined to get some dirt on her and scurry on over to her boss and squeal with glee.
ReplyDeleteBe careful Caesar Ellwood, there are Brutus Banikarims around every corner.
No really she has accomplished a lot since she arrived in Tyson's
DeleteCould have been worse, she could have brought a baseball bat to the town hall broadcast....
ReplyDeleteHow about this. Let's pretend you are writing Maryam Banikarim's performance review. It's been a year.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you, could you write about her accomplishments?
This is your chance, MB Army.
We're waiting.
Yep, just as we thought.
And her salary and options and perks and first class flights amount to how much?
She spent her first year "gently managing" the cloggers out. That was an almost impossible task.
DeleteWho made you CEO? Let's lists your accomplishments. That's what I thought
ReplyDeleteMaryam, how about going on the road with your great accomplishments. Like on the road out of here so we can get a real CMO and Martore can make amends for one of most over priced mistakes.
ReplyDeleteMartore, Banikarim, Ellwood, Frank, Weiss, Micek.
ReplyDeleteI'm every woman. I've got all my sisters in me.
Funny you should mention performance reviews, 9:30. Remember back at the start when Jim pledged to post his performance review. We are still waiting for that to happen. Jim, care to follow through? Or do you have more weak excuses for not doing this?
ReplyDeleteMaryam Banikarim is not worth all this attention though I would imagine she is devouring every word and feeding her ego.
ReplyDeleteCan we please focus on where we are headed? Revenues are down again, "retirements" are pending, furloughs are looming, RE applying for our jobs is upon us, and reiganizations with more pink slips are almost a certainty.
There is no Maryam Army. It is one poster who cannot site a single accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI am not an ex-marketing person. However, I don't see a lot of accomplishment for all the show and glory Banikarim claims.
The poster has revealed herself as a NY centric person. I understand her lack of knowledge about the larger Gannett issues with Banikarim and any manager who spends money but has no new revenue to show.
Evenutually Martore wil demand it. Martore is focused on two things: revenue growth and cost cutting. She will not support this beefed up marketing program if it generates no real revenue.
She did sure the cloggers. Keep reading.
DeleteTick tock ... tick tock: Still not ONE single contribution of any substance whatsoever speaking to the ROI-driven value of MB's peformance. Why is this so difficult, MB Army? She seems smart, fresh, assertive, driven, etc. All of that is good. But, in the end, we are all evaluated based upon the value we bring to a company.
ReplyDeleteSo, please: Enough with the meaningless sisterhood speak ... Gannett has ALWAYS prided itself on promoting women to influential positions. That's literally decades -- not years -- of Gannett culture in the works. It's now fully immersed into the DNA at the CP and everywhere else. So ditch the Battle of Sexes thing here. This debate has nothing -- zip, nada -- to do with gender.
It is, however, about substance. Which seems in short supply among the MB Army here.
Now, I turn the floor to you, MB Army. Try to surprise me this time with a meaningful response.
One would think that the bright Ms. Banikarim would steer clear of any alliance with her defender(s) here.
ReplyDeleteYou, poster, do her no favors.
Maryam was able to get Martore to cough up thousands of dollars for her designer offices. She's so cute the way she had those high bars installed so she can stand all day like a bank teller and pretend to be so busy.
ReplyDeleteThat must count for something? Right?
A CMO is about marketing the product. Banikarim has done one fucking brilliant job in that regard - marketing the product called Banikarim. Can't argue with that, right Martore?
ReplyDelete9:49 Oh my gosh that is so true. Whoever is trying to defend Banikarim here (one person) is just embarrassing herself and Maryam too.
ReplyDeleteShe basically did answer what Maryam has accomplished: firing a bunch of people.
The Gannett tradition continues. The number one things execs spend time on here are meetings with lawyers dealing with firing people.
Worst. Culture. Ever.
I for one love this stream. Keep it up. For once it's not about me and my lack of leadership and accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteLove and bottoms up,
Your friend Dave
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAll I know about her is the "on the road" email. That is just another piece of email to delete along with the millions of emails received across Gannett land from ATOL.
ReplyDeleteI understand the need to centralize for maximum efficiency but for heavens sake does this company not realize the simple mistakes they make that hurt productivity?
The volume of emails bouncing around that take time to skim to see if you need to do anything with is insane. Multiple that by the 4 people that get the same email add to it the groups of people that are incapable of realizing when you should not REPLY TO ALL and we are drowning in inefficiencies.
Gannett needs to GET A CLUE.
10:08 Robin Pence is still a Gannett employee, according to her LinkedIn profile.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the circumstances of her leaving her job as vice president/corporate communications have not been made public.
Dr ZZZ all over these type of stories
ReplyDeleteGreat thread. Loved the Traveling Wilburys' vid. Thanks for stopping by, Ms Banikarim.
ReplyDeleteThe last couple of sentences of that article disturbs me. She comes home from a long day at work and gets on the Internet while her husband plays games on his I-phone. I pray they do not have children. Breathe...enjoy your family...get a life...
ReplyDeleteAs a female, I would only be proud of this many postings if they were positive. If I were Maryam, I would be ashamed of the way I am portrayed on this blog. The masses have spoken. When I first heard of her there was great hope she would help this company and bring some much needed leadership. It's obvious this hasn't happened and it makes me sad and embarrassed for her. It's time to go, Maryam, so we can let somebody else have a go at it.
ReplyDeleteLoved the Travelling Wilbury's video.
ReplyDeleteThat's more creative thinking and cleverness than I've seen from anyone in management.
I believe someone should call the people she worked with at Univision if you want to get the real scoop on Maryam.
ReplyDeleteClearly Gannett does NOT do any reference checking and also NOTE that she has only brought her cronies in from NBC (another loser media company), but NO ONE from Univision as she had plenty of complaints against her there as a leader.
Maryam is all about...Maryam. I worked with her for many years and the Gannett blog posters here are already on to her. If she was so good, NBC would not have fired her.
Let's switch gears for a moment. We have another "do nothing" loser in the CDO. David Payne was another corporate wonk who had a failed start up that went belly up.
Is it part of the Gannett job description that "we seek an unaccomplished executive that can only lead with consensus and has been able to turnaround a fast growing company into a spinning disaster...please send your resume".
Gracia, your commitment to girl power as you state several times to people like Jennifer Carroll is not working. Start finding some real leaders!
"Leadership by consensus" is an oxymoron. Unfortunately, Gannett can't get enough of lead by consensus types because it relentlessly promotes the head-nodders. So when these people actually emerge in leadership positions without a single idea in their heads, what do you expect?
ReplyDelete7:21 pm here. I just want to assure you that I am not an ex-nyc ad leader. I am gainfully employed, have not been pushed out by Maryam, but have a lot of friends and family in the marketing and ad business in nyc who know Maryam from her previous positions. They do say she's nice, just in over her head.
ReplyDeleteMaryam's power in the company is huge and Gracia is her biggest fan. She's out to destroy the company as it was and I don't see any of it as positive. They want to remove as many "old employees" and bring in new. "Old" not in age but in tenure. They haven't realized that there needs to be a good balance between legacy people and new people in order to keep a free flowing exchange of ideas and implement practices that fit with the brand.
ReplyDeleteFrom the article: “Once I got to Gannett, I made a commitment to really tackle this social media thing,” she says. An early test came when the company had to decide whether to use the bit.ly link-shortening service, or whether to insist readers share longer links. In a vote for brevity, Ms Banikarim went with bit.ly.
ReplyDeleteDeciding to go with brevity was an early test? Insignificant tests like that and other like revelations that so often appear in the media spotlight on her greatly contributes to why people demand to know what results she's delivered.
A more than reasonable question to ask.
Committing to “really tackle this social media thing” shouldn’t be one of them as it reads as if Gannett hired someone who’s learning it on the job instead of someone with a wealth of those skills ready to deploy.
BTW, she very well may frequent Jim’s blog as at the end of this piece is this: “Mine is your multimedia multi-device household, I’m on my iPad looking at blogs…”
Maryam and her tribe do read the blog. So does Gracia.
ReplyDelete"tribe" that sounds dangerously close to racist.
DeleteOf course they do. I am sure that's where all this "Go Girl" "Girl Power" lingo comes from. As a woman, it's embarrassing to see professionals acting in such a way while the company is crumbling at their feet.
ReplyDelete@9:35 am. Exactly. A top notch CMO should be well versed in social media. Especially in 2011. I was willing to give Maryam a chance but in every article on her, she does not look like the marketing thought leader that I expected her to be. Even worse, she looks very out of touch with the latest marketing trends.
ReplyDeleteI think we are looking at this the wrong way. Accomplishments? I would rather have a publicity seeking do nothing than a clueless change agent such as Hunke. Virtually every hire he has made has either sucked revenue from the company or done damage to the brand. Case in point: Rudd Davis. Case in point: Heather Frank. Case in point: John Hiilkirk. People unqualified for the position, poor leaders and ultimately, management failures.
ReplyDeleteBeusse? A good salesman, a thoroughly lousy leader.
Gannett cannot recruit any real talent. Do you think super stars would come work at Gannett?
ReplyDeleteBuesse, Banikarim, Lee Jones, Mary Murchik, they were all out of work when Gannett hired them.
Gracia is a finance person and does not have a clue if these execs are good or not. She's just happy they are doing all the dirty work: firing people.
Oh s ap!!! That creative bag of dung must hurt
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI have two questions.
Are MBOs or goals of a public company's management team submitted with financial docs? I ask because it's easy to criticize people for not doing anything if you don't know what the priorities/goals set by their boss? It would be interesting to compare what she has been charged to do versus what others expect her to do.
I don't have a problem with her firing dead weight, sometimes it's people who should have gone a long time ago but no one had the courage to let them go so they let the new person play bad guy. I think she should bring in people she can trust and rely upon. Nothing wrong with that. And new blood is a good thing. Even the most dedicated troops need new ideas infused into a system at times. So I'm willing to wait before judging her performance.
My second question is this:
Gannett has basically one national product USA TODAY (print and Web). It has a number of low-profile B2B-type operations, etc., that work on a national level. The rest of its products/properties are local.
Why does Gannett have a marketing person based in NY, committed to bring the outside in of what is increasingly becoming more and more "local"? What is she trying to create or do --- market local operations to national buyers?
I read the post and thought of what
Warren Buffet said about the struggles of the Washington Post. The post is a national player by it's earned and self-appointed editorial mission. But it has lost ground to that claim and its niches by many competitors. But in reality, it's a local operation. It doesn't have a true national reach. National advertisers are not clamoring to be in the WaPo's pages only for its local market.
A digitally-focused company hires a TV cast-off who doesn't understand "the social media thing." Gee, no wonder we are so fucked up!
ReplyDeleteAnd still waiting for that list of accomplishments. Send them along as soon as they're ready...OK?
Here is how Mary Murchik and Banikarim see National ad revenue (and why it's not about USAT, Lee Jones, or Hunke):
ReplyDeleteThere are national companies that buy ads in our papers, our websites, and sometimes USAT. Companies like Best Buy, Home Depot, Kraft, Macy's,Novartis, Chrysler, Ford, etc. Banikarim and Murchik are hoping to prevent that revenue from sliding into non-Gannett online plays (like Google ad networks) and maintain them at Gannett, while packaging and selling all assets to these advertisers.
Hunke and Lee Jones are only focused on USAToday. Buesse's team on Sports, etc. But Banikarim and Murchik will sell across all the assets.
I hope it works.
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ReplyDeleteI meant Mary Murcko! Ha! Blend Micek and Murcko.
ReplyDeleteHere is Maryam's tweet this morning:
ReplyDelete"Keep your foot on the gas pedal." SSandberg.
You can follow her on twitter at @maryamb
Keep your foot on the gas pedal?
ReplyDeleteBanikarim's job is to shill for Gannett, not for herself. I've yet to see her produce any tangible results for Gannett. Jim's posting this was not an attack on Banikarim. It was a straight posting. The fact that 115+ comments have been made are indicative of what a polarizing figure she is. She rides the subway and is a "dedicated follower of fashion." Big deal. What tangible good as she brought Gannett and its employees? Someone tell me before we endure another round of furloughs or layoffs.
ReplyDelete10:35 MBOs ("management by objectives") are lists of specific goals to be met.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen them filed with any public documents. The closest is a list of management's accomplishments cited by the board of directors' executive compensation committee in justifying bonuses to top executives.
As to your question about selling local audiences to national advertisers, I'll piggyback on what 10:43 said. Gannett has a national digital network that's composed of all the local websites.
The company says the network, including CareerBuilder, reaches "50.8 million unique users monthly or about 23% of the Internet audience in December 2011, as measured by comScore Media Metrix." That would be what Banikarim and others are selling to national advertisers.
This the gannett Blog, which does serve a valuable service at times, at its worst:
ReplyDelete-- Jim finds an article about maryam Banikarim and posts it with a bit os snark.
-- More than 100 posts are filed, the vast majority by people who have no idea really who she is, what she does, or what they are talking about.
-- A few disgruntled former Marketing employees -- one in particular who everyone knows who he is because he is still smarting that he doesn't get to go to Cannes every year -- launches the usual "what has she done?" bombardment.
-- Jim is accused of being anti-female (not true, although he does sometimes have a blind spot to sexism).
-- Banikarim's importance is once again blown completely out of proportion. Why? Because she is one of the few executives with any kind of public profile.
-- Left uncovered are actual major things that have happened (why did Rudd Davis leave? The disappearance of the Your Life vertical from the pages of USA TODAY. The Design Centers taking over not only design but content for Gannett. You know, things that matter?)
But let's all set a record and continue talking about Maryam.
Design centers taking over content? Huh? Give me an example of where this is happening.
ReplyDelete12:14 you seem to have a beef against Rudd Davis. Move on. He's not here and not impacting lives of Gannett people any longer.
ReplyDeleteMaryam is here. Being paid a lot of money. Not doing anything substantial to show revenue growth. Hiding in NYC fluttering around events to showcase herself.
Who cares how important she tries to be or how many departments she sticks her nose into.
Just show us what she IS doing.
When her 'supporter" cannot site a single example, we have to wonder if there is anything she's done of true value.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete"dedicated follower of fashion".... really mr. 11:30? That is quite a stretch...
ReplyDeleteand why would anyone want to manage the Cannes relationship - that was a leap there... it's all about being handlers for the likes of top management - like that is a rewarding job.
She makes a fool of herself in the press "deciding to use bit.ly was a major social media decision"? It's embarrassing, some of the things she says in the press. Makes Gannett look so sophomoric.
ReplyDelete12:40 I remove comments that make fun of someone's name.
ReplyDelete12:40 No. 2: "A dedicated follower of fashion" is the headline over this Financial Times profile of Banikarim.
Missing from this commentary is all the behind the scenes fluttering by scores of Gannett executives. The bulk are new hires with odd titles and odd alleged responsibilities. Hiring people with fancy new age backgrounds and high minded titles is fine for appearances sake. But there is no cohesive plan to string these parts together. It's as if someone went to the fancy supermarket and bought all these exotic products because ther look and sound appealing. But no one has figured out how to package them cohesively. Separate and conflicting agendas, power plays and backstabbing. All under the we must go digital and we must institute change mantra that no one at the top takes ownership of.
ReplyDeleteLeaders lead. They don't flit about the country taking meetings. They rarely talk to the press unless they are advancing the corporate agenda. They get their hands dirty and they understand what the pulse of the employee base is.
Good managers know this. I do nort know what Gracia's goals for the CMO are. One would think it is pulling in deals with marketers who buy ads in and on Gannett products ans inking Partnerships that bear financial fruit.
If that isn't being accomplished, then we need a new CMO. We have enough new and old dead weight at corporate already.
If given a choice would you want to lead the whinners that frequent this blog? I'm mean get serious.
DeleteI like this woman a lot. She seems smart and edgy and high energy. I have to agree with 1:16, though. Martore should sit MB down and tell her it's time to prove her worth.
ReplyDeleteMaryam you need a new quote.
ReplyDelete“While people are spending serious money on digital, it’s usually not more than 10 per cent of the spend,” she says.
WRONG! I would say many clients have accelerated their percent digital spend and this is a dated number.
Here is the link to the article.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/be334092-6205-11e1-820b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1oe4KaNUT
1:20 I thought she was impressive when I first met her. But that wore off over the past months as it became more evident she was without any real new ideas and I questioned her motivations.
ReplyDeleteBanikarim has it all wrong when talking about social media. It's not about the link shortener (really a naive statement) or whether you are pinning, liking, tweeting, sharing, etc.
ReplyDeleteHer focus should be on stopping the ad shift from traditional media into the social media companies like FB ads.
P&G, a blue chip advertiser, announced in January they were laying off thousands of people in marketing and cutting ad spending in order to focus on social media like Facebook.
Once again, Maryam (Gannett) is chasing the wrong issues.
Anyone remember when classifieds started fleeing newspapers for Craigslist?
Maryam gives some answers to your questions here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/481539-Gannett_CMO_Looks_to_Provide_Multiplatform_Marketing_Help_for_Advertisers.php
The Broadcasting and Cable article is also enlightening. Maryam says nothing new here and still doesn't provide a single specific program that GCI has created for advertisers. Sure she talks about things that need to be done, but we've heard about these same ideas for years and there is still not a single example of these ideas actually being implemented. I am not impressed by Maryam but I don't expect her to be a miracle worker either. I am afraid that these "big ideas" just don't meet the needs of the marketplace or wouldn't they have worked already?
ReplyDeleteIn that Broadcasting and Cable article, Banikarim talks about her newly-hired president of sales, Mary Murcko, who clearly is now de facto head of advertising for USAT.
ReplyDeleteHere's the key passage:
Question: You recently named a new president of sales for Gannett, Mary Murcko. What will her role be?
Answer: She will oversee sales for all USA Today platforms and also spearhead our efforts to nationalize our sales through all our local media properties. We have over 100 newspapers and TV stations, plus they all have their own Websites. She will work to create national reach for advertisers by activating them through all of our local properties.
Here's my question: What's the future for Lee Jones, USAT's current head of ad sales?
Lee jones likes to live large. thats his role. too bad buddy Rudman cant tertain him in la hot spotz any more. the broader question is why we need both Lee and Mary? Seems like overkill.
ReplyDeleteThat is one Power hungry woman.
ReplyDeleteBackstabbing reigns supreme under Banikarim at the CP.
Anyplace is better than Gannett.
There are a million ways to make a living and make a life.
ReplyDeleteWorking at Gannett seems like the last resort for anyone. What an ugly culture.
Banikarim is making it far worse than it's ever been.
I remember when Banikarim started at Gannett. The mere mention of her back then created over a hundred posts also. The difference? Back then, all the posts were hopeful and positive about the changes she could incur in order to make Gannett a better company. What a difference a year makes. Once again, this is a huge FAIL for Gannett.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but at least Robyn Pence did something with the brand. MB, what's your big plan? Please enlighten us. You've already done more self promoting than the Kardashians. Can you give us a taste in your next On The Road column?
ReplyDeleteTo have to laugh at the poster who insists The NYC business community and CEOs know and respect MB. There are several Fortiune 500 cos in that community. And Wall Street as well as Madison Ave. If this woman is so respected and plugged in, why have we seen no benefit from all her connections?
ReplyDeleteLet's move on to bash some bigger fiascos.
ReplyDeleteHunke
Ellwood
Heather Frank and her crew of deposed verticals managers.
Lee Jones
the board of directors who okayed any and all stock buy backs.
Rudd Davise
Leave Susie alone. She is very nice to people.
DeleteI am a business women, and I have to say that I am appalled at the "you go girl" mentality, of bloggers, on this thread. An employee should only be judged by their hard-work and results. The fact that MB happens to be a women is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteYeah and you just happen to stop by. This blog brutalizes and degrades women on a regular basis. They've been castles everything from MILFS to ugly and one time the blog publisher even insinuated a personal relationship between a former publisher if USAT and a current high level USAT female executive. So don't lecture us a out judging women by their results. When the posters on this blog start showing women respect I will shut up
Delete3/09/2012 6:20 PM said, "An employee should only be judged by their hard-work and results."
ReplyDeleteIf we go by that yardstick, MB is an utter failure. One year and not a thing to show for it.
Let's face it, leaders are never universally liked. There is at least one exception: Jacki Kelly. I never heard anyone say anything bad about her. She was the best leader usat ever had.
ReplyDeleteAre there others?
Gracia Martore & Marge Magner spoke today at Accenture Conference in NYC.
ReplyDeleteSubject focused on female CEOs.
The postings here about Banikarim have NOTHING to do with her being female.
ReplyDeleteGet off your feminist BS. It's not 1965. More women go to college, enter law school, enter Med school than men do. It's time to realize people beyond their sex and hold them accountable for the jobs they are hired to do.
I have not seen any anti-female sentiment here. Just the opposite is true.
6:57 Spare us the victimhood speech. I remove all such posts as quickly as I see them. I'll match my moderation record against any publisher anytime.
ReplyDeleteYour record speaks for itself. You are the guy who posted the SE comment. What, you've grown up since then? You are a hypocrite. You can play the oppressed all you want but the facts speak for themselves.,
DeleteOh, hell, Sandra Fluke stopped by at 6:57.
ReplyDeletePROOF IN PUDDING
ReplyDeleteJim,
You know, NYC is HQ of advertising/marketing.
In toto and short-term -- how much $$$ has this person brought in?
Oh. Zip?
More Gannettoid-ism. It would be laughable, if it weren't for the negative effect on pensioners.
When your company is full of BSing carpet-baggers -- why should Larry's Shop-Rite spend one penny with you?
People -- you've been warned, for decades. Head for the exits, ASAP.
You are your best friend. The plutocrats will just take your money/taxes and blah-blah-blah.
Susie Ellwood is nice to people? Tell that to everyone being treated like dirt in Sports and anyone working for a senior web manager who treats his people like shit through anger and intimdation.
ReplyDeleteWell Susie has always treated me with tremendous respect, are you sure we are talking about the same person? Do you really even know her?
DeleteRES IPSA
ReplyDelete"Your record speaks for itself. You are the guy who posted the SE comment. What, you've grown up since then? You are a hypocrite. You can play the oppressed all you want but the facts speak for themselves., (SIC)"
When your company is full of BSing carpet-baggers -- why should Larry's Shop-Rite spend one penny with you?
The thing speaks for itself.
As a shareholder -- where's the flockin' beef?
Head for the exits, people. Boat's going down. Capt. Carpetbagger's a ninny.
This is a weird thread. A couple of the posts appear to be from crack-heads, that can't compose a cohesive thought.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a women I work ten times harder, to counter act the "one-for-the-girls" or "she's so nice" mentality. I intend to earn my respect for a job well done.
Nothing like a Banikarim post to get people really fired up!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Susie is nice to people doesn't overcome her apparent cluelessness as to morale of hundreds of staffers.. She preaches transparency yet she and Hunke have not addressed what's happening in Sports and the potential for carryover to other sections. hillkirk was removed three months ago and we have yet to know who if anyone is being interviewed to replace him. And again, her being nice to people doesn't offset the tyrannical, small minded style of several managers.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of surprised the FT would do a puff piece like this. This has all the sophistication of a Gannett newspaper. One source suck up story to fill some ad supported space.
ReplyDeleteHey everyone - just checking-in for that big list of accomplishments by Ms. Maryam. Please send them along as soon as ya can...K?
ReplyDeleteNobody's really fired up.
ReplyDeleteWhat is really happening here is an anti-Banikarim marketing campaign by former USA Today marketers.
Would that energy have been used while they were here, and not simply looking forward to Cannes each year.
12:19 that is an easy way to diminish what seems to be a very serious outrage at senior management by the employees.
ReplyDeleteBanikarim certainly isn't alone in the big paycheck, big perks, expensive travel, and little to show for it.
She just happens to make herself available for extra criticism by putting it out there in the press for all to see.
Gannett has a long history of one set of rules for management and another for the employees.
Ms. Banikarim would win more respect if she worked hard, grew revenue, and gave the accolades to the workers. Instead, she appears to be a media spotlight junkie. With few results to show.
2:19 -- Of course. The 160+ posts here were just made by disgruntled ex-marketing folks. Nothing to see here. How's the weather in New York, Maryam?
ReplyDeleteBTW: I've never been in marketing. And I'm appalled at her cluelessness and worthlessness.
Still, isn't it kinda sad that so much can heaped upon one single person? Over her head, gleaned like a velociraptor?
ReplyDeleteI have no defense for these exec types with evidence of their ego trips, but, jeez, this is one person.
I think utterly dismayed that there aren't poms-poms shaking, and paralyzed to peek out the window, this domaine with no qualifications and no input sought.
However, no matter how I have no respect for these types, posing, this thread smacks of a mob mentality which does not serve really the actual issue well.
This is total mob mentality. Whatever one thinks of the company, Maryam is not the cause of anything and her efforts, whether succeeding or failing, surely do not warrant this type of pile-on.
ReplyDeleteShe is more visible than most, but that is because she is a marketer.
There are plenty of failing leaders who are protected under the easy camouflage of Maryam taking the hits for the real failures such as Newsgate, Content One, the "verticals," and the Rudd Davis fiasco, none of which she had anything to do with.
But let's keep blaming Maryam. Incredible.
I agree that this thread has gone far enough. Even though senior management has treated us viciously, it doesn't make it right for us to drop to their level and become equally as vicious. I am no fan of any of them, but I pledge to refrain from personal attacks on them.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete“Maryam is not the cause of anything…”
ReplyDeleteExactly 8:10.
You do realize that’s at the heart of the majority of these posts right, that people have yet to see her cause anything to create positive, measureable results other than personnel changes – something Gannett well excelled at prior to her arrival.
What they do see is her overexposing herself to the media at the expense of the company she’s supposed to be marketing first – Gannett. The more interviews she gives, the more she comes off as ill-suited for her role which is exactly why so many weighed in on it.
Here’s a thought: If she can’t promote Gannett and its “industry leading changes first” (also yet to be seen), then don’t talk to the media at all, especially about herself until she can.
I could care less if she's a woman. I do care that she's sucking up a considerable salary that could have gone towards saving a few laid-off employees' jobs.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to collect a big salary, then I expect big results. She hasn't delivered yet.
Ahh, but who am I fooling. This is Gannett we're talking about here.
It does seem odd that in the space of a year, Banikarim has managed to appear in severals trades and publications. Why waste the time and money cultivating these pieces when you bill yourself as a change agent but have not delivered?
ReplyDeleteIn all my years with Gannett, I've need seen anyone below CEO or publisher of USA Today be this "sought after" for interviews. Something is seriously wrong with this picture.
How far into the six figures did that outside consultant friend of MBs get paid. $500000?
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for the list of accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the first "On the Road" e-mail with her picture on it, I knew she was merely a self-promoter who likes to pin herself to the accomplishments of others.
ReplyDelete