Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Memo: GannettLocal, DealChicken sales united; Harte-Hanks exec to lead combined operations

Corporate is shaking up Gannett Digital Marketing Services, an ambitious initiative meant to generate $275 million to $350 million in annual revenue by 2015, according to a memo.

The move combines the sales forces of GannettLocal, which since May 2010 has offered marketing advice to small and mid-sized (SMB) businesses with DealChicken, the daily deals site launched nationwide in July 2011.

The combined operation will be led by a new hire: Charlie Simmons, who has been a sales executive at direct marketer Harte-Hanks of Austin for the past two years. The change was detailed in the memo last week from Vikram Sharma, CEO of Digital Marketing Services. (The sales merger isn't merely a win-win according to Sharma. "It is a win-win-win.")

The announcement is significant at least because it suggests Corporate remains optimistic about DealChicken's future, despite widely publicized problems at category leaders Groupon and LivingSocial.

Here's the memo:

From: Hunt, Lauren On Behalf Of Sharma, Vikram
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 4:10 PM
To: XXXXX
Subject: GannettLocal, DealChicken to combine sales forces

Heading into 2013, Gannett Digital Marketing Services (DMS) is poised for significant growth and a key driver will be serving local SMBs with products offered by GannettLocal and DealChicken. As part of our strategic planning process, based on internal and customer feedback, we have concluded that it is a win-win-win for clients, consumers and DMS to create an “integrated value proposition” for SMBs. This means offering a suite of digital marketing solutions for SMBs, focused on both offers (e.g. daily deals, coupons) and campaign services (e.g. SEM, SEO, social marketing) sold by a single sales force.

To support this strategy, we are announcing the following changes effective today:
  • The GannettLocal and DealChicken sales teams will be combined into one SMB-focused sales organization, effective Jan. 2.
  • Charlie Simmons will be the new head of SMB Sales and will be based in Chicago. Charlie is an experienced sales leader who most recently served as executive vice president at Harte-Hanks and previously was with Experian Marketing Services. In these roles he has had experience with various marketing services products and he has managed direct, telemarketing, and third party/affiliate sales efforts.
  • Raj Mohan, who has rapidly grown DealChicken to a Top 5 deals site in the last year, will be responsible for DealChicken product development, consumer acquisition, and all other aspects of the DealChicken business with the exception of sales.
  • As head of Gannett Local Operations, Dax Brady-Sheehan has made significant contributions in solidifying operations and preparing us to scale the business since he joined GannettLocal six months ago. He will be responsible for all aspects of the GannettLocal business with the exception of sales.
  • Brad Robertson has been the driving force behind the creation of GannettLocal, including promoting and evangelizing for our expansion into Direct Marketing Services. He will build on this success as he moves to a broader role across the entire DMS operation. This will include driving innovation by working across our teams on product concepts and packaging, looking at integration of various National/SMBs opportunities, and leading some of our marketing and training efforts.
I am confident that these changes will solidify our position in the SMB market, enhance our ability to create value for our customers, create new opportunities for our sales teams and help us grow our business.

Please join me in welcoming Charlie to the company and in congratulating Brad, Dax and Raj on their new roles.

Vikram

61 comments:

  1. A top 5 deals site. Congratulations - you are the tallest dwarf in the room!

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  3. @8:37: hahahhaha!
    So will consolidation mean layoffs in these divisions? Corporate's goal is to have 70 percent of revenue come from digital by 2015. They've got a ways to go.

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    1. Consolidation has always been the gussied-up word for layoffs while saddling the "lucky" survivors with more demands.

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    2. I highly doubt they will lay the local Deal Chicken reps off. It's not an easy sell over the phone calling into other markets. Local reps refuse to sell deals anyway.

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  4. To me, this means that its all about the opportunity to sell SEO and all that other crap to SMB's who either are sick of running deals or didnt run in the first place. Here comes the finger pointing as to who own's accounts. Gannettlocal, DealChicken, or local affiliate rep.

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  5. Good luck Brad Robertson in your new role. Your leadership has made a significant impact on all of us here @gannettlocal.

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  6. Maybe they can layoff the oaf that constantly takes trips and neglects her actual duties as Director of social media at Gannett. She even went to Hawaii at Gannett’s expense, while massive layoffs were occurring. I don't recall her name, but I know that area of the business, social media presence, is has been neglected.

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  7. 3:04, I like your use of the noun "oaf." It is the perfect word in this particular case.


    Definition of Oaf:
    A large, clumsy, slow witted buffoon. One that acts oaffishly.

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  8. 3;04,
    I agree they are constantly neglecting their duties at director of social media and only making excuses to travel. Jodi will make the excuses to travel, by saying she was invited to give a presentation. The presentations that Jodi gives are in no way related to her actual job responsibilities, and it she has been volunteering to give presentations. The presentations are just an excuse for her to travel. Meanwhile, a significant market loss is attributable from her neglect of her actual responsibilities as Director of Social Media. It is a very sad and ongoing problem with her. Everyone is so creeped-out by her, that no one will correct her about her total lack of responsibility and unnecessary spending. I doubt that anything will ever change, Jodi has made kind of made a niche for herself, at Gannett, by bulls#it+ing her way from paycheck to paycheck. Those presentations that she gives are not even flattering for the company, beyond the fact that it's not part of her actual job.
    But anyway, if you should need someone to travel & give bad presentations, then Jodi is the person for task. However, they need someone to perform the actual duties for the position of Director of Social Media, while Jodi is out partying & drinking with a corporate expense account.

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    1. Sounds like Banikarim's M.O.

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  9. Gersh is small potatoes on the ladder. However, she is a notorious about shirking her immeidate duties while pretending to be something she is not, for an easy-ride through life on Gannett's dollarS. She has made a career out of pretention, manipulation, and reciprocation. I have watched her manipulate some of the most talented employees into doing tasks, while she took credit for the accomplishments of the other-person. Then, to make matters worse, she would politically derail the very people that help her accomplish her tasks. You see, Gersh is deeply threatened by any type of healthy competition from legitimate professionals. In addition to sabotaging the careers of the talented, she will also use reciprocity to force people into silence/submission & favors while she targets her next victim. And, be on the watch for her victims, as they are always talented and more capable then Gersh. As be on the watch for jodi asking for a "favor", while simultaneously gossiping and derailing your career.

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    1. Editors @ Usa Today have been pulling this crap for years.

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  10. Be careful, she's an absolute sociopath. A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme behavior and a lack of conscience. She is rumored to have done comepletely irrehensible and evil acts against other employees. Always be "sweet" to her face, because she entirely paranoid since her history is catching up with her. Remember to always flourish her with attention and compliments, because if she does not attain that from you, you will be an additional target of hers.

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    1. "flourish her"
      "attain that from you"

      Oy.

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  11. Yeah, I had worked on projects in which she refused to work with individuals that were talented and more capable than she was. She definitely feels threatened by those with talent. It is very sad, because it stems from Jodi's own laziness. You see, if Jodi only applied herself and worked, perhaps she would not have to sabottage the careers of others. It is even romoured that her current position was intended for another individual, who Jodi created problems for in order to force them out of the company. Too bad, I am sure the other person would have done a better job than lazy-a$$-JodiGersh.

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  13. Yeah, to stay on her good side and to keep out of immediate danger, give her constant compliments. No need to agrevate the monster.

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  16. The dumpster diving stories are more than unsettling. I just wonder "all" that they are searching for in coworker's home trash.

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  17. Just what everyone needs - Brad Robertson leading the charge on ideas that are exciting, new, abstract and have no basis in sound business practices or economics. Keep evangelizing until those concepts don't pan out....then get "Promoted" to spearhead the next big thing.

    I've never seen a person employed longer for the potential of his efforts & volume of his words than actual results.

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  18. 7:44 and 7:48 I delete all comments making fon of someone's appearance.

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  19. Jodi Gersh tweeted out that she will be visiting The Desert Sun during the Cochella Music Festival.
    I am so unimpressed with Jodi's constant abuse of the system and twisted sense of obligations & priorities. Gannett is essentially paying from her to attend Music Festivals, as she schedules her trips according to social-events. She has completely abandomed her priorities and duties of her job, and has created her own agenda of partying on Gannett's budget.

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  21. Seriously, if there are any consolidation efforts in Gannett Digital, give lazy-a$$-Gersh the boot. It is an absolute disgrace to have someone like that in our company. She is a constant gossip, layabout and trouble-maker. I have seen her and her gang of hooligans muscle out the very best employees.

    I will never forget the time Gersh sent out a memo to all employees inviting them to an auditorium event with a "guest speaker." Well, it turned out that she as the "guest speaker" to lunch, and then asked if he would come back to the office afterwards to speak to some people... Then Gersh escorted the man into a full auditorium. Needless to say it was embarrassing for Gannett, that Jodi Gersh had attempted to get a free presentation out of a man that charges thousands for his presentations. Anyway, I heard that Gannett was billed for the services. The sad thing is that she had absolutely no reason or authority to schedule any such presentation, and then to pull an embarrassing stunt to swindle a paid public speaker!!! How she wasn't fired after that, I will never know. That cost Gannett thousands right there. Then, shortly after Gannett paid the bill for her public speaker, she sheduled a trip to a conference in Hawaii. Then, she denied that Gannett paid for it. The two incidents alone were well over $10,000 dollars. Her behavior was never corrected, and we are still bombarded with expenses because she wants to travel or inflate her ego. She should have paid for the public-speaker and the trip to Hawaii out of her own pocket. And, the comment about her scheduling a trip according to the Coachella festival.... Just fire her already, what the hell do need that person for?

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  22. -She asked the man to lunch, invited him to the office to introduce him to some people. And, it was an auditiorium full of people waiting to her him give a presentation. Yep, she tried to get a free presentation out of a public speaker. And, Gannett did pay for her little stunt. A bill was issued to Gannett for the cost of the "impromptu" presentation that all of Gannett-HQ was invited to.

    They should have taken it out of her pay-check. Let her work off the money she owes, then fire her.

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  25. She even USED the web site that they programmed, but never paid the company. It was very embarrassing for the company as a whole.

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  26. These Social Media "Experts" kill me. The pretend there is a true rational to actions. It's planned, there's a method to their madness. In actuality it's just a consistent presence with no real thought given to posts or strategies. Things change to fast for that. It's about volume and just being heard.

    Gersh and Robertson are like the artist splashing random colors on a canvas with no real vision. Then they stand back to admire their mess and explain to the rest of us how complex, thought out and interconnected every brush stroke was.

    Please, wouldn't it be wonderful to do whatever we wanted as part of our jobs then rationalize it backwards with little documentation of what it did for the bottom line.

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  30. The conference in Hawaii was alarming. I am not sure why a person like that would TWEET that she is coordinating a business trip in conjunction with the Coachella music festival.

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  33. Sociopaths seem to flourish at this company. Remember the ME at USA Today who was finally forced out by the Jack Kelley affair? A seriously disturbed individual.

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    1. Hal Ritter? At least he had news judgement. The people left in his wake and recently promoted have neither news judgement or people skills. Thst is no improvement over the past.

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  34. 8:30....Being a Sociopath is a learned trait or coping skill at Gannett. Regardless, if you're not one while working for Gannett in the upper ranks the stress will tear you apart.

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  37. Deal Chicken sales folks in trouble?

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  39. So we have to put up with her bull sh--, because her brother supposedly achieved something? Does that give her a "get out of jail" card to continously play?

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  40. All: Enough with the Jodi bashing, please.

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  41. Wow, I thought Banikarim was hated. This Jodi seems to be in the running for most hated.

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  42. The comment string is a mess. Jodi has nothing to do with this announcement.

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  43. You should have read all the posts yesterday. If the stories are even half true it's surprising she still has a job.

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  45. I will be diplomatic when describing this event, so Jim does not delete it. I am a technology professional, and I would often discuss how exciting I found the new media industry (including social media), and how I envisioned the future in new media. Well, I watched an open panel discussion in which Jodi spoke and Jodi repeated my words, verbatim, as if it was her opinion/vision/belief. It was disturbing and I realized that she had been pumping me for information about the industry. But it was eerie to her my exact words repeated by Jodi during a moment when Jodi should have expressed her own view/perspective.

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    1. Guess she had none of her own.

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  46. enuf about jodi. what does this deal chicken news mean? who are the winners & who are the losers?

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  47. Did you not read the memo? It's a Win win win lol! I suspect the deal chicken peeps will wind up being the losers.

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  48. Raj = biggest loser. Dozens o f peeps who used to be under him are now in Charlies coop.

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  51. Dozens were laid off this week nationwide due to the restructuring. Most of the Deal chicken staff included.

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  52. Shreveport reps gone this week

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