Manager, Sales & Marketing Insights

Startribune.Com - Minneapolis, MN

Full-time - Manager

Hybrid - Minneapolis, MN

About the position

The Star Tribune is seeking a Manager of Sales & Marketing Insights to play a pivotal role in driving data-informed decision-making within the organization. This position is essential for enhancing revenue generation by consulting with advertising customers to improve their marketing return on investment (ROI) through the use of data and insights. The successful candidate will utilize GIS spatial analysis, market segmentation, and strategic business intelligence to provide actionable insights that support both external clients and internal sales and marketing processes. In this role, the Manager will partner closely with the Star Tribune sales staff to deliver valuable insights to advertisers, ensuring that digital targeting and audience connection programs are effectively integrated into their overall marketing strategies. The position involves assessing the needs of advertising customers through various analyses, including trade area assessments, customer profiling, site selection, and market share evaluations. The Manager will lead strategic initiatives aimed at identifying the best consumer prospects for advertising clients, leveraging proprietary data and tools to build targeted prospect lists that enhance advertising campaigns. Additionally, the Manager will work collaboratively with internal advertising campaign managers to evaluate the success of digital campaigns through address match-back analyses. Coaching sales representatives on effectively communicating GIS and insight analyses to customers is a key responsibility, as is participating in customer-facing presentations. The role also includes providing GIS assistance to other departments within the Star Tribune, optimizing distribution boundaries, sales territories, and delivery routes. The Manager will be responsible for managing the annual GIS & Insights department budget and negotiating license agreements with technology vendors. This position requires a proactive approach to solving GIS technical problems and issues, ensuring that the department remains equipped with the latest tools and technologies to inform strategic decisions. Overall, the Manager of Sales & Marketing Insights will be instrumental in fostering a culture of audience expertise and strategic partnership within the organization, driving innovation and excellence in local news media.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Star Tribune sales staff to provide advertisers with sound insights that make digital targeting and audience connection programs an effective and integral part of their overall marketing strategies.
• Assess advertising customer needs, including trade area analysis, customer and prospect profiling, site selection, market cannibalization analysis, market share/potential, sales territory design and balancing to drive buying recommendations that increase Star Tribune revenue.
• Lead the strategic approach to behavioral and spatial targeting of the best consumer prospects for Star Tribune's advertising customers.
• Leverage a toolset and proprietary data to build prospect lists that fuel customers' advertising campaigns.
• Work with internal advertising campaign managers to evaluate the success of digital campaigns via address match-back analyses.
• Coach sales reps on how to effectively communicate and explain GIS and insight analyses to customers and participate in customer-facing presentations as needed.
• Work closely with the sales enablement team to support lead-generation activities.
• Provide GIS assistance to other Star Tribune departments as needed, including circulation, news, and operations.
• Coach team members on research methods and insights communication so that they are seen as audience experts and strategic partners rather than data providers.
• Manage annual GIS & Insights department budget and negotiate annual license agreements with technology vendors.
• Solve GIS technical problems and issues, including installation of software upgrades, database updates, patches and service packages.

Requirements

• Degree in mathematics or statistics.
• Advanced degree in GIS.
• Advanced database management skills.
• Strong knowledge of Minnesota and the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.
• Detailed knowledge for acquiring public/free and paid sources of business intelligence.
• Strong formal presentation skills, comfortable presenting to C-level executives.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.
• Confident decision-maker and creative problem-solver.
• Highly motivated and passionate about business intelligence and GIS.
• Ability to prioritize work, work well under pressure and meet multiple deadlines in a tight timeframe.

Benefits

• Vision insurance
• Paid time off
• Tuition reimbursement
• 401(k) with company match
• Commuting subsidy
• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Wellness program with financial incentives
• Flexible holidays
• One volunteer day
• Two wellness days
• Parental and caregiving leaves
• Flexible work arrangements
• Employee assistance program
• Pet insurance
• Flexible spending accounts
• Health savings accounts