Tasha Levy, vice president of advertising sales in Midwest and West Coast regions for Interactive One, leads her region’s sales efforts for her company’s more than 60 digital properties. With 5.5 million unique African American visitors each month, Interactive One is one of the most powerful niche digital companies in the cybersphere, and Levy’s responsibilities are massive.
“We cover such a vast territory, my region covers from Indiana, to Kentucky, over to Seattle, and down to California,” Levy tells rolling out. “When you think about the major brand advertisers that are within that region, it’s a lot of ground to cover amongst the three salespeople that are on my team.”
Here, Levy shares her secrets to success with rolling out.
What are your specific duties as advertising vice president?
“With clients from Indiana to L.A., we look to align our clients’ objectives with our unique audience that we have here. We reach over 5.5 million unique African American visitors each month, and we meet with our clients to learn who they’re trying to segment and the various advertising and marketing objectives that they have — and then we sell them digital advertising on our properties to reach their desired audience.”
What three things have helped you to develop your leadership style?
“Three things that have helped me are: good planning; a great work ethic and having a very supportive family structure.
Good Planning: I have a lot on my plate personally and professionally, and it really helps me to plan with my team, with my family, and with the goals for the region; it really allows me to ensure that our goals are achieved.
A great work ethic: My leadership style is to work by example and that’s why a great work ethic is so key. I don’t expect anything from my team that I don’t do myself. They too, have work-life balance, but when it’s time to work, we really work and put the effort in to get the job done.
Supportive family structure: Because of my work ethic and the magnitude of things that come with my job, a supportive family structure allows me the freedom and the liberty to be able to pursue what I need to do to be effective here in my career and in my role here.
Has your past work experience prepared you for your role here at Interactive One?
Every job that I’ve had has played a role in helping me to get where I am now. I originally was an industrial engineer for Electronic Data System … and my primary role was to problem-solve for engineers on a daily basis.
Then I pursued an MBA in marketing, and I started working in digital for Black Voices … I was a marketing manager and my role was expanded to account management and working on some of the larger clients there, and with every job my roles were expanding. I was learning a lot, I was asked to do different things, and I would invite the challenges. I networked along the way.
When AOL bought Black Voices, I went on to AOL and started to work on very large accounts, with very senior level clients at that organization. Each time, from EDS to Black Voices when it was a part of the Chicago Tribune, to AOL, and even on to the Weather Channel helps me in my current role. We work on multi-platform solutions for clients through TV One, Radio One and Interactive One; and being a part of The Weather Channel and Weather.com helped to prepare me for the solutions that we have here at this level.”
Can you give an example of a multi-platform solution?
A client may come to us and say, ‘I’d like a solution that could run on your television network [or] on your radio station, (we have over 52 radio stations in 17 markets), as well as on our 60 digital properties.’ And we’ll sit down and develop a marketing solution where they can run on all three of those platforms.”
On her work day … A top-tier executive’s days are long, but the work itself is inspirational. We work hard, but it’s very rewarding for us to bring advertisers and educate them on an audience that is sometimes not getting the marketing attention that it deserves. that inspires me every day as an advertising executive.
Video: Tasha Levy Shares Two Key Strategies for Success
