Jamal Coleman is the vice president of advertising and marketing for TV One and CLEO TV. With 15 years of experience as a senior sales executive and marketing strategist, he is skilled in identifying, planning, negotiating, and cultivating partnerships that dramatically increase market penetration and multi-channel product initiatives.
Coleman shared why the HBCU Power TV & Film Festival is valuable to the youth.
What leadership skills do you need as a marketing professional?
First of all, you have to take a positive attitude towards everything you do. I believe that everyone starts with an A, and then we go from there. Hopefully, we maintain A’s across the board but sometimes that doesn’t happen. Then you have to work with it from there. You have to have perseverance, you have to be strategic in your approach, you have to understand when tactics come into play, you have to be able to negotiate successfully, you have to be a team builder, you have to be able to work with people successfully, and you have to build, maintain, depend on, and grow relationships.
What does good marketing consist of in the film and TV industry?
Good marketing looks like knowing who your audience is, first. Where they live, where they thrive, what they want, and how they see you, which is very important. Sometimes, when you’re marketing, you want to market a certain aspect of your business, but the consumer might not exactly see you that way. So, your consumer marketing team has to understand exactly who it is that they see you as. Understanding that first will help you move to the next level, which is execution and delivering in a way that your audience can hear it, see it, feel it, be it… That then delivers the ratings for your television network.
What are TV One and CLEO TV doing differently in the marketing space?
We have an incredible consumer marketing team. Our programming team is [also] doing great with the content that we’re providing to our audience. From heritage shows like “The Cosby Show,” and “A Different World,” up to our investigative series like “Fatal Attraction”, “For My Man,” and “ATL Homicide,” which are our TV favorites, to our original movies that we provide every year for the holidays. On the CLEO TV side, we are fresh, fun, and fancy. We’re talking to the multigenerational Gen Z woman. CLEO TV stands for Cleopatra. [Which means] strong, intelligent, bright, witty, and CLEO TV delivers on all those aspects, with original programming and heritage programming, as well.
Why is this film and TV festival needed for youth?
It’s extremely important because it’s on campus. It’s easy for our students to get to and it’s in a relatable field that the [Atlanta University Center] is known for, like radio, TV, and film with luminaries from Bill Duke to Spike Lee, all coming from the great halls of Clark, Atlanta, Morehouse, Spelman, and Morris Brown. It was important to have the event here because some of the legacies were built here.
