Hearst Newspapers is using GenAI as an assistant for its advertising teams, helping them build stronger connections with prospects and customising their initiatives from the first cold call all the way through the proposal presentation and campaign execution.  

The U.S.-based news chain, which owns brands such as the San Francisco Chronicle, found ad sales were becoming increasingly complex. 

“E-mailing prospects and developing media plans used to be more straightforward if you look back 10 to 15 years ago,” said Joel Laffer, senior vice president of marketing operations and advertising strategy. “It was: Are you looking to get more new clients? We represent the newspaper in your town, and we’d love to work with you.” 

But now, he said, news brands need to prove their value in a far more competitive and complex marketing landscape. “You have to bring industry expertise and new ideas that are specific to your clients’ challenges to even get their time. And how do our sellers have time to become experts in everyone else’s business? It's really difficult.”  

Michael McCarthy, senior director of AI, sales, and business solutions, used GenAI to build tools that prepare his team for sales conversations, helping them ask “smart, open-ended questions to accelerate the sale considerably.” These include personalised coaches sales reps can talk to, preparing them for client interactions, as well as creating agency-level proposal presentations. 

“Calibrating a suitable multi-channel campaign after a conversation is also hard because the portfolio of products we offer is extensive, and each customer has specific goals and preferences that our sales reps need to account for as they tailor their specific media plans,” McCarthy said.

“That’s actually a very complicated formula to figure out because there’s no one right answer. It’s the right answer for the right situation at the right time,” he said. “Our team needs expertise in dozens of variables, including the specific industry, target audience, digital and print product offerings, competitive landscape, campaign objectives, etc.  What if we could scale that expertise and democratise it? AI, we found, can help us do that.” 

Hearst also uses GenAI to draft “personalised and engaging e-mails” that contain language tailored to show prospects its unique value proposition specific to their business. It is also using GenAI for creating better content for its advertisements for a high volume of clients at scale, Laffer said: “Our ambition is to offer clients, at all budget levels, creative optimisation that resonates with our readers and drives the best possible performance.”

Hearst’s GenAI tools mean new sales hires no longer necessarily need to come with media backgrounds. 

“You’re looking at a different skill set now,” McCarthy said. “It’s more about, ‘Hey, do you have the drive and the soft skills to communicate well with people? Are you intellectually curious about marketing? Can you translate data and insights into a compelling marketing strategy and be a valued partner to our clients?’ Nine times out of 10, AI can help teach them the product and industry background needed to set them up for success.”

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