Weekly Newsletter January 19, 2026

Executive Summary
AI is transforming media pricing by enabling real-time, data-driven decisions that replace static rate cards with dynamic, audience-based models. This shift empowers ad agencies to plan smarter, more efficient campaigns while offering local media reps tools to personalize pricing, speed up sales cycles, and prove ROI. While it reduces manual negotiation, it increases transparency and performance forecasting. Embracing AI in pricing is no longer optional—it’s a competitive advantage for those who adapt quickly.

A sense of community is key for employees. It gives them a feeling of belonging while helping build culture and learning. This article discusses how companies can be sensitive and promote community. In her book Retirement and Its Discontents, Michelle Pannor Silver’s research reveals that for millions of people work is much more than output or income they generate. It is a source of meaning and social identity. It is where they feel intellectually stimulated and can express their creative selves. It is where they feel a sense of community and connection.

Often, when I talk to managers, they tell me how much time they spend coaching. They tell me stories of meeting, weekly, with their people, doing reviews, pipeline discussions, activity discussions—-all sorts of “coaching meetings.” They say, “Dave, coaching is important and we are spending a lot of time coaching…..”

Essential Lessons for Today's Local Media Sales and Agency Professionals
From Privileged Child to Scrappy Entrepreneur: The Early Years That Built a Sales Mindset
Ted Turner, born into privilege but shaped by personal tragedy, transformed a small billboard business into a global media empire by pioneering innovations like the superstation WTBS and the 24-hour news network CNN. Despite facing skepticism, industry resistance, and the eventual loss of control over his company, Turner consistently rebounded by pivoting into philanthropy, environmentalism, and global advocacy. His bold decisions—like donating $1 billion to the United Nations and creating Captain Planet—reflected a deep commitment to purpose beyond profit. Turner’s life teaches media professionals the power of vision, resilience, and values-driven leadership. As he famously said, “You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.”

Large language models are rapidly becoming standard tools in advertising—speeding up planning, reporting and workflow—but they’re still being kept away from the moment where real ad dollars are actually spent. Across agencies and ad-tech platforms, the industry is drawing a firm line between automation that helps humans move faster and automation that replaces humans at the point of financial accountability. The hesitation isn’t just cultural; it’s driven by flawed measurement signals, unreliable bidstream data, and the risk of scaling today’s attribution blind spots into machine-driven decisions. For now, the industry is modernizing infrastructure and using LLMs in orchestration layers, while keeping core bidding logic deterministic—because the real battle is less about AI capability and more about control of the money.

Nov 12, 2024 | Digital Media and Technology, Industry Press Highlights Executive Summary: Pinterest has positioned itself as a top destination for holiday shopping this...

Rare Beauty launched a groundbreaking scratch-and-sniff billboard campaign in New York City to promote its first fragrance, blending traditional out-of-home advertising with geogated mobile sampling via Shopify’s Shop app. This innovative approach allows passersby to experience the scent and request a free sample by scanning a QR code, turning static media into an interactive, trackable experience. The campaign highlights how sensory engagement and digital integration can drive product trials and social sharing, especially among Gen Z consumers. Local media sellers and ad agencies can draw inspiration from this strategy to create tactile, tech-enabled campaigns that connect physical presence with digital action. Ultimately, Rare Beauty’s activation demonstrates how out-of-home media can evolve into immersive brand experiences that deliver measurable results.

Major broadcast and cable TV news outlets saw significant growth in social video engagement in March, with Fox News, CBS News, CNN, and MSNBC all reporting double-digit increases in both unique viewers and minutes watched on Facebook and YouTube. This surge highlights the growing demand for video news content on social platforms—even among older audiences. For local media, it’s a signal to double down on social video strategies, leveraging local storytelling to drive attention, engagement, and advertiser value. Local stations that repurpose strong content for social platforms and track watch time—not just views—can unlock new growth and revenue opportunities.

National advertising campaigns offer valuable lessons for local media, ad agencies, and advertisers—especially in the areas of consistency, emotional storytelling, and omnichannel strategy. By studying how major brands build Top-of-Mind Awareness (TOMA), use data to target audiences, and measure results, local marketers can apply similar principles at a smaller scale. Emotional resonance, community influencers, and purpose-driven messaging are just as powerful locally as they are nationally. Tools like co-op advertising, AI-driven creative, and cross-platform media planning can help local businesses compete more effectively. Ultimately, the key takeaway is this: think like a national brand, but act with local insight and agility.

The media has been filled with stories about a so-called “retail apocalypse,” citing the large number of store closings, abandoned and eerily quiet shopping malls and the explosion of the Amazon phenomenon (and online shopping in general) as some of the primary reasons. It’s true that retail has been battered and bruised during the past years, especially 2017, but just as life must evolve to sustain itself, so must retail.

Our presentations to our clients should be DIALOGUES not MONOLOGUES. Far too often, we ask for money by spouting all we know about our stations and our advertising in general. We talk about us, us, us instead of them, them, them. Turning monologues into dialogues is not difficult. We can begin the path to “Yes” by getting small agreements throughout our presentation. We get these “mini-contracts” by using “check-in” questions. Here are some examples:

Fuel your week with these can’t-miss co-op deals!
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As you read this, many of the people on your team may be plotting their escape. A recent Gallup poll found that 54 percent of workers are “psychologically unattached to their work and company” — and that makes them very hard to rally to your cause. Across the American economy, those disengaged employees translate into billions of dollars of losses.

As leaders, we most often look to blogs, books or boardroom meetings for guidance, and yet sometimes it’s everyday life that hands us the best leadership insights. Recently life gifted me just such a lesson: the importance of asking, “How is this different?” While preparing for work in another part of the world, I took part in a security briefing.