Weekly Newsletter December 29, 2025

A new report shows that 55% of Americans say their online search habits have shifted significantly over the past five years—and they're increasingly discovering products through ads, editorial content, and apps rather than traditional search engines. This evolution marks a major opportunity for local media sellers: consumers trust ads across multiple platforms and make quick purchasing decisions when they discover products via native, embedded content. For local sales teams, the key takeaway is clear—you don’t have to be Google to win in the search-driven economy. You just need to help advertisers show up in the right context, across trusted platforms.

Convenience stores did their best to remain convenient to customers during the pandemic; however, the abrupt change to many people’s work schedules and their reluctance to shop inside stores disrupted the entire convenience store model. With fewer people working and remaining at home, the demand for motor fuel declined significantly. Similar to many other local businesses, convenience stores have continued to face labor challenges and supply-chain issues.

In the fast-paced world of media ad sales, time is our most valuable asset. As a General Sales Manager, balancing the constant flow of new leads, client meetings, team management, and strategic planning is a daily challenge. Over the years, I’ve learned that success doesn’t come from working longer hours; it comes from managing time efficiently.

Phil Knight built Nike by fusing product truth with narrative power—an introverted runner who learned from coach Bill Bowerman to obsess over small improvements, then turned them into big markets. Starting as a cash-starved distributor, he sold urgently under constraint, listened closely to athletes, and transformed customers into evangelists, culminating in athlete-driven storytelling and “Just Do It.” His strengths—resilience, talent-spotting, and disciplined risk—were shadowed by blind spots (conflict avoidance and early missteps on overseas labor), which he addressed by upgrading systems and standards. For media sellers and agencies, the playbook is clear: start where results are provable, make the calendar your co-seller, keep one simple message, and design measurement that proves lift. The deeper lesson is cultural—treat constraints as creative fuel and build a brand worthy of belief, one disciplined iteration at a time.

Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, turned a college paper into a global logistics powerhouse. After serving in the Marine Corps and earning multiple honors in Vietnam, Smith launched Federal Express in 1973 with a bold idea: overnight delivery via a hub-and-spoke model. Despite early financial struggles—including a legendary blackjack win to cover fuel costs—Smith’s vision and discipline helped FedEx become the first U.S. startup to reach $1 billion in revenue within a decade.
He pioneered real-time package tracking and built a culture rooted in service, accountability, and innovation. Smith’s leadership style, shaped by military experience, emphasized clarity and empowerment. Personally, he was a devoted father of ten, aviation enthusiast, and philanthropist, turning down a second offer to serve as Secretary of Defense to be with his daughter in her final days.
Smith’s legacy offers timeless lessons: trust your instincts, build scalable systems, lead with empathy, and stay mission-focused. His story is a blueprint for entrepreneurs and sales professionals aiming to deliver impact with purpose.

AI Overviews are accelerating a shift toward “Google Zero,” where users get answers without clicking through, weakening the value of organic search traffic. That is a warning sign for publishers and marketers, but also an opening for local media sellers and agencies to reposition radio, TV, cable, print, outdoor, and digital as channels that build top-of-mind awareness, trust, and demand before a search ever happens. In a world where discoverability is increasingly controlled by answer engines, advertisers may place greater value on media that makes brands known, remembered, and hard to ignore.

Leading isn’t easy, and leading sales is one of the more difficult roles in business. Unlike some other leadership roles, there seem to be more variables in sales. Some of them include the sales effectiveness of the sales force, the economic environment, the nature of competition, and the variability that comes from trying to help people change their business results. This list of qualities is necessary for success, although there are others.

BrightEdge’s 2025 industry report shows that AI-driven search is growing rapidly, but organic search remains the dominant driver of conversions and brand visibility. While AI referrals account for less than 1% of total traffic today, they are doubling month over month, signaling a major shift in how consumers discover products and services. For local media sales reps and ad agencies, this means combining traditional SEO with strategies that help clients appear in AI-generated results—through structured data, authoritative content, and local media mentions. The report emphasizes that local credibility and trusted content are becoming essential signals for AI models, giving local publishers and agencies a competitive edge. The key takeaway: success in 2025 requires selling not just impressions, but discoverability across both search and AI ecosystems.

Let’s talk about B2B lead generation. It sounds complicated, right? But it’s really just a fancy way of saying, “finding the right people for your business and getting them interested in what you offer.” The challenge? Not all businesses are the same. What works for a software company probably won’t work for a manufacturing firm. That’s why you need a different approach for different industries.

Political ad spending is projected to reach $10.8 billion in 2026, making it the most expensive midterm cycle in U.S. history. Broadcast TV will still capture nearly half of this spending, but Connected TV (CTV) will surge to $2.5 billion, reshaping campaign strategies and demanding integrated media solutions. Swing states like California, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina will see the heaviest demand, with inventory scarcity and premium pricing affecting both political and non-political advertisers. Early buying is already breaking records, meaning agencies and local reps must help clients secure placements well in advance. For local media and agencies, the opportunity lies in balancing short-term political windfalls with long-term client relationships through cross-platform strategies and consultative selling.

Selling is a craft. It’s a performance. It’s also a bit of a mystery. Why is it that two salespeople who work for the same manager have different results? Both salespeople sell the same thing, to similar clients, at the same price. If one salesperson complains about an underhanded competitor, another salesperson has little trouble dispatching that same competitor. Let’s agree to call this “the variability of individual results.”

Understanding today’s consumers is crucial for brands, retailers – and media sales AEs. New niches of consumers are being added to the American “melting pot,” bringing their cultural influences, spending behaviors and media choices into the marketplace. New technologies are helping, such as NextGen TV, which will make it easier for local retailers, but especially minority businesses, to engage with neighborhood audiences who are more likely to buy their products and services.

It’s time to take a deep breath and stop all the hand wringing about the demise of TV, as a content and advertising medium, and the ascendancy of digital, as TV’s replacement. It hasn’t happened and is unlikely to occur like the “sky-is-falling” advocates claim it will. A good place to start is THE MEDIACENTER’s August 2016 Online Newsletter.

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