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4 min read
When deciding on a career, Kevin Arsham, partner at EssenceMediacom, combined his experience at his mother’s hospital administration office along with summers spent working at his dad’s scrap metal recycling plant where he learned how machines work. Putting the two together, he chose to join the agency world and work with B2B clients targeting enterprise and industries.
Kevin shares insights drawn from his agency career and how B2B media continues to intrigue and engage him every day on the job.
How did you get started in the industry?
I started by selling spot TV in a small town. Unlike conventional selling, I illustrated storyboards for 30-second commercials and took them with me to pitch potential clients. If the client was sold on the script, characters and camera shots, the TV station would create the commercial and run it exclusively on the station.
Anything about the industry or your career that surprised you?
Early in my career, I discovered that B2B was an untouched niche at the agencies, which surprised me given how businesses spend billions of dollars advertising to other businesses.
Can you share an initiative that helped your company innovate?
We concepted an application called “Relocate App,” a practical business solution sponsored by our client that would allow businesses to use data aggregated from a leading news source to strategically relocate or expand their facilities to other markets across the country.
What excites you about your current role?
Working on the biggest and most complex brands in the world, my role allows me to invent new media and create something original. Mentoring and helping others progress in their career is also exciting.
What words describe your organization?
Global and cutting-edge.
How has AAM/BPA supported your company?
Over the years, AAM/BPA audits have allowed me to better illustrate different media ecosystems. When incorporated into presentations, these audits enable me to counsel clients on the differences between publishers in the same category or to profile how a particular website or journal can target one job title better than another.
What in your career are you most proud of?
Helping to launch a new fighter jet program, a new life-saving surgical procedure, and renewable energy programs that keep businesses more sustainable. I’m also proud of the successes of the members of my team over the years.
What advice would you give someone starting out in your field?
Develop strong relationships with publishers and sales reps. They can be great teachers who know a lot about your client and the industry. Embracing the mundane helps you build a foundation of experience that will grow into something exciting and propel you to make your mark.
Where do you see the industry in 10 years?
Media will look very different. Audiences will engage with words and images projected in front of them off screen wherever they’re standing. Panoramic, spatial computing will surround audiences in high definition. It will be a world that goes beyond the delivery of content based on our viewing or search habits. Appliances and medicine cabinets will automatically understand our behavior and make our lives heathier and more productive.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to write stories, watch movies, listen to music, swim, or snorkel, play the drums and create independent short films.
What goal would you like to achieve?
Having everything that I have ever published referenced to the point of becoming the cornerstone of future B2B applications, processes and creative ideas. And teaching media at a university upon retirement.