In the Trenches With Lauren Coyne, Director Of Eastern Agency Management at Unicast
- by Kate Kaye , July 2, 2004
Working as a financial analyst at GE Capital, Coyne wanted to work for a smaller organization where her creativity would have a real impact. A sales novice, Lauren had to learn quickly when she started her work at Unicast in 2000.
Industry vets may recall that this was right around the time Unicast was establishing its branded Superstitial ad format, one that soon became synonymous with online advertising. In those days, getting the word out about the company's product was her main mission. Now that the brand is more established, the Director of Eastern Agency Management at Unicast is focused on promoting use of the firm's formats, working with advertiser and agency clients like Nextel, American Express, OgilvyInteractive, and TBWA/Chiat Day to develop creative, ease the campaign process, and analyze performance.
What are your favorite online destinations in the a.m.? Why?
That ranges. I try to read the news while I'm en
route to work. I do visit the MSNs of the world. ... The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, but I usually skip right to the business section. And I'm also watching The Today Show while
I'm getting ready for work.
I don't have much time to surf the Internet at work. My home page is New York Metro. Most sites I'm visiting are my clients' and advertisers' sites, to learn about what they're doing with their brands.
What other sites do you visit frequently? Why?
I visit my college site; I do still follow up on the sports team. I played lacrosse at Bucknell
[University].
I'm probably more focused on downloading music. I'm a Mac owner, and I'm really involved in iMac and all their products. I also go to Ofoto. I'm actually a big fan of looking at friends' pictures and picture albums.
But mostly I'm looking up restaurants and movies. For restaurants I use CitySearch and New York Metro; for movies I'm typically on Moviefone, and for buying tickets I'm on Fandango.
Google is my go-to site for just about everything, though.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Getting advertisers or agencies to really
understand the creative value proposition that Unicast is able to afford them by the technology we have on the back end. There's still a lot to be learned. I'm trying to become more involved in that
process.
What do you like best about your job; what keeps you interested?
The evolution of the industry. When I joined Unicast, the market was in its hiatus. It's been interesting to
be part of such a small company, see so many angles of the business, see what I can bring to the team.
We've continued to take the fundamentals of our business and applied them strategically to what the marketplace needs. ... I've met so many people in this industry. It's exciting to watch people outside of the Unicast walls and see their careers escalate, too.
When will true media
integration take place for advertisers?
It depends on the advertiser and how they've looked at the Internet as a communication channel.
It just has to do more than anything else with education. It's an adoption [process], the marketplace is becoming more and more mature. Advertisers are understanding that the Internet is the place their audience is going to be.
What's the
most divisive online policy issue right now?
Standardization is continually what people are discussing. In the offline world, you shoot a 15-, 30-, or 60-second spot, and know you'll be able
to run that ad. In the online world, different types of formats all have their value, but every [Web media] property has different specifications. If you have 15 sites on the buy, you want to make
sure all 15 can accept [the specs]. Standardization and consolidation will bring us to that point.
Do you know someone who deserves a salute from MediaPost's In the Trenches? Let us know! Contact Kate Kaye at kate@mediapost.com.
