• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 16, 2008

It's been a heady week for Susan Malfa. On Tuesday, she took the podium at a Bravo upfront event and announced that the network increased revenues by 30% in 2007 and attracted 110 new advertisers. That followed a promotion on Monday to senior vice president, where only a year into heading ad sales at Bravo, she adds the same role at Oxygen to her portfolio.

In turn, Malfa's role in the growth of NBC Universal (the parent of Bravo and Oxygen) is immediately heightened. NBCU has increasingly touted entertainment cable as the new "heart" (and principal profit driver) of the company. On a conference call last week, that was reaffirmed, with double-digit growth at the cable group cited in the first quarter.

At Oxygen, NBCU's challenge is essentially to do what it has done with Bravo since its 2002 acquisition--to turn a mid-tier network into a highly coveted asset through some re-branding, eliminate any identity crises and bolster original programming. Malfa's goal is to produce greater sales at the newly acquired net, which were about $100 million in 2006. At Bravo, the goal is to keep the momentum. While signature series "Project Runway" seems to have migrated to Lifetime, Malfa will have 45% more original programming hours to sell and an additional night of originals. The network is also hoping that its message about an audience that has a high concentration of "affluencers"--people with considerable disposable income who also spark a word-of-mouth tail--has resonance for a second year in a row. (Billboards targeting media buyers with the pitch are already up in Manhattan).

Amid the buzz at Bravo's upfront presentation Tuesday, Malfa took time to weigh in on a variety of issues as she enters her second go-round steering Bravo's upfront selling.

The revenue impact of losing "Runway":

"No comment."

How the network pitches advertisers on product placement opportunities:

"In 2007, out of IAG's top 10 most effective product placements, four were on Bravo. The dialogue is about a consultative selling process. We're always out there talking to our advertisers about what their needs are. Sometimes it might be about integrations, sometimes about developing dialogue with the consumer."

The value of product placement:

"We know it's important to our advertisers, and we know it works. We do it really well. We have well-produced shows, so it's really an A-class environment."

Whether 30% sales growth can continue:

"It's really [based on] two things--good communication about who our audience is, and the consultative sell and being a business resource, helping the agencies help their clients."

The impact the economic downturn is having and may have in the upfront:

"For Bravo right now, it hasn't had an effect. I really do believe money finds the best place to invest."

Whether the C3 will continue to be the currency this year or if there may be a shift to pod ratings or something more granular:

"I haven't heard anything that would lead me to believe that."

The new Bravo show she is most excited about:

"I'm really pumped about 'Rachel Zoe.'" (The new series provides a fly-on-the-wall look at the celebrity stylist's adventures.)

The Oxygen brand ID:

"It's sort of Bravo's spunkier, younger sister."