The Fishbowl: Charlotte Liddell, The GoodNet
The Fishbowl
The Media Leader’s interview series asks the media industry’s top salespeople 10 revealing questions, drawn from our fishbowl. The questions will be drawn at random and contain some tricky posers set by the commercial chiefs themselves.
This week, it’s Charlotte Liddell, director of commercial at The GoodNet.
Liddell began her media career at Dentsu agency Carat as part of its graduate programme before moving media owner side.
She joined Global in 2016, rising to media manager, responsible for revenue growth across GroupM agencies for radio and digital audio.
Following a stint at dynamic creative optimisation platform Adylic, Liddell joined The GoodNet in 2022 as head of commercial. She was promoted to director this month.
Why are you passionate about media?
Working in media day in, day out, we sometimes forget that it’s a medium that has the power to change and influence behaviour on a mass scale. It shapes so much of what we do from a cultural and societal point of view and the fact we are the people leading that means we hold a lot of power.
I never underestimate that in the role I do and it certainly fuels my passion for the industry and my desire to drive change.
Which advertiser would you love to work with (but don’t already) and how would you sell The GoodNet to them?
An advertiser I love is The North Face and its growth over the past few years has been incredible. The North Face has an amazing “renewed” initiative where it refurbishes old gear to ensure nothing ends up in landfill. It can use The GoodNet to invest in responsible media and map the work it does with us back to its core ESG goals.
Not only that, but it doesn’t need to compromise on performance. Feels like an obvious choice to me…
What’s your best advice for someone who wants a job in media sales?
Media sales was made to be enjoyed! There are so many elements to it, from the amazing people you can learn from through to events and opportunities, whether it be networking, training or even just the chance to go to a bougie restaurant you’ve never been to.
There’s no doubt, with a sales target over your head, at times it can be challenging. But when I was 22 and starting out, my friends couldn’t believe some of the things I got to do. Big company or small, it was a job made for “work hard, play hard”, so my biggest piece of advice would be to embrace the challenge but, above all, enjoy it.
If you could change one thing about the industry right now, what would it be?
Despite the best intentions, and though it’s smaller than it was, there is still a big gap between conversation and action in the responsible media space.
I would love more of the big brands to start taking responsible media head on, challenging their agencies and starting to prioritise responsible media metrics alongside performance. We have proved time and time again that it is possible and there is still so much untapped opportunity here.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a teacher, but quite swiftly realised I probably don’t have the patience for that…
What key thing has changed in conversations with clients this year compared with last year?
We have seen a huge rise in conversations on how brands can make their media spend more diverse and inclusive. It’s a huge part of how we achieve a sustainable world and it’s right that it’s getting the attention it deserves.
I hear about it less on panels and in the trade press, but brands seem to be making meaningful action in the background, which I think is meaningful. We have just launched a version of our product that helps to plan and measure DEI, so I’m excited to see where that goes.
What, if anything, is your business planning on doing differently this year?
We are still so new as a business that every day we learn something new. This year, we are planning to build on our high growth and help to really bridge the gap between performance and ESG metrics, and to prove to advertisers it doesn’t need to be one or the other.
Who would you say had the most influence in your media sales career? And why?
She doesn’t work in media any more, but a big influence would be the wonderful Aoife McNamara. She saw something in me from the first moment I met her and, without her, I might not have even taken a job in media sales.
As my manager in the early days of my career, she both inspired and challenged me, and always delivered that with empathy — so I’m very grateful to her.
I’ve never actually met her, but I think Natalie Bell, CEO of MG OMD, is an amazing role model and doing some brilliant work for Omnicom Media Group and women in media.
What moment was the biggest turning point in your career?
It has to be landing in a brand-new job, two weeks before the first lockdown in 2020.
Within the first month, I had inherited new clients, a new team and was learning an entirely new channel, all while working at home, with life as we know it being turned upside down. It taught me so much about myself, particularly how to be resilient, but ultimately it taught me a lot about the power of relationships.
In a virtual world, the power of checking in regularly and always picking up the phone was the most important thing and it helped me to love the job I was doing.
What is the most fun you’ve had doing this job?
Meeting so many interesting, different, genuinely intelligent people.
Some of my best friends work in the industry and they are some of the smartest individuals I know, and they challenge and inspire me every day. The people you work with are what makes the job and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best.
Read more Fishbowl interviews here and see what media’s top salespeople say about working in the industry and what concerns their clients. To suggest an interviewee, contact [email protected].