The Fishbowl: Jennifer Bennett, History Hit

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 Jennifer Bennett, commercial director at History Hit.

Jennifer Bennett started her career as a sales executive at Hearst-owned The National Magazine Company. She went on to hold various sales, business development and leadership positions at Seven, JCDecaux, Clear Channel Singapore, Kinetic and Branded.

Bennet joined History Hit as commercial director in December 2022.

Why are you passionate about media?

The ad industry makes the world go round! Financial services, legal, tech — they’ve got nothing on us. There’s no Google or Amazon without ads. The London Underground, Formula One, even Glastonbury — they all run on advertisers.

It’s cool being in an industry that’s so fundamental to the business models of so many companies.

Which advertiser would you love to work with (but don’t already) and how would you sell History Hit to them?

We’ve got so many ideas for a cruise company. Just think of the documentaries and podcasts we could make for History Hit channels that align with its destinations.

Beyond above-the-line content and ad packages for the marketing team, we could also offer content for its on-board entertainment systems.

Plus, we can provide talent and experts for on-board guest talks or excursions. Honestly, the opportunities for History Hit to demonstrate significant value to multiple departments at a relevant cruise or travel brand is significant compared with other consumer or retail brands.

What are clients most excited about right now?

At History Hit, clients like to hear about how they can unlock their archive and use it to create new content, building an audience long term that will monetise over time.

I think the phrase “sweating the assets” finds new meaning in the history space. The older the asset, the more excited we get.

If you didn’t work in your current space, which other media sector could you see yourself working in?

I’ve worked in magazines, outdoor, live events and now podcasts and TV, so there’s not much else to try.

I’m pretty comfortable with my Web3/blockchain knowledge, so that would be a very cool area to explore.

What was your first paid job and why did you do it?

Classified ad sales at Natmags. I did it to pay rent, but I still think about what a great training ground for media it was.

What is one of your greatest achievements?

During the pandemic, I studied for an MA in law. I wrote my dissertation about digital markets regulation and nailed a distinction.

After all the hard work, it felt super satisfying at the time, but probably even more so now that I see the regulation coming into effect and actually know what’s going on.

Peer question: What would you tell your teenage self based on your life experiences?

Buy bitcoin!

Question from Danny Aldred, global advertising director, B2C and investment, Financial Times

Peer question: What do you enjoy most about working in the industry?

I think it’s the same for most people. It’s just fun being around creative people paid to come up with ideas on a daily basis.

At History Hit, we are always working on some sort of lost shipwreck or archaeological site, which adds an Indiana Jones quality to the day job.

Question from Samera Mohmoud, commercial agency director, outdoor, Global

Peer question: What would be your death row meal?

Having lived in China, it has to be mapo tofu and rice.

Question from Jo Mazenko, commercial director, Mail Metro Media

Peer question: What’s the best piece of advice a boss or colleague has ever given you?

An American CEO used to start our meetings with: “Only tell me what we can do.” Which is just an easy way of saying: find solutions.

Question from Laura Chase, chief commercial officer, WeAre8