The Fishbowl: Kylie McKie, LiveRamp UK
The Media Leader’s interview series asks the media industry’s top salespeople 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 is Kylie McKie, enterprise sales director at LiveRamp UK.
Kylie McKie started her career as a sales executive at Haymarket Media Group, progressing to digital agency account manager over more than four years.
She then held digital leadership roles at Trinity Mirror Group which later became Reach, where she became head of digital client solutions.
McKie joined LiveRamp UK in July 2022.
If you didn’t work in your current sector, which other media sector could you see yourself working in?
Having worked across the media space in a number of sales roles, now I’ve sold and experienced the power and potential of data collaboration, I can’t really see myself working anywhere else.
Supporting clients in making the most of their consumer data and technology stack is something I would not give up without a fight!
What is part of your daily routine that you look forward to every day?
Besides the obvious morning coffee, I love starting the day by seeing who has interacted with my sales content.
Whether it’s on LinkedIn or over email, going through my notifications and finding out which new brands have expressed interest in what we do at LiveRamp is fulfilling. This includes digesting their responses to my pitches, where I’ve tried to outline what parts of our solution will best meet their unique business challenges.
Who’s the best media salesperson you know (other than yourself)?
Matty Larkin — we both studied and met at St. Mary’s Uni, before working together at Haymarket and have since remained close friends.
He has the natural ability to inject energy and charisma into any situation, which is obviously key for a salesperson. In fact, it’s difficult to find someone in the media business who doesn’t know who Matt is.
**Peer question** If you won £10M in the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
I’d probably go and buy every single pair of expensive trainers I could get my hands on. After that, it would be a nice shelf to display them all at home.
** Question from Ryan Rummery, commercial DAX director at Global.
What are clients most excited about right now?
The rise of commerce and retail media has really exemplified for brands the power of data collaboration. No longer just for targeting consumers but also for driving new revenue streams.
It’s coming up in all the sales conversations I have, with prospects and existing clients eager to be educated on and explore how we can help monetise and make their data assets actionable for new opportunities.
They’re especially excited about the potential business partnerships that this can enable. For example, we’ve helped to forge a great partnership between Danone and IRI which has allowed the consumer-package-goods leader to safely access IRI’s segment and transaction-level data.
**Peer question** What would be your death row meal?
I’m not a starter person so I’d go straight to the main event with a Mexican twist. So, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas. For pudding, it would be as many Crosstown doughnuts as I could possibly eat.
**Question from Jo Mazenko, commercial director at Mail Metro Media.
What are the three most important skills that a media salesperson needs in 2024?
Number one is listening skills — which can be surprisingly often forgotten by salespeople. In particular, taking the time to understand exactly what are the specific challenges faced by clients is crucial to delivering the right solution.
What might have worked previously, even across many historic client briefs, won’t necessarily work for everyone. This needs to be backed up with a comprehensive view of the industry, having the ability to understand the industry from a holistic perspective, rather than just a siloed view of your own individual sector.
Second is being personable and able to gain the trust of clients. In the world of data, security is the first tenet and you need to emphasise that in all your conversations.
Lastly, perseverance is critical — it can be quite disheartening to be told ‘no’ by someone you pitched to, that is if you get an answer at all. But sticking through it, even through the hundreds of emails you send a week, is the ultimate key to success.
**Peer question** What do you enjoy most about working in the industry?
It’s the variety — my day is never the same here. I could be dealing with an airline one day, and the next I could be speaking with a sports club. This has given me a perspective on all their personal challenges when it comes to their data, and the unique ways they can activate it in their media.
** Question from Samera Mohmoud, commercial agency director for outdoor at Global.
Who’s your best friend in the industry?
Lauren Horne. We met when she hired me at Reach and we have since become best friends outside of work. Lauren has taught me so much but we’ve also grown a lot together.
What one thing would you change when dealing with media agencies?
It would be having more time to sit down with the media agencies and their clients to understand what exactly is the objective they’re trying to meet. Obviously, agencies are spread across many accounts, but it would be beneficial for all involved if they set aside the time to learn about the different technologies available.
Acting as a consultant in these instances allows me to evangelise on the power of data collaboration; sharing knowledge that these agencies can then use to service their other clients.