Thinking about career paths is filled with stress and uncertainty. I recently listened to MTV Viacom’s Senior Manager, Allison Rube, come to speak at Newhouse. She opened up with a quote from Sheryl Sandberg, “careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.” Rube believes we should all know that career paths don’t have to be linear and it is great to take risks.
Like myself, Rube was also a public relations major in Newhouse and she brought a fresh perspective of what she does on a day to day basis. I have a tremendous passion for the entertainment industry and listening to Rube’s experiences was so exciting for me.
Rube’s main goal is to drive ad sales revenue and sometimes Rube works with the press to get the talking points to send back to sales. She learns how to balance money and creativity. For Viacom, half of the revenue is from advertising sale and the other half is affiliates. Recently, Viacom merged with CBS so the company has some new changes. Working on the channel’s perception, in this case, MTV, comes with the need to drive revenue.
Rube reminded the audience about the importance of storytelling. If there is an issue and if MTV is down in revenue, it is up to Rube and her team to tell the best story as to why this is happening and back themselves up which also comes with strategy. 73% of millennials use visual communication and according to Rube, “consumers are demanding an ad-free experience which is something Viacom has to adapt to.” An example of when Viacom evolved is when they partnered with Facebook since both of their motivations aligned with each other in terms of content and platform engagement.
The path Rube took to get to where she is now is nothing but successful. She graduated from Newhouse in 2013, moved into TV ad sales and then was promoted to a sales planner. She then realized digital is the way to go since the industry is constantly changing which led her to brand sales. She was then promoted to a senior manager position and is currently getting her MBA at Baruch College.
Rube provided us with some advice on having a very diverse skill set and to be equipped for whatever comes. She reassured us of the powerful Newhouse network. For any career, networking is key. I not only learned this at Newhouse at an actual networking seminar, but Rube reassured everyone that the Newhouse alum truly is there to help!
Additionally, it is very important to be open-minded. It is hard to know what our passion and dream job truly is until we take chances and see what is out there. Rube believes that challenges risks will get a person where they want to be. I am always thinking about the next steps for my career. I am a people person and also somebody who loves to try new things. I continue to learn that the more exposure I get to different areas, the more I will learn and that is absolutely beneficial to my career and I thank Allison Rube for reassuring me of this!
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