NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 04: Laura Lang CEO of Time Inc. attends the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall on June 4, 2012 in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Laura Lang, former chief executive of Digitas and new cheif executive of Time Inc.’s favorite refrain is “We need to be where our consumers are,” says NYTimes.com. With overall revenue at the publishing company declining roughly 30% in the last five years, Lang was brought on to revamp and upsell the company’s many classic products, such as Time, People, InStyle and Sports Illustrated. Unlike former executives, Ms. Lang talks about Time Inc. not as a magazine publisher, but as a branded news and entertainment company. Her main focus seems to be on tailoring the company’s magazine properties around the digital consumer – rather than simply increasing ad sales.
Brought in when her predecessor was fired after six months, and adjusted operating income had fallen 38%, Lang instantly convened senior executives in NY to review each magazine and assess what each one needs to thrive in a digital world. With a reach of 130 million unduplicated consumers a month and 65 million households in its database, ad sales are important. However, in a new digital age, it is Lang’s job to redefine and increase ad sales for the company’s new digital strategy.
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