BBC Mags to add central sales team

BBC Magazines has created a new central ad sales team across its different magazine brands to offer advertisers a one-stop shop. The new centralised team, called Key Customer Group, forms a major plank of the BBC’s plan to extend its magazine brands outside the UK market.

BBC Magazines managing director Peter Phippen will take on responsibility for developing domestic magazine brands as global brands. Top Gear magazine is on sale in the Arabic markets and a German version of Top of the Pops is also available.

Last year BBC Worldwide restructured its magazines arm, ditching the genre-specific divisions of sport, motoring and entertainment; Radio Times, arts and factual; lifestyle; and family. It replaced them with product-related management units (MW July 12, 2001).

BBC Magazines is seeking an advertising director to lead the Key Customer Group team.

The sales reorganisation will align BBC Magazines with the likes of Emap and IPC Media, both of which have separate outfits for ad sales called Emap Advertising and IPC Advertising respectively.

But BBC Worldwide will keep its individual sales teams, which will co-ordinate with the central sales team for cross-media deals. The central sales team will act as the hub for advertisers interested in cross-media deals.

In order to extend its brands outside the UK, BBC Magazines is expected to launch joint ventures with outside partners.