Inside... Metro

campaignlive.co.uk, Thursday, 31 January 2013 07:30AM

Matt Teeman invites us into Metro's offices, where a focus on innovation is driving expansion on to digital platforms.

Teeman: restructured Metro’s commercial team, introducing agency-centric hubs

I joined the team as the commercial director in October last year, responsible for all advertising and direct-to-consumer revenues across the expanding Metro business. I couldn’t have joined at a better time, with the title celebrating a record-breaking year.

Metro is fast-paced, with a buzz in the air and there’s an infectious enthusiasm for new ideas.

Our new mobile-first mission feeds into everything we do. It’s part of our DNA – we were the original on-the-move commuter product, and mobile continues to be integral to everything we do. Our digital editions, including our award-winning tablet edition and our fully mobile-responsive Metro.co.uk, are providing us with great opportunities to engage advertisers and consumers alike.

On the senior team, we have a great breadth of experience and talent. Grant Woodthorpe, our investment director, and Sophie Robinson, our creative director, have worked at Metro since launch, while myself and Bridget Stanley, our head of agencies, are the latest additions. With Ali Sugden, our head of special projects, who runs our busy client campaign delivery team, we certainly have a great mix of expertise.

Because of the nature of our business, we have a compact team and, as a result, work very collaboratively. The sales team’s agency hub dynamic, which saw the appointment of three group heads at the end of last year, means we’re now better aligned with our media agencies.

We’re able to deliver solutions more seamlessly across all of our products – be it wraps, branded content, brand to hand, bespoke publishing – and across all our platforms from print to online to mobile. Our ability to in­novate has always been the backbone of our success and will continue to be at the heart of everything we do going forward.

Last year, the team were delighted to take home Campaign’s Print Sales Team of the Year award, as well as the IPA Media Owner Award for most innovative cross-media campaign –all this following on from an amazing Olympic performance from the whole of the Metro business. This certainly sets the bar for our ambitions for 2013.

Matt Teeman is the commercial director at Metro

  Tenure: I have been at Metro 13 years – almost 31 per cent of my life. What gets you up in the morning? Not an awful lot; I’m not brilliant first thing – the middle-aged urge to exercise and not get fat and another opportunity to listen to music are my key drivers. Loves: Football, cricket, NFL, cycling and electronic music.

  Tenure: Twelve years. What gets you up in the morning? There are still so many things we have yet to do as a brand. Responsibilities: Discovering new revenue streams and there are many routes we could take so I am on a steep learning curve. Loves: Yoga, wine and my new hobby is playing the drums.

  Tenure: Six months. What gets you up in the morning? My two sons, making a difference and being part of something special. Responsibilities: Taking Metro to the next stage of its mobile cross-platform journey. Loves: Balancing being a working mum and having knowledge across Peppa Pig and Phineas And Ferb.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk