Alayna Hyler Emerging Talent

‘My Strategy Has Been Constant Communication’; IMPACT Award Winner Alayna Hyler Leads by Example at Questex

by IMPACT AwardsMedia

In the last of our series on our 10 IMPACT Award winners, Alayna Hyler (pictured here third from left at our celebratory Luncheon), associate director, marketing programs at Questex, talks about taking on a leadership role at a major B2B media organization. (She won in the Emerging Talent category.) “I always encourage people to grow in their career toward what they’re passionate about,” she said.

Besides being our Emerging Talent, Alayna Hyler is a rising star on Questex’s Performance Marketing team—the team that delivers on all of Questex’s programs, from advertising to content across 40-plus brands. She acts as the liaison between sales and clients for delivery.

Since Hyler has been the associate director, the revenue her team supports has increased 25.5% YOY. This revenue growth consists of advertising programs that increased by 25.8% and content marketing programs at 24.7%. She was able to deliver on this growth while only increasing cost 13%. She has also transformed how Questex serves its clients by moving to account-based customer service and away from her team supporting individual sales reps.

Hyler has also increased their programmatic revenue streams. By working with an expert in the field, attending a programmatic/ad operations industry event and through her own research, she has started to put improvements and tools in place to grow in this area of business.

Additionally, Hyler saw a gap in being able to define the client satisfaction of Questex’s digital programs and launched an NPS survey for the marketing programs team to send to all clients that run content marketing programs with them. Now, Questex is able to gain feedback on overall satisfaction, quality of leads, quality on content, how likely they are to work with them in the future and project management/client communication.

Get to know Alayna Hyler a little further in this Q&A:

Ronn Levine: How long have you been at Questex?
Alayna Hyler: I am going on five years now. Time moves fast.

I’m told you manage a team of 17 people. Leadership is such a tricky thing these days, especially with the pandemic. How did that come about and how have you grown?
AH: I was working as a marketing program specialist for two years, and at that time our team of five or six people had a big workload. So we had to add additional people. My manager was leaving the company, so I was promoted to manager of the marketing program. I oversaw a group with about nine direct reports, overseeing our science, health care and technology sectors. I was in that position for about a year, and then that boss left the company and I was promoted again. Just having the experience of working in that room for two years gave me a really good idea of what was needed.

What has been your style as a young leader? Is it a matter of just being authentic and yourself with everyone?
AH:  Just being honest and approachable is kind of the way I like to go. Also to be as transparent as possible; that was especially true during Covid. (I started managing people just a few months after Covid started.) My strategy has really been constant communication—check-ins with my direct reports either bi-weekly or weekly. We all have tons of group chats to stay in touch. I always try to be available for a couple minutes. I just try to make sure everyone has all the information they need and all their questions answered.

I’m also told that to date, 14 people have been promoted on your team. That’s quite admirable.
AH: It’s really exciting because I do have a younger team so it’s a pleasure to work with them and see them grow in their careers. I always encourage people to grow towards what they’re passionate about. I saw that the team was beginning to struggle juggling tasks. So I restructured the team, promoting one member to lead a subset in roles that support the backend processes, while promoting two other members to each lead a team focused on client-facing tasks.

Questex has been a member of our association for some time, and your CEO Paul Miller has always been a great partner to us.
AH: Paul is really great at providing direction for the entire company, and I think he’s a really special leader. I seriously believe that he knows every single person in the company. It’s really motivating. Every quarter he does a Town Hall giving some kind of shared information or how we’re doing as a company.

I see that transparency is a theme there. What type of customer outreach are you finding works best these days?
AH: If our client’s goal is brand awareness, then I would suggest something like Web ads on our site or newsletter sponsorship. Webinars are still a great way to get conversions. If lead gen is your goal, emails might be the best way to get your brand out there. We also have many content marketing programs and partnerships that will work with customers. [Hyler launched a process allowing the team to log and track promotions associated with each of their content market programs.] We like any material or content that gets that message out to our clients and reaches their audience.

I also see you played a large part in getting podcast sponsorships there. I know that can involve multiple teams, and it’s now a new revenue stream for your digital business. I’m sure you’re in on your share of meetings.
AH: Yes, this afternoon I’m having a big team meeting—all 18 of us. It’s definitely a challenge as a manager to make sure I’m getting everyone’s input, so having that video component is really important. I don’t want someone to feel like they need to sit on mute the whole time. I want them to feel free to speak up. I always tell them: You are the one working with our clients on a daily basis. You know these processes. So I trust your input and feedback for when I have to make decisions.

Where do you see yourself growing in your role in the next couple of years?
AH: Growth is something that HR encourages for the entire company. For me personally, I’m still learning so much and still being challenged every week. That’s really important for anyone to have in the role that they’re in. I have a fantastic boss that I learn from every single day. I’m just trying to be a sponge and soak all that up for now.

Copy of Media Library (4)

Tech& – Insights from Former FTC Commissioner: Navigating Antitrust Laws & Business Regulation

by PolicyTech&

In this thought-provoking conversation, Morten Skroejer engages with former FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips to discuss the FTC’s application of the unfair methods of competition standard. The conversation delves into the agency’s authority to issue substantive rules and its potential implications.

Morten and Noah examine the legal and constitutional arguments against the FTC’s broad interpretation of its rulemaking powers. They also explore the significance of political capital and how it influences agency decisions.

As they navigate the complexities of FTC authority, they advise businesses to be proactive and mindful of their conduct, even in the absence of specific rules. The conversation ends with a reflection on the timeline for releasing the discussion and the importance of reviewing the content carefully.

Join Morten and Noah as they shed light on the legal landscape surrounding the FTC’s application of the unfair methods of competition standard and its potential impact on businesses and consumers.

Watch the full conversation here

‘Educating Subscribers on the Depth of Coverage’; Add These Ideas to Your Rules of Engagement

by Media

“We are redefining the rules of revenue generation by placing subscriber engagement at the heart of our growth strategy,” writes Anjali Iyer, head of lifecycle marketing for The Washington Post, in INMA this week. It makes sense. That group is the most loyal but might be hard to get back if lost. So the Post makes sure to tell subscribers about everything they do. Are we all doing enough of that?

I often hark back to the Medill research last year that reported that “regularity is more important than intensity” when it comes to subscriber/reader retention.

“Habit is more important than intensity,” said Arvid Tchivzhel, senior VP, product, Mather Economics. “I’d rather have someone read one article a day and come back than someone who reads six articles at a time and doesn’t come back for months.”

“This research is significant because it shows the key to success in keeping readers is building habit, whether you’re a general interest metro daily or a weekly business publication with a more upscale audience,” said Tim Franklin, senior associate dean and John M. Mutz chair in local news at Medill. “The formula is the same. Do things that regularly lead readers back to you.”

Of course, newsletters is one of those paths. “Newsletter engagement is powerful,” writes the Post’s Iyer. “Subscribers who sign up for newsletters exhibit a higher level of interest and engagement compared to those who haven’t.”

The Post has also been very big the last few years on “educating subscribers on the depth and breadth of [their] coverage. [It] strengthens our relationship with subscribers and increases their likelihood of remaining engaged.” Iyer points to the importance of “meeting subscribers wherever they are [to] enhance their overall experience.”

Here are more tips for reader engagement:

Learn what topics most drive your audience. In 2022 the National Association of Realtors created the podcast Drive with NAR. It’s been very successful with 3,000 listeners on average and expanding. One episode drew 12,000 listeners—it concerned the safety of Realtors, focusing on two women being stalked. This year they’ll do a 12-part series on safety and put other elements around it. In the Medill study, the business newsletter was surprised to find that their healthcare stories were popular even though that wasn’t their focus. The publisher called it “something of a revelation. We know this is a big healthcare market, but we didn’t have a lot of data around how many subscribers are there because of that.”

Build up and market your popular writers/columnists. That columnist is “worth his or her weight in gold,” said Edward Malthouse, research director of Medill’s Spiegel Research. The Atlantic has about 15 non-subscriber newsletters and five subscriber newsletters with most of those revolving around a popular writer. Up for Debate features Conor Friedersdorf; How to Build a Life keeps up with Arthur C. Brooks; I Have Notes comes from memoirist Nicole Chung and Unsettled Territory highlights the writings of Imani Perry. Neal and EXCEL Award-winning writers certainly attract followings.

Find a habit your readers can latch onto. Of course, The New York Times didn’t pay all that money for Wordle for nothing. (I’ve now seen Artle from a local museum, Worldl by a French web developer about travel, and Quordle which plays like Wordle on steroids.) The Washington Post found that even their most loyal readers needed to be told about their habit-forming benefits, so they “created an email marketing series aimed at benefit education to positively impact both retention and customer lifetime value,” Iyer writes.

Focus on your loyal readers. Medill advised downplaying breaking news for “a balance of content that attracts your most loyal readers, the ones who will subscribe… Put the big photo and headline on the content that serves most of your readers.” Add a newsletter to address the specific, high-traffic niches, they urge. That advice has certainly been followed by large media outlets—the New York Times has an endless page of newsletter titles. They also recommend using “teaser” links to related content at the bottom of stories.

Initiate a comprehensive “onboarding” process for new subscribers. It should include a set of messages highlighting exclusive content and website navigation, said Michael Silberman, EVP, media strategy at Piano. He also recommends emailing daily round-up newsletters to subscribers and making sure that the content that drives frequency is highlighted. “Putting all those pieces together is really important,” he said.

Experiment with additional content areas. The analysis of the business publication found that articles about restaurants and dining ranked in the top four areas of page views by prospective readers, those who visit but aren’t yet subscribing.” Tchivzhel said that makes sense because this particular audience is an affluent one. Experiment with additional content areas—that’s how new verticals are discovered. “We’re really trying to use the data to see how far we can expand our audience outside of traditional business,” one niche business publisher said. “We see some potential opportunities if we put more resources behind those areas.”

 

‘The Chance to Break That Pattern’; Neal Award Winners Set Bar High for DEI Coverage

by Media

Diversity and inclusion have so many layers to it, I was reminded again last night. The three 2023 Neal Award winners for Best DEI Coverage portray that complexity in their content. Endeavor showed that women truckers don’t come in one size and shape. IEEE Spectrum gave readers an inside perspective they would not get elsewhere. And Project Hope demonstrated that health care equality has its own intricacies.

Last night at the National Building Museum here in Washington, D.C., architect Suchi Reddy of Reddymade Architecture and Design spoke about her current installation titled Look Here, featuring high-flying clusters of reflective fractals that expose new facets of this cavernous and historic building.

When going over her firm’s work, Reddy became most animated speaking about the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. The installation consisted of 7,000 sculpturally arranged yellow pinwheels.

“One day when I was leaving the area after a long day, a woman in a wheelchair strode up,” Reddy said. “I was so excited that I went back and escorted her to the ramp we had built [for wheelchairs] to visit.” Reddy’s proud tone of voice confirmed that it was a wonderful moment for her.

This reminded me of a couple things. One was a recent occasion when transportation to an off-site dinner during an industry event did not include wheelchair access. (I learned that Lyft is better than Uber for this.)

I also recalled one of our 2023 Neal Award winners for Best DEI Coverage: Endeavor Business Media’s FleetOwner’s Women in Transportation issue. “This year, FleetOwner spoke with nine different women across the industry’s ranks,” wrote Cristina Commendatore. “Each professional sees the potential that the industry has not only for women, but for the next generation of younger workers in trucking.”

Here are takeaways from the three winners in that special category:

Publish a variety of profiles. Like Reddy’s talk, the Women in Transportation package highlights many types of diversity in its profiles. Sharae Moore is the CEO and founder of SHE Trucking. (I may have to tune into their weekly podcast.) Moore was invited to the White House as part of President Biden’s Trucking Action Plan, and now SHE Trucking partners with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s driver apprenticeship program.

Another profile centered on Lindsey Trent, president and co-founder of Next-Gen Trucking. “High schools—and even middle schools—need more trucking programs if the industry has any chance of recruiting the next generation of talent,” wrote Commendatore. “That’s where the Next-Gen Trucking comes into play.”

Said another profiled woman, master-certified technician Missy Albin, “When people see me and I say what I do as a job, they say ‘no way.’ I am only 120 lb. and when people hear what my profession is, they think that I should be a larger man, strong, and look dirty and that my nails should be dirty.”

Hire more diverse writers. Nothing About Us Without Us comes from one of the rallying cries of the disabled community. “Assistive technologies are often designed without involving the people these technologies are supposed to help. That needs to change,” wrote Harry Goldstein, acting editor-in-chief, IEEE Spectrum, in a preview of the issue and the article titled The Bionic-Hand Arms Race by Britt Young.

“Young, who is working on a book about the prosthetics industry, was in the first cohort of toddlers fitted with a myoelectric prosthetic hand, which users control by tensing and relaxing their muscles against sensors inside the device’s socket.”

“IEEE Spectrum has covered many of these developments over the decades, but generally speaking it has involved able-bodied journalists writing about assistive technology…,” continued Goldstein. “We are fortunate now to have the chance to break that pattern, thanks to a grant, [partly] from the IEEE Foundation… With the grant, Spectrum is launching a multiyear fellowship program for disabled writers.”

We read about wonderful programs that want to diversify our stages—Informa Markets’ Diverse Voices on Stage comes to mind—but we hear less about programs to diversify our writers, designers and photographers.

Use many content platforms. In Project Hope’s Neal Award-winning Health Affairs February 2022 issue on racism and health, “70% of the papers featured a lead author who had never before published in Health Affairs. In total, more than 90 authors and coauthors were published for the first time in Health Affairs with this issue.”

That’s an achievement in itself, but Health Affairs also collaborated with other diverse content creators to include elements that go beyond the traditional journal articles. The issue was so popular with readers that a second theme issue focused on racism and health is planned for October.

Besides the numerous articles on the site, there are videos, a Lunch & Learn recording, Briefings, Professional Development, related podcasts and a very cool StoryMap titled The Problem of the Color Line. With some amazing charts, maps and old photos. If anything the whole project is a bit intimidating.

I just clicked on one of the many articles—The Potential for Bias in Machine Learning and Opportunities for Health Insurers to Address It. “As machine learning is increasingly used in health care settings, there is growing concern that it can reflect and perpetuate past and present systemic inequities and biases,” the article says.

 

433403

Seeking a Fair Patent System

by Policy

By Stephanie Martz & Chris Mohr

The article can be found on realclearmarkets.com. Access it by following this link

As representatives of a broad coalition of diverse American businesses, from Main Street retail shops to technology companies, we supported the patent reforms made by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). In the AIA, Congress created the cost-effective, efficient, and expert process called Inter Partes Review (IPR) for addressing invalid patents and the abusive patent litigation that results from them. United for Patent Reform (UFPR) advocates for a patent system that enhances patent quality, advances meaningful innovation, and protects legitimate American businesses from abusive patent litigation, and we have supported the IPR process as critical to those goals.

For this reason, we are deeply concerned with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) harmful proposals to weaken IPR. Many of the rules proposed by the USPTO undermine IPR’s core function to correct the grant of invalid patents, which flies in the face of the AIA. The proposed rules contradict this intent in numerous ways, including things as fundamental as changing the standard for the IPR process and placing restrictions on who can use it. Former Senator Leahy, an author of the AIA itself, recently wrote that “Not only do USPTO rules clearly violate the statute, but they would also reverse so much of the economic progress we’ve made as a result of the AIA,” and that “American manufacturers and consumers would shoulder the burden.”

That is why it is critical that the IPR process remains the efficient, cost-effective, and expert tool that it is for addressing errors made by the Patent Office, for the sake of the more than 90 million U.S. employees represented by UFPR’s members and for the health of our patent system. The USPTO’s proposals would do the opposite – reduce patent quality, stifle innovation, and bring back the days of rampant litigation on invalid patents.

Abusive patent litigation by non-practicing entities (NPEs), sometimes known as patent trolls, has been a persistent problem for years, with UFPR members routinely targeted. NPEs specifically prey on businesses lacking the resources to engage in lengthy patent litigation, seeking easy settlements regardless of the validity of their patent or the merits of their claims. In an example that is far too common, one NPE sued 74 businesses across 23 states for using technology that allowed them to print over a network, including many small, family-owned commercial printing shops.

The IPR process has proven invaluable for addressing abuses like this. By utilizing IPR, businesses have successfully challenged bad patents directly asserted against them or have benefited from their suppliers and service providers doing so on their behalf. For instance, in the case where an NPE went after businesses across the country for printing over a network, several commercial printer companies used the IPR process to have the USPTO review the patent in question, and it was found to be invalid. In another case where thousands of small businesses were threatened with patent litigation over scan-to-email technology, the scanner manufacturers used the IPR process to invalidate the patent, allowing these businesses to restore their customers’ access to this technology. These success stories highlight the importance of a robust IPR process in safeguarding businesses that can’t withstand the distraction or expense of full-scale patent litigation.

A recent study confirms the importance of the IPR process to American businesses and consumers. The study shows that IPR has passed on billions in direct cost savings to businesses which has contributed significantly to the U.S. economy, spurring $3 billion in gross product and creating 13,500 job-years of employment. This is why proposals like those the USPTO is making now fly in the face of what’s best for business. By weakening IPR, the proposed rules will bring about more litigation and unjust settlements, reducing resources available for innovation needed to develop new products and services and to create jobs.

The USPTO’s proposed changes to the IPR process would undermine patent quality, hinder innovation, and burden legitimate businesses with unwarranted litigation and settlement costs. We cannot let this happen. To uphold the integrity of the patent system and promote economic growth, it is imperative we protect and strengthen the IPR process. Let’s move forward – not backward. By doing so, we can ensure a fair and effective patent system that supports all American businesses.

Stephanie Martz and Chris Mohr are Co-Chairs of United for Patent Reform.