Behind the Screens: Meet Key Account Consultant Maria McRoberts

Welcome back to Behind the Screens, a blog series where we get to know employees that make up the team behind your campaigns. I’m Kelly Nelson, a Senior Marketing Communications Specialist on Cox Media’s Las Vegas team, and I’m back with a new post featuring one of Cox Media’s local advertising experts.

This month we’re joined by Maria McRoberts, Media Consultant, who provides insights into her unique career journey and the magic of connecting local businesses with sports fans.

Thank you, Maria, for meeting with me.  As a long-time Media Consultant in San Diego, I’d love to hear about your path to Cox Media.

Maria: Well, my name is Maria McRoberts, and I’ve been here at Cox Media in my sales role since November 1998.

Really? That’s awesome.  Congratulations.

Maria: It was a magical year that November when I started because our Major League Baseball team, the San Diego Padres, had just gone to the World Series.  The first time since 1984, and we were playing against the Yankees here in San Diego.  It was an especially exciting time because we carried the broadcast for the Padres, and when I was starting, all the sales reps were excitedly overwhelmed with the amount of clients wanting to advertise with us.

Before coming to Cox Media, I was in radio so it was a very easy transition.  I worked for Jacor Communications – which is now called iHeartRadio, and I sold News Talk Radio.  Previous to that I sold a classical music format which flipped to classic rock. Going back even further, I had a brief stint at KPBS while I was a student at San Diego State University studying broadcast journalism.

Sounds to me like you don’t shy away from hard things – selling news talk and classical are harder formats than selling a Top 40 station. 

Maria: For sure!  My sales manager at the Classic Rock station moved to Cox Media and as soon as he had his first hire opportunity, he brought me over. 

Nice.  I understand you sell a lot of live sports to your clients – the “Queen of Sports” in San Diego, some say.  I would love to hear more about how you use all the live sports that Cox Media has to benefit your clients.

Maria: Well, this story goes way back, and I’m sure it has something to do with growing up in a very sports-heavy, sports-fanatic type of family.  My Dad played college basketball, and my brothers both played a variety of sports, I played softball and field hockey, and we spent a lot of time together just cheering each other on. Whenever my parents could, they would take our family of 6 to watch the San Diego Padres, San Diego Chargers, or [back then] San Diego Clippers games. 

And when I turned 15 ½, I got my work permit and got a job at the stadium where the Padres and the Chargers played. I was a souvenir salesgirl and I thought it was so cool to get paid while also watching the game. Both my brothers and my sister got jobs there too, so it was easy to continue to hangout together and share our continued passion for sports.

I tend to think this has bled into what I do as a livelihood here at Cox Media when I sell ‘live sports’, as it’s very natural to me to share the excitement and enthusiasm from a spectators point of view.  And from a personal perspective, both my kids (and nephews and nieces) have been raised participating in lots of sports, and my husband and I enjoy spending our weekends attending all of their games.

So when it comes to selling sports, what is the most important factor?

Maria: The ratings are great – the numbers are there – but it’s catching consumers when their emotions are high that can have the biggest impact for local businesses.  People follow their teams and they’ll watch the commercials because it’s an engaging and entertaining environment.

Like being there when consumers are having their own personal party. 

Maria: YES! For example, it’s been magic with the WNBA this year.  Such an exciting season!  The draft too!  With sports, local businesses have the opportunity to capture a huge reach and make an impact with minimal frequency because you don’t need to be in every game or even every other game to for somebody to actually remember your commercial.

And clients tell you that the sports are working for them?

Maria: Yes!  They hear from their friends and customers that they saw them in the game.  It’s such a pay-it-forward situation.  Yes, they are investing a lot of money to be in live sports, but they’re getting it back so much from the fans.  People are more likely to remember your ad and remember that they saw you in something they’re passionate about. 

And with the Olympics coming up this year, I always try to grab a personal story about an athlete to watch and root for. There are so many great stories surrounding the athletes and they draw consumers in.  There’s always someone with a “come from behind” story or someone that overcame a struggle when they were younger and getting involved in sports helped them achieve more.  That’s part of the magic of sports.  Everyone has a story.

I also remind my clients that when they’re buying live sports, they’ll see more success if the creative (the ad) they are using resonates with that sport.  For example, a few years ago in baseball, we put a client’s advertisement between the 7th and 8th inning and the commercial message was all about ‘making your dollar stretch’ timed to air during the “7th inning stretch”.  And if they don’t want to create a spot for each sport, then use the ads that you have that are the most entertaining. 

Like the fun ads people put in the Super Bowl. 

Maria: Exactly. This audience wants to be entertained. But it definitely doesn’t have to be as expensive as the Super Bowl.

Alright, one last question.  What is one thing you would like our clients to know about Cox Media?

Maria: That we are a trusted ‘go-to’ media partner – and a one-stop shop.  We offer it all – whether you’re a small, medium or large sized business, we have the talent and capabilities to match your needs from any perspective.  Like a full-service marketing agency, but you don’t have to give us a fee.  We’re flexible and we pivot to the needs for each business we serve.  And who doesn’t want to save time and money, right?

Spend a Minute with Maria here.

Click here to read more from the “Behind the Screens” blog series and meet more individuals that make Cox Media your local advertising experts.