Social media has become one of the biggest commercial opportunities in UK media, with brands spending billions across platforms and demand growing fast for sellers. Learn how to build a career in this space from Phoebe Bright, who is shaping it at one of the UK's leading social-first businesses.

We're planning season three now! If there's something specific you’d like us to cover, whether that's a media channel, a specific career path or guest you'd love to hear from, let us know at hello@makingitinmedia.com

Episode Overview

In this episode of It's A Yes! Making It In Media, Debra Sharron and Jo Wood unpack what "selling social" actually means today, from the platforms themselves to the data, talent and creative businesses that sit behind them. They're joined by Phoebe Bright, Director of Client Partnerships at Jungle Creations, who shares how one of the UK's original social-first publishers builds brand partnerships, what makes a career in social genuinely varied, and why resilience matters more than ever in a crowded market.

Whether you're weighing up a move into the media industry or already selling and wondering where social fits in, this episode offers a clear, practical view of the opportunity.

What This Episode Covers

• What social media actually includes, from platforms to data, talent and creative agencies
• Why social commerce is changing how brands measure return on investment
• Why delegate sales remains the best starting point before moving into social
• The rise of customer success and activation roles alongside front-line sales
• How a brand partnership brief moves from pitch to delivery at a social agency
• Why community depth is beating mass reach as a commercial proposition
• How AI is changing the job without replacing the people doing it
• The skills and mindset employers look for when hiring into social sales

YES List

Debra and Jo recommend Bounce by Matthew Syed, which challenges the idea that top performers are simply born talented. Syed draws on stories from sport, music and beyond to show that success comes from deliberate practice, the right environment and learning from setbacks. It is a valuable read for anyone in media sales who has faced rejection and wondered whether they have what it takes.

Top takeout: Every pitch, every no and every piece of feedback is information that moves you forward, not proof that you are not cut out for the job.

Available at major retailers

Send your questions to hello@makingitinmedia.com

• Subscribe to Jo and Debra’s newsletter, to get the key insights and takeaways from each episode
• Join one of Debra’s upcoming media sales workshops
• Follow the show on YouTube
• Follow the show on Spotify
• Follow Jo on LinkedIn here
• Follow Debra on LinkedIn here

The views shared on this podcast are for general information only and reflect personal experience. They should not be taken as specific career, legal or financial advice.

Adtech has become one of the best compensated and fastest-growing career paths in the UK media industry. Learn how to break into this career path from one of the leading experts in the field.

Episode Overview

Programmatic, DSPs, SSPs and header bidding sit at the centre of modern digital advertising. Demand for commercially minded ad tech sellers in the UK has never been higher.

In this episode of It's A Yes! Making It In Media, Debra Sharron and Jo Wood break down what ad tech actually is, what an ad tech sales role involves day to day, and why long sales cycles separate the people who thrive from the people who burn out.

They are joined by Jane Wolfson, President UK and International at Captify, who moved from agency side to publishing and then into ad tech. Jane shares how her career developed, why measurement is critical to the commercial argument, and what she looks for in the people she hires.

What This Episode Covers

• What ad tech actually is, explained without the jargon
• The difference between DSPs and SSPs, and where the sales role sits
• Why technical knowledge is absolutely learnable and should not put you off
• What an ad tech account exec does, and what they are not expected to do
• How to manage a nine-month sales cycle without losing momentum
• Why multi-threading protects deals when client contacts move on
• How cookie deprecation and changing search behaviour have reshaped the pitch
• What AI is changing about entry-level roles and everyday commercial work

YES List

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen Covey

Debra and Jo recommend this for anyone juggling a full pipeline, multiple client relationships and competing deadlines. In this classic, Covey separates being busy from being effective - a point that is pertinent in commercial media where urgent tasks often crowd out important work every week. The framework is all about how you think and prioritise rather than tactics or shortcuts.

For media sales professionals, the value sits in the client-facing habits. Thinking win-win reframes negotiation around mutual value. Seeking first to understand is the single most useful discipline for anyone selling a considered, complex product.

Top takeout: Know what you are trying to achieve before you start, and listen to your client properly before you pitch a solution.

Available at major retailers.

Send your questions to hello@makingitinmedia.com

• Subscribe to Jo and Debra’s newsletter, to get the key insights and takeaways from each episode
• Join one of Debra’s upcoming media sales workshops
• Follow the show on YouTube
• Follow the show on Spotify
• Follow Jo on LinkedIn here
• Follow Debra on LinkedIn here

The views shared on this podcast are for general information only and reflect personal experience. They should not be taken as specific career, legal or financial advice.

Out of home media is evolving fast, creating new opportunities for media sales professionals, commercial teams and anyone looking to build a successful career in media.

Episode Overview

Out of home has moved well beyond the traditional roadside poster. Digital screens, programmatic buying and retail media are reshaping how the sector is planned, bought and sold, and they are opening up new career paths for commercially minded people. In this episode of It's A Yes! Making It In Media, Debra Sharron and Jo Wood are joined by Guy Thurlow, co-founder of Next-Gen Media, who built a fast-growing out of home business from a student venture with no industry contacts. Together they explore how the sector works, where the growth is coming from, and the skills and mindset it takes to succeed.

What This Episode Covers

• What out of home actually means and how it fits within the wider media mix
• Why digital out of home is now driving the sector’s growth
• How programmatic buying makes campaigns reactive
• The three routes to market: specialist agencies, mainstream agencies and client direct
• Why relevance and audience understanding often matter more than creativity
• How to break into an insular industry without existing contacts
• The transferable, data-led skills out of home builds and where they can take your career

YES List

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

Debra and Jo recommend this modern classic for anyone in media sales, commercial teams or leadership who wants to pitch with more impact. Simon Sinek argues that people buy the reason behind what you do before they buy the product itself, and that starting with why builds belief and trust. For sellers, it is a practical reframe for structuring pitches around the client's challenge rather than the features of a solution.

Top takeout: Do not open with your product. Start with why it matters to the client, then back it up with the how and the what.

Available at major retailers

Watch Simon's TED TALK here

Send your questions to hello@makingitinmedia.com

• Subscribe to Jo and Debra’s newsletter, to get the key insights and takeaways from each episode
• Join one of Debra’s upcoming media sales workshops
• Follow the show on YouTube
• Follow the show on Spotify
• Follow Jo on LinkedIn here
• Follow Debra on LinkedIn here

The views shared on this podcast are for general information only and reflect personal experience. They should not be taken as specific career, legal or financial advice.

Retail media has become one of the fastest growing parts of the UK advertising landscape, creating new commercial opportunities for anyone building a career in media.

Episode Overview

In this episode of It's A Yes! Making It In Media, Debra Sharron and Jo Wood explore how retail media has evolved from a niche shopper marketing function into a central pillar of modern marketing plans. They unpack the formats brands are buying, the skills employers are looking for, and what it actually takes to build a commercial career in this space.

Later in the episode, they're joined by Nick Ashley, Propositions and Go-To-Market Director at Tesco Media, who shares how first-party data, AI and a career spanning agency, client and media owner roles are shaping the future of retail media.

What This Episode Covers

• Why retail media has moved from shopper marketing to the centre of brand strategy
• The full range of formats, from on-site placements to in-store screens and connected TV
• What experience actually transfers into a retail media career
• Why data literacy matters, even in roles that aren't data-led
• How Tesco Clubcard data is turned into audiences brands can act on
• The practical role AI is playing in creative, targeting and self-serve platforms
• Why measurement and proving incrementality remain a live industry challenge
• What it takes to manage both an advertiser and a retailer as two separate clients

YES List

Scoring Points and Brand is Dead, Long Live the Customer — Clive Humby

Debra and Jo recommend this pair of books by Clive Humby, co-founder of Dunnhumby and one of the driving forces behind modern customer data science.

Scoring Points tells the inside story of how Dunnhumby conceived, pitched and launched the Tesco Clubcard back in 1995, turning raw transaction data into one of the UK's richest customer insight ecosystems. Brand is Dead, Long Live the Customer, written in the mid-2000s, predicted the shift away from mass, untargeted advertising towards personalised, first-party customer relationships – exactly the shift retail media is built on today.

Both are essential reads for anyone working in retail media, data-led sales or commercial strategy who wants to understand where the industry's current thinking actually came from.

Top takeout: First-party data only becomes valuable once it's turned into insight brands can act on. Understanding that shift – from raw data to genuine customer relationships – is the blueprint behind modern retail media.

Available at major retailers

Send your questions to hello@makingitinmedia.com

• Subscribe to Jo and Debra’s newsletter, to get the key insights and takeaways from each episode
• Join one of Debra’s upcoming media sales workshops
• Follow the show on YouTube
• Follow the show on Spotify
• Follow Jo on LinkedIn here
• Follow Debra on LinkedIn here

The views shared on this podcast are for general information only and reflect personal experience. They should not be taken as specific career, legal or financial advice.

Agency careers are evolving fast, creating new opportunities for media professionals, commercial teams and anyone looking to build a successful career in media.

Episode Overview:

From global holding groups and specialist independents to social, Amazon and experiential agencies, the agency landscape has never been broader. At the same time, AI, automation and changing client expectations are reshaping how agencies operate, the skills they value and the career paths available to ambitious media professionals.

In this episode of It’s A Yes! Making It In Media, Debra Sharron and Jo Wood are joined by Lisa Morgan, Managing Director at Generation Media, and Sarah Chappell, Commercial Director at Guerrillascope.

Together, they explore what agency life is really like, how the sector is evolving, the opportunities available across different agency types, and the commercial, strategic and storytelling skills that are becoming increasingly important for career success.

What This Episode Covers:

• The different types of media agencies and how the sector has evolved
• The differences between working at a holding company and an independent agency
• How agencies win new business and what makes a successful pitch
• Why commercial thinking and storytelling are becoming essential career skills
• The impact of AI, automation and changing client expectations
• The opportunities available for entry-level talent and future media leaders
• How agency-client relationships are evolving towards more strategic partnerships
• The skills and attributes agency leaders look for when hiring and developing talent

YES List

Influence - Robert Cialdini

Debra and Jo recommend this classic book on persuasion, decision-making and influence for anyone working in media sales, agencies, client services or commercial leadership.

Drawing on decades of behavioural science research, Cialdini explores the psychological principles that shape how people make decisions, build trust and respond to ideas. From client presentations and negotiations to pitching and stakeholder management, the lessons remain highly relevant for today’s media professionals.

Top takeout: People are influenced by more than logic alone. Understanding the principles behind trust, credibility and decision-making can help you communicate more effectively, build stronger relationships and gain greater buy-in for your ideas.

Purchase here

Send your questions to hello@makingitinmedia.com

• Subscribe to Jo and Debra’s newsletter, to get the key insights and takeaways from each episode
• Join one of Debra’s upcoming media sales workshops
• Follow the show on YouTube
• Follow the show on Spotify
• Follow Jo on LinkedIn here
• Follow Debra on LinkedIn here

The views shared on this podcast are for general information only and reflect personal experience. They should not be taken as specific career, legal or financial advice.

Audio is evolving fast, creating new opportunities for media sales professionals, commercial teams and anyone looking to build a successful career in media.

Episode Overview:

From digital radio and streaming to podcasting, video content and AI, the audio landscape is changing rapidly. As brands invest more heavily in audio advertising and publishers expand their podcast offerings, demand is growing for people who understand how to sell, package and commercialise these platforms effectively.

In this episode of It’s A Yes! Making It In Media, Debra Sharron and Jo Wood are joined by Andy Goldsmith, formerly UK President of Audioboom UK, and Russell Pedrick, Managing Director of Octave at News UK.

Together, they explore how the audio market is evolving, what makes podcast advertising so effective, the growing role of video and AI, and the skills media professionals need to succeed in this increasingly dynamic sector.

• Why audio remains one of media’s most engaging advertising channels
• How podcast advertising differs from traditional radio advertising
• Why host-read podcast ads continue to deliver strong commercial results
• The growing role of video in podcast discovery and monetisation
• How AI is changing media sales, content creation and measurement
• The skills employers are looking for in today’s audio sales professionals
• Why adaptability remains one of the most valuable career assets in media

Debra and Jo recommend this marketing and behavioural science classic for anyone working in media sales, advertising or commercial media. Rory Sutherland explores why people don’t always make decisions logically and how understanding human psychology can create more effective marketing, stronger commercial propositions and better sales conversations.

Drawing on examples from advertising, branding and behavioural economics, the book challenges conventional thinking about value and highlights the importance of perception, trust and emotional connection.

Top takeout: People don’t behave logically, they behave psychologically. Understanding how people think can often be more valuable than understanding what the data says.

Purchase here

Send your questions to hello@makingitinmedia.com

• Subscribe to Jo and Debra’s newsletter, to get the key insights and takeaways from each episode
• Join one of Debra’s upcoming media sales workshops
• Follow the show on YouTube
• Follow the show on Spotify
• Follow Jo on LinkedIn here
• Follow Debra on LinkedIn here

The views shared on this podcast are for general information only and reflect personal experience. They should not be taken as specific career, legal or financial advice.