CAREERS: Job interview

Name Dave King

Company Hypnosis Media

Job title Managing director/head of marketing

Age 27

How did you get into marketing?

I got into product marketing while running a telesales team for a

publishing house. Following that, in 1997, I launched one of the first

transactional music web sites linked to cover-mounted CDs.

Why did you set up Hypnosis?

My partner and I founded Hypnosis because we thought we could really

provide some insight for clients regarding what could be done

online.

What are the challenges that Hypnosis faces in its sector?

Our challenge is to differentiate ourselves as multimedia technology

suppliers in a very competitive environment.

What is the greatest challenge facing the new media development

sector?

Shrinking IT budgets and the threat of a recession. Since our clients

are traditional businesses now operating online, we were one of the few

new media companies that evaded the dotcom crash.

What was your most recent marketing campaign?

A huge push around the launch of EnvoyPro, our e-mail and SMS management

software - which, in itself, is a great campaign tool for marketing

departments. We executed an EnvoyPro pilot study with Telstar for Craig

David, and the study generated its own PR coverage.

What do you enjoy most/least about your working environment?

Highlights include excitable sales people who are enthusiastic about

everything, hyper-intelligent techies who never fail to baffle me,

revolutionary products and Matt Porter, who co-founded Hypnosis with me

and who is fantastic fun to work with. The thing I enjoy least is the

long working hours.

What individual has influenced you most in your career?

Definitely my father who has made me more figure conscious than I ever

wished to be. I always consider any campaign to be about numbers.

Where do you see yourself in ten years' time?

I hope to be involved in launching the consumer media platforms we're

going to see hitting technology outlets over the next few years.

What do you look for in the people you do business with?

I don't think we've ever done business with anyone whose company we

haven't enjoyed. More seriously though, we target stable organisations

where bureaucracy doesn't prevent quick and intelligent

decision-making.

What would be the one piece of career advice you would give?

Great experience can be gained from a fast and motivated progression

within a small organisation - and a later move to a bigger firm can

bring greater rewards.

What was your biggest mistake?

I launched a new media sales division in 1999 that was a little ahead of

its time. The idea was to consolidate the media offering of niche market

client sites by offering substantial footfall to international

advertising buyers.

Suffice to say, only those sites with massive installed user bases saw

sufficient reward in the initiative.

What has been your biggest achievement?

The growth of the Hypnosis development team over the past few years.

Our strategy has been to sustain as many high-profile developments as

possible within the music industry so as to maximise exposure for our

brand.

CV

1996-1997

National sales manager, Student Pages Group

1997-1998

Sales and marketing director, Fast Forward

1998-2001

Managing director and head of marketing, Hypnosis Media (now subsidiary

of MMT)

This article was first published on Marketing