Name: Laureano (Larry) Magtoto
Position: Director of Information Technology

In a nutshell, my job at Ocean Media is to…

…get out of this nutshell that I’ve been put in. Just kidding. I’m here to make sure that computers don’t explode—and to make sure Mike is happy. I’m the IT guy—I fix the computers, make sure the network is running, make sure we’re not spending too much money on technology, and I’m here to make sure that I say “no” to people when they ask for special requests. Kidding again.

The clients I work with are:

I used to help everyone with all the accounts, then one day Mike came up to me and asked what I knew about DSL, and the IT guy was born. So I did both for a while, but it eventually became too much.

What sets Ocean Media apart from other agencies?

From the get-go, we weren’t afraid to do things our way. We’d look at processes and ask how other places are doing things, and how can we do it better than the competition. We’ve been challenged before on how we do things because it isn’t how other places do it, but we like to think that the way we do it satisfies our clients better.

What’s your favorite thing about Ocean Media?

Our new offices! Overall, though, the environment is great—it’s not as bureaucratic as a lot of other places I’ve worked at.

When it comes to working in media, what skills or traits would help someone go far in the industry?

A desire to work, and to work efficiently—because you do put in long hours in this industry. Making sure that Mike is happy has helped me go far, so make sure others you’re working with are happy, too. To do things differently. In the IT world, there are a lot of trends that we could spend the money on and be part of, but do we really need that? Or do we stick with older technology that still works well for us and what we need to do? Those are the important things.

Any advice or words of wisdom for someone getting into this side of the business?

Learn the basics. Learn what terms like CPM and GRP mean. Everything else will just depend on the kind of company that you want to be a part of.

The most influential person/people in my life have been:

God and family.

My favorite artist is:

Third Eye Blind. I don’t have any stories about the band, I just really liked them in college and, you know, that’s what you do in college. You listen to Third Eye Blind and you walk around hugging people.

If you were stranded on an island, what three things would you want to have with you?

Food, a boat, and a horde of Vikings to help me conquer neighboring islands after we all pile into the boat. It’s a pretty big boat to hold a horde, by the way.

If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?

I would be Tyler Durden, Brad Pitt’s character Fight Club, because, well…have you seen him in all his glistening glory?

In all, 25 new scripted dramas and comedies premiered on network TV this season, with only 8 surviving to make it to season two. Of the shows that did survive, it’s hard to name any as a standout success.

Ocean Media has been tracking the progress for each show this season on Facebook, and the correlation between a show doing well on the social media platform, and in the ratings was pretty strong. The top four shows in Facebook Likes all made it to season two, with the other four spread throughout the list. Those top four shows on Facebook are also the four that could be most nearly labeled as “breakout” hits.

Here is the complete list of new shows that were cancelled in 2013:

• 666 Park Avenue
• Last Resort
• Deception
• 1600 Penn
• Vegas
• The New Normal
• Go On
• Do No Harm
• Guys with Kids
• The Mob Doctor
• Ben and Kate
• Animal Practice
• Red Widow
• Zero Hour
• Partners
• Made in Jersey
• Golden Boy

More than just paying households though, Angie’s List is vastly improving in pretty much every other metric too. First quarter total revenue was up a whopping 68% to $52.2 million. That revenue breaks down to $14.6 million from paid subscribers (up 48%), and $37.5 million from advertisers and service providers (up 78%). The company’s cost-per-acquisition figure dropped 12% as well.

Customer renewal rates are a stellar 75% as well.

Angie’s List projects that the second quarter of 2013 will continue to build upon this growth with revenue expected to hit $59 million. With $28 million going into the marketing budget, and an acquisition cost of $72 per new customer, customers should grow another 400,000 in just the next quarter!

Ocean Media has provided media buying and media planning services to Angie’s List for the past 4 years, helping the company achieve its amazing growth. Our risk averse approach has helped Angie’s List grow into an industry leader, along with many other companies. Contact our media agency today to learn more!

The rankings from ExecRank are based on a custom algortihm that takes into account 24 key performance areas. ExecRank pumps in two years of research and interviews with other COOs to help formulate the rankings as well.

“Mr. Avedissian has a strong record of success in a diverse range of roles,” said Adam Navrozally, Analyst for the rankings division of ExecRank. “His work has increased eHarmony’s reputation for providing an excellent online dating experience. He is highly regarded in his field, and among other COOs.”

The core competency ExecRank looks for in a leading COO is the ability to increase and nurture a company’s reputation in the industry and operational efficiencies to improve day-to-day structure.

“We are proud of the team we have at eHarmony,” said Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder and CEO of eHarmony. “Armen has worked to implement the vision the leadership team set for eHarmony. As a result of the flawless execution of our objectives, eHarmony is enjoying more participants than ever before, matching more couples than ever before and fulfilling its mission of helping bring people together that are compatible with one another – building the basis for a great relationship right from the start. Armen has played such a key role in this process and we congratulate him on this award.”

Ocean Media has provided eHarmony with media buying and media planning services from 2002-2011 and again throughout 2013. Our risk averse approach has helped eHarmony grow into an industry leader, along with many other companies. Contact our media agency today to learn more!

Ocean Waves is your behind-the-scenes look at the people who make Ocean Media a leading independent media planning and buying agency. We chat with the employees who make our agency so great, ask them a number of questions and then share their answers with the world. Today we are spotlighting Account Director and creator of Ocean Waves, Lauren Dunn. 

Name: Lauren Dunn
Position: Account Director

In a nutshell, my job at Ocean Media is to:

Stop, collaborate and listen. In all seriousness though, I think of my job as one-third facilitator, one-third collaborator or relationship manager, and one-third detective. Yes, I work in advertising with a focus on the media side of things. Yes, it’s incredibly interesting. But if listening and being a seeker of information aren’t always top of mind each day, the job isn’t getting done to the best of my ability. I love solving clients’ business needs and working with the rest of the team to maximize clients’ ROI and grow their business, but I also love the part of my job that’s focused on developing, maintaining and fostering new relationships

What sets Ocean Media apart from other agencies?

For me, a ton. I think most of us have all worked at great places, and so-so places—with great people and challenging people. Of the times that were trying, professionally speaking, I like to think that they were there for a reason: they taught me about the kind of people I want to work with, and about the kind of agency I wanted to seek out and call home. I found that home here at Ocean Media. The people are smart, fun, there’s an amazing work-life balance thing going on here and, as a whole, the agency is nimble and set on making things happen—which they do. Consistently, and efficiently.

What’s your favorite thing about Ocean Media?

From the moment I first set foot in the agency, I’d have to say the people—they’re first-rate. They’re real, they’re approachable, they’re candid, and they have a great time doing what they do—which makes the atmosphere a real joy to be in each day. Nobody is ever too busy to help or take time out to trouble-shoot a situation; it’s a trait that feels like it’s embedded in everyone’s DNA.

When it comes to working in media, what skills or traits would help someone go far in the industry?

I think they’re the things that would help someone go far in any industry: have passion, and have an innate curiosity. Find a career that is of immense interest to you, and you’ll go far. I think it’s also really important to have things outside of work that are energizing. Personally, making time for hobbies and the extra-curricular stuff makes for a happier me, and I feel it allows me to give that much more when I’m here in the office.

Any advice or words of wisdom for someone getting into this side of the business?

You’d better like having a good time, because there will be a lot of them in an agency! Enjoy learning about people, about what they do, about what makes them tick. At the end of the day, knowing as much as you can about someone’s role and where they’re coming from will help you navigate certain situations that much better. Have patience. Take time to understand why something is the way it is. If you don’t understand it, ask.

If I wasn’t working here at Ocean Media, you’d most likely find me…

…writing 24/7, or recording my own music. I love creating, and I’d love to know what it’s like to be able to take a few years off and dedicate myself to seeing how far I could take those things.

The movie I’ll watch over and over again if I see it on TV is…

…there are two: Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail—I absolutely love them. Nora Ephron was such a contributor to Hollywood and the world of romantic comedy, and she’s probably single-handedly responsible for instilling a sort of “hopeless romantic” quality in me. Those movies get under my skin because they’re full of hope and happiness—two things we could use more of in the world.

My favorite artist is:

I have a ton—everything from Tom Petty to Robert Plant, from Dido to Yanni (yep, you read that right). But I’d probably have to say Sarah Brightman—her voice has a really dreamlike quality to it, and there’s just an ethereal feeling to her albums. They’re really peaceful. I think a lot of people know her as Andrew Lloyd Weber’s former love interest and lead as Christine Daaé in Phantom of the Opera, but after her Broadway, opera-centric years, she teamed up with producers of Enigma’s music and did the crossover thing. It’s all really, really good stuff. She’s also currently training to go to the International Space Station in 2015, so I’m completely jealous.

My nicknames are:

I have a few. My family called me Yoyo when I was little because I wasn’t able to say my name clearly (you know how those L’s can be). The story is that my mom and older brother were driving somewhere one day—I might’ve been 3 years old or so—and my brother said something that made my mom chuckle and say, “Oh, poor Lauren.” I didn’t talk much at that age (I was an observer of life, naturally), but when I heard my mom say that, I mimicked her and said quietly from the back seat, “Oh, poor Yoyo.” I also go by and answer to LD, a nickname that came about in my past life since there were five other Laurens at my last agency. And “Rar” was a high school nickname that I gave my then-boyfriend, but which I also somehow inherited. He’s one of my best friends to this day, and when we talk on the phone, it probably sounds pretty ridiculous: “Hey, Rar, how’s it going?” “Good, Rar, what’s going on with you?” Yeah. Awesome.

If you were stranded on an island, what three things would you want to have with you?

A never-ending mountain of burritos would be pretty sweet—as long as there was a way to make sure they didn’t go bad. I love burritos, specifically the small red burritos from Del Taco; the half-pounders have a weird tortilla/beans/cheese/sauce ratio. Besides, who needs a half-pound of beans in their stomach? Anyway, a Snuggie could be cool (said nobody ever), because it could be clothing, a sleeping bag, maybe even shelter—like a tent. Oh, and a radio—one that works. And by works, I mean it never dies and gets more than just AM stations.

Instead of using skills as the biggest determining factor for online job matching, eHarmony plans on using a culture index to find the best long-term fit for both employer and employee. Eharmony’s research shows 60-65% of people are unhappy with their jobs, regardless of if they’re looking for a new one or not, so matching personality types could reduce that number greatly.

Finding employees that match a company’s culture can help boost employee engagement and retention, keeping recruitment and training costs down for a company. Sharing experiences and hobbies with an employer can actually raise offer salaries for prospective employees too. Eharmony will just need to be careful not to completely ignore skills as they are also a key part of job qualification.

While similar, relationships and jobs are not completely identical so eHarmony has not ruled out acquiring an existing job board to work from either. Originally planned for a June 2013 launch, prospective job hunters shouldn’t expect to see this new service from eHarmony until 2014.

Ocean Media has provided eHarmony with media buying and media planning services from 2002-2011 and again throughout 2013. To date, eHarmony has grown to more than 44 million users, resulting in close to 600,000 marriages. Our risk averse approach has helped eHarmony grow into an industry leader, along with many other companies. Contact our media agency today to learn more!

Dating back to well before human beings even had a written language, we’ve been adept at advertising ourselves. Ancient wall paintings were the spiritual cousin of billboards and smoke signals can be seen as the first form of on-air advertising.

When written languages and paper materials such as papyrus popped up more than 5,000 years ago though, advertising took off. Posters and pamphlets helped advertise political campaigns and giant wall paintings pointed people in the direction of the best bath houses in town. Tangible advertisements died somewhat during the Middle Ages, where the predominant form of advertising was “town criers” who would float from town to town sharing news and telling people where to buy the best things.

Luckily for us though, the printing press was invented during the 1400s, making mass production a more feasible task. Newspapers were easier to produce, with advertisements being sold to help fund the papers.

Move forward a few more years and billboards for circuses begin appearing in New York, “snake oil salesman” become a thing, “real” on-air advertising comes to the masses in the form of radio, and advertisers begin to use sex appeal, with slogans such as “The skin you love to touch” for soap products.

When radio ads get started around 1920 we see modern advertising begin to take shape. TV followed a few decades later, with its Super Bowls and Cola Wars. The advent of the Internet gave advertisers another way to get our attention, with pop-ups, search advertising and mobile ads becoming a huge factor in companies’ advertising plans.

The future of advertising looks to be limited by only imagination. People are selling ad space on both their vehicles and bodies and it’s only a matter of time before some enterprising business owner finds a way to project their logo on the moon or figure out how to plaster satellites with ads.

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