Russell Levin fronts Clear Channel’s agency-facing sales teams across the North. Here, the Agency Group Head shares what a week in his working life is all about…
Monday
The week usually starts early prompted by my young daughter waking me up – from that moment it’s all a-go. In the morning I try and limit my screen time when at home. I feel very privileged to be able to spend a couple of hours with Harriet every morning, and I want to be as present as possible to enjoy that time.
Once we have gone through the daily-fun of wake-up, breakfast, getting dressed and nursery drop-off – I jump in the car and head to work for a break. After living and working in London for 15 years I will never underestimate my appreciation for nobody invading my personal space.
Once I get in to the office, it’s time for a quick coffee and then into the “Monday Morning Gather”. This meeting is just about the only time of the week where the whole sales team are in the same room, providing the ideal stage to share the previous week’s results as well as any standout highlights from the national team.
On Monday mornings I always make sure that I am available to the team if needed. The portfolio of agencies that we work with are spread right across the UK, so it feels really important that we spend as much of Monday together aligning ourselves with what we want to achieve from the coming week.
That afternoon we host a meeting between the Clear Channel Manchester department heads, to discuss the upcoming plans for the office’s imminent refurbishment. As the Manchester media scene is growing so quickly, it is crucial that we have an office that is fit-for-purpose now.
I usually head home for 7pm, but I’m very much switched on for the week now. I say that I limit my screen time when I am at home, but I can’t help but reach for the phone in the evening to check emails and start to think about my priorities for the week ahead.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning begins with a quick call with our UK Sales director, which always provides a good opportunity to discuss a challenge and hear a different point of view, as well as align focus for the week.
By 11am I am in my first external meeting of the week with a couple of members of the senior leadership team from Dentsu, to discuss our current commercial position and any imminent requests. After the meeting, I quickly hot-foot it across the city to have lunch with one of the founders of a newly formed independent agency in Manchester. The independent media agency scene is growing so quickly in the North West, which always makes these meetings interesting and inspiring.
After lunch I head back to the office for an events meeting. It goes really well and we confirm a date and venue for an exciting event that we will be holding in Manchester in early February. We will be hosting Cephas Williams as part of the Clear Channel presents series, that has seen him previously discuss the “56 Black men” project in London and Cannes.
Wednesday
I’ve got a very different morning planned for Wednesday. Clear Channel are supporting Homeless Link who provide support for local Homelessness charities and campaign for policy change to end homelessness. I’m volunteering at one of their centres in the North West – The Booth Centre alongside three members of the team. Over the course of the morning, we served breakfast, orchestrated several games of bingo (my bingo calling needs work), mingled and then prepared a hearty lunch for everyone. It was a truly humbling, inspiring and fun morning.
I head straight back to the office to go through the final actions for our annual flagship Manchester event. This year we have titled the evening “On The Record”, where we intended to take 150 guests from Manchester’s finest clients, media agencies, and global leading outdoor specialist agencies through Clear Channel’s ambitious plans for 2020 and beyond.
Thursday
I wake up on Thursday morning with pre-match nerves for the big events of the day. I love the mixed emotions of excitement bordering on apprehension, as well as the confidence that we have done all that we can to ensure that we will deliver the events to plan.
The first event of the day kicks off at around 11am. We have arranged for Justin Cochrane (CEO Clear Channel Europe), Richard Bon and Will Ramage (joint MDs of CCUK) to take all departments in The School House through the highlights of 2019 and our exciting plans for 2020. The presentations are followed by a working lunch which gives everybody a rare opportunity to have an informal conversation with members of the UK board. I’ve always found the desire to be accessible from all people in all departments an important factor in the uniquely positive culture that we have.
Following the internal event, we all head in to Central Manchester to host our guests at the “On The Record Event”. The afternoon/ evening did not disappoint. We treat a packed theatre to Clear Channel’s 2020 ambitions, committing to a substantial nationwide programme of investment, along with a focus on social and environmental projects. Our mission: A Platform for Good and A Platform for Brands.
Friday
Friday is a bit of late start as Harriet sleeps in until 7am (nothing to do with the festivities of the night before) – then it’s up and out. I was always taught at ITV, where I spent the first six years of my career, that Fridays should be reserved to spend with clients where possible. It’s a discipline that has always helped me maintain good visibility in the market, build strong relationships and ensure that I’m on hand to discuss any pertinent challenges with clients.
I usually get the Metro-link into the city on a Friday, to give me more flexibility throughout the day. I’ve got a lovely start to the day; breakfast with one of the board directors at Mediacom North at one of Manchester’s popular dining spots.
At breakfast we discuss the headlines from our “On The Record” event, and what interesting prospects they create for Mediacom’s client portfolio. I leave breakfast with several action points and even a live brief for the team to work on.
After breakfast I dash across town to meet a new managing partner at PHD, who has recently made the increasingly popular move from London to Manchester.
On the agenda for the meeting was a recently won client and how Clear Channel can play a pivotal and supportive part on future-media plans, in order to help deliver on objectives.
The meeting managed to stay true to the allocated time, which meant that I arrived to lunch with two senior members of Dentsu on time. Some of the best conversations that I have as well as anecdotes and knowledge that I learn happen over lunch, and this was no exception.
After lunch I pop into a local coworking space in Manchester, to check on emails as well as take a look through our performance for the week I think it’s really important to end the week positively and take a sense of achievement into the weekend.
It’s then time to enjoy the weekend with Eloise and Harriet, have a rest and get ready to do it all again on Monday.
