Sailing at Sunset - Cindi Madsen Page 0,45
ad departments and inquired about the cost.”
Vanessa made a skeptical hmm noise that caused Danae’s blood pressure to soar. “I’m all for trying out new places, but I’m not sure we’re going to gain new buyers from magazines, no matter how many ads we run. For one, who even reads magazines anymore?” She ticked off other ideas on her fingers. “How about website banners? Travel sites, social media platforms?
“Or…” Vanessa hesitated in that way she did to build momentum, and Danae pricked up her ears, determined to be more open than she’d been in the past. “A lot of influencers run in the same circles, and thanks to my connections in the beauty blogger world, I can reach out to people with travel blogs. We can invite them to come take a cruise and document how fabulous it is. They’ll be sure to mention Barton Boats.”
Paige cocked her head. “Um, don’t you remember what Mark said about our target market demographic? Speaking of older, who even reads blogs anymore?”
“Okay,” Danae said. “Let’s—”
“It’s a billion-dollar industry,” Vanessa said. “Most of the blogging is done via pictures that show off beautiful locales and captions that are only two to three paragraphs these days. They still reach thousands of people.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you still won’t find our demographic among their subscribers. The idea is just a little too out there for us.”
Well, at least Paige had added the “appreciate” remark. Surely that was at least a modicum of progress?
Vanessa crossed her forearms on the edge of the table. “Well, I’m afraid boring and conventional isn’t going to move the meter. Not anymore.”
Oh, great. Now Paige was going to think Vanessa was implying her ideas were boring, and Danae felt the need to take the train’s controls before it jumped the tracks and wrecked their progress. “Thank you both for your input and giving me ideas to think about. While we mull them over, I’m going to set up my mini projector and go over my five-year plan. I think it’ll provide us with a strong foundation, and then we can discuss ways to tweak it.” She stuck her flash drive into the small machine and fired it up.
The presentation flashed on a blank space on the wall, complete with colorful headings, bullet points, charts, and statistics. She’d been working on it before she got the promotion, thinking she’d either present it as the CMO, or just as someone who cared a lot about the company she worked for.
“Wow,” Mark said, when the presentation was over. She steeled herself for his criticism. While she appreciated their truce, it didn’t mean they’d automatically agree. “You’re usually detailed, D, but you’ve outdone yourself.”
The stress that had been filling her for the past hour or so began to seep out of her, like a balloon that had been poked with a pin. The entire team was silent, contemplative expressions on their faces, and for about thirty seconds, it seemed like someone had hit the pause button.
Then Mark leaned back in his chair, two grooves forming between his eyebrows, kick-starting her nerves all over again. “But what if we get through the first year of this campaign and learn that we have to switch tactics?”
“Most of the columns and amounts can be tweaked. For instance, the ad budget is based on a percentage of our profit, and if you change it…” Danae went to type on her keyboard out of habit, her curled fingers hovering over the table for a beat before she straightened. “Well, I can show you later, once I have my laptop. But it’s a formula, so it would automatically recalculate it.”
Danae ran her palms down the thighs of the lightweight linen pants she’d picked up at Banana Republic. They felt a bit too casual for this presentation, but they were on a sunny island and she hadn’t wanted to overheat or appear too rigid, especially with the rest of the team—save Vanessa of course—in shorts. “Anyone else? This is a safe place, where feedback is welcome.”
“A formula is a good idea,” Mark said. “However, I’m still wondering if there’s enough flexibility. Say one department outperforms the others. Shouldn’t they get a boost instead of having to redistribute their budget to other areas?”
“Okay. Thank you, Mark.” Danae scribbled herself a few notes. She could handle this. Criticism that would benefit the company’s strategy, just like Franco with the website.
Vanessa shifted in her seat. “I do like that you’re projecting growth among the female