Interview with Ellen Politi, VP Affiliate Relation Telemundo Network

Interview with Ellen Politi, Vice President of Affiliate Relations, Telemundo Network

Can you explain your role with Telemundo?

In my role I oversee all Telemundo affiliate stations in the United States and make sure that they maximize their branding and promotional efforts in accordance with their station's affiliate agreements with Telemundo. I make sure that these promotional efforts are in line with network on-air priorities and that stations are spending their network cash allotments effectively.

We have been talking and reading about organizational networks in class. Can you provide an overview of how network priorities are communicated to stations?

I discuss network promotional priorities every week via a conference call attended by the head of  Marketing, Consumer Marketing and the president of Telemundo O&O (owned and operated) stations. We discuss timelines, launch plans for new shows, network on-air priorities and marketing opportunities. I then disseminate this information down to affiliate marketing personnel at the station level and direct them to the Telemundo Marketing Portal. Once logged into the portal, marketing directors can download materials such as radio spots in both English and Spanish, they can request off-air materials such as graphic design, posters, outdoor materials, as well as on-air promotional materials for their respective markets.

Information on programming and feed information can be found at a separate portal, the Affiliate Partnership Tool (APT). From sports calendars and programming grids to sales informational kits, important tools for station personnel can be found at this portal.

In one of our readings this week, we have discussed 4 traits of organizational culture: Involvement, Consistency, Adaptability and Mission. According to the article, one of the hypotheses states: "Adaptability, or the capacity for internal change in response to external conditions, is a cultural trait that will be positively related to effectiveness" (Dension & Mishra, 1995). Can you relate Adaptability as a trait belonging to Telemundo?

I can, actually, and right now more than ever, I think the network is taking major steps to adapt to external conditions. As you know, Telemundo Network's origins stem from Puerto Rico, and as an organization we have been viewed as a television network with a Caribbean flavor. But as demographic data can show, 1 out of every 10 people in the United States is of Mexican descent. Right now, this demographic represents about 80% of our core viewing audience. This means that our programming has to reflect this data, too. More Mexican-related themes, actors and storylines have been a priority for Telemundo. Production in Mexico has been increased.

And right at this moment, we are working to rebrand Telemundo with a new logo and tagline that will hopefully connect with this core audience while not eliminating Hispanics that belong to another background. At the end of the day, I surely do hope that our ability to adapt means we are effective!

In another reading for this week, we discuss organizational culture and how it "is always a collective phenomenon, but it can be connected to different collectives" (Hofstede, 2006). What is Telemundo's culture?

That's a good question, especially when talking about culture being connected to different collectives. Since I am located in New York under the NBC Universal flag (NOTE: Telemundo is owned by NBC Universal), our culture here is a little different than how things work in Hialeah, Florida. Our collective in New York is very business and results oriented. We have deadlines, especially when it comes to promotional schedules and events surrounding key launches. In Hialeah, all the creative stuff happens in the studios; sometimes they do not seem too concerned with deadlines. It's a creative culture and maybe that always doesn't translate to our schedules in New York. I hope that makes some sense.

It does, Ellen, and I know you're very busy. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

References

Denison, D.R. & Mishra, A.K. (1995) Toward a theory of organizational culture and effectiveness.Organization Science, 6, 204-223

Hofstede, G. (2006). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.