Radha Subramanyam is, to me, a new breed of
researcher easily navigating between the two worlds of “classical” research and
the new discipline of data analytics. She is currently President of Insights,
Research and Data Analytics for iHeartMedia.
After receiving her doctorate, Radha taught
for a couple of years before beginning her media career. “I always wanted to
work in media,” she explained, “but I wasn’t exactly sure where. What I did know
was that I wanted to be part of the action.” And she has been in the center of
the action ever since.
In this interview, Radha talks about her
career in research, the differences and co-mingling of classical and new data
research, metrics, research principles, mentorship and work / life balance.
Charlene Weisler: Can you please tell me how you got into research as a
career?
Radha Subramanyam: It was logical for me, with a doctorate,
to start in research but I actually started on an internal consulting team at
NBCU working on all types of projects in several departments. When I finished
my rotation I wound up in research, which was a good fit for someone highly
analytical and driven by curiosity. I was
able to work in all areas of research – programming, branding, marketing,
ratings, ad sales, digital – the entire
spectrum. I moved to Viacom and after more than a decade in pure TV, I moved
into pure play
digital at Yahoo. Next, I had the opportunity to be part of the Nielsen / McKinsey
joint venture, which included a deep dive into social media. I have been at iHeartMedia for four years now
and have been building a next generation insights function. We are transitioning research into the Big
Data universe.
Charlene Weisler: How do you marry classic research with new data
analytics?
Radha Subramanyam: I think of data as a way to tell the
consumer’s story. It’s a way to illuminate and understand the consumer journey
through various touchpoints. Both classic and new datasets have robustness,
statistical meaning and thinking grounded in years of practical research. Adding
digital data to broadcast data has more
granular capabilities and might offer a more interesting story. At iHeartMedia,
we have tons of digital data and classical research databases that we merge together.
We have announced investments in companies like Unified Social and Jelli to enable
us to think of broadcast media in a digital way and to activate broadcast in
the programmatic universe. The blending of classical thinking with the
expansion of big data is where the action is.
Charlene Weisler: What metrics are most important to you?
Radha Subramanyam: We look at a whole range of metrics
depending on what problem we are trying to solve. At iHeartMedia, we are strong
in both digital and broadcast performance and can now talk about the listener across
devices with a high degree of granularity – what interests her through the day,
what she buys and what drove those decisions. We are in the results business and harness all
ROI capabilities.
Charlene
Weisler: How are you able to bring all the behavior back to ROI?
Radha
Subramanyam: iHeartMedia has over 850 radio stations, several TV shows, 20,000
live events, concerts and festivals each year and we reach over a quarter of a
billion people in an average month. This is massive scale and we are in a growth
mode. We can measure ROI in many ways – Nielsen Catalina tied to Nielsen audio,
for example, can literally show how we can move product off the shelves. We also
have multiple attribution models to ascertain the impact of marketing.
Charlene Weisler: How does research need to be done today vs years ago?
Radha Subramanyam: We’ve had multiple datasets for decades.
All of those datasets – from digital to ratings to surveys – were siloed. Now,
data is a core asset and we try to stitch it all together. And we bring in outside datasets to enhance
the internal dataset. We have partnerships to build something unique and
different. Today we are data creators, not just data analysts. We have become product people. For many this
is a scary scenario but for me it is exciting and full of opportunity. If you
are comfortable with uncertainty, if you are adventurous and if you are open to
rethinking things every few weeks, analytics is for you.
Charlene Weisler: What is your research process?
Radha Subramanyam: I always focus on the business problem
and then look at the dataset and toolkit to solve the problem at hand. We used
to count on the facts, now I am more comfortable using data as a starting point
and then taking a leap of faith.
Charlene Weisler: How do we get the next generation interested in a
career in research?
Radha Subramanyam: We currently have significant interest in
research and analytics from students. But how you train them is important. You
need more investment in grooming and training. Hire for smarts and not for
skills. Hire those who are nimble in their thinking and truly curious.
Charlene Weisler: Tell me your thoughts on mentoring.
Radha Subramanyam: It is very valuable and important for
both the mentor and mentee. It helps me keep in touch with the next generation.
I invest a lot of energy mentoring young women who seem to lose confidence in
the STEM fields. There is no one place to ascribe blame though. We need larger cultural shifts to young women
really engaged in STEM fields.
Charlene Weisler: How do you attain work / life balance?
Radha Subramanyam: That is a misnomer. I don’t know anyone
who is truly balanced. There are times when parts of your work command a lot of
you and vice versa. For me it is about being flexible in both my personal and
professional life.
Charlene Weisler: What is your philosophy regarding career success in
research?
Radha Subramanyam: Stop thinking of media through the
classic channels approach – it is not just TV, it is not just radio and it is not
just digital. Think of the whole consumer journey and you will be much better
off. We are holding on to things we will need to shed. You need to be willing
to be flexible and you will have fun.
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