In front of an international crowd of 150, Bonnier honored its most talented sales staff at a gala event in Stockholm.
Bonnier’s annual gathering of sales stars, the Bonnier Sales Awards, ended this evening with splash, with a record six prizes being given out in front of an enthusiastic crowd from throughout the Bonnier world.
The day started earlier with an afternoon seminar featuring serial entrepreneur Mikael Ahlström, founder of digital agency Britny, part owner of digital development school Hyper Island and chairman of the board for entrepreneur meeting group and co-working space SUP-46. “Find that one data point that will make a difference, and visualize it,” said Ahlström, who led a workshop on change. “It's a powerful way to drive change.” Also speaking were Bonnier CEO Tomas Franzén and Sven Ernst of Germany’s Axel Springer, talking about the media giant’s own digital journey.
Later, some 150 guests gathered at Stockholm City Hall, site of the annual Nobel Awards dinner, to eat dinner together, to be entertained by dance performance Stop Rewind and to celebrate the finalists and the winners announced:
Olli Väisänen, MTV, Finland - Sales Rookie of the Year
The jury wrote: “Olli Väisänen started as a rookie with no existing customers in a tough market. Every client he brought in was new business for MTV. He is hugely appreciated by his customers and his co-workers for his strong combination of skills that make him a top salesman.”
For the first time, the Sales Manager of the Year award went to two of the finalists - Fredrik Lamotte, TV4 and Johan Myrin, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
The jury wrote: “Fredrik Lamotte is a true rising star, a role model to anyone who wants to know how to be successful not just in sales, but in business. His turnaround of TV4 ad sales and the team in Malmö was truly remarkable.
“Johan Myrin is a curious and open-minded leader. He is always searching for ways to improve his paper’s online revenues. A large part of the credit for Dagens Nyheter’s 50 percent increase in digital sales goes to him.”
Katie Kovaleff, Bonnier Corporation, U.S. - Multi-Channel Sales of the Year
The jury wrote: “Katie Kovaleff uses her sales skills, work ethic and multi-channel chops to excel, selling more multi-channel sales programs than any other sales representative. Her track record in providing value has given her a stellar reputation in the entire industry.”
Linus Andersson, Dagens industri, Sweden - Sales Representative of the Year
The jury wrote: “As a customer said about Linus Andersson: ‘Linus is the only sales rep who can make me believe that spending 200,000 dollars in one day in a single magazine is the best investment - and then after that, sell two more inserts the same day!’”
A special Prize for Exceptional Achievement was given to Alexander Lydecker, Expressen, Sweden
The jury wrote: “Alexander Lydecker is a living example of how to transform in this fast-changing digital world, as our sales move rapidly from traditional print to digital. He is not just a sales expert but also understands the importance of customer data and knows how to think like a customer, taking extraordinary steps to bring together different companies within Bonnier in a cooperation that we hope will have far-reaching effects for us and our customers.”
The Sales Manager, Multi-Channel and Sales Representative of the Year winners receive EUR 10,000 each; the Sales Rookie of the Year receives EUR 3,000 and a ticket to Bonnier’s annual internal inspiration conference GRID.