Wall Street Journal Integrates Ad Sales

Responding to pressure from advertisers, The Wall Street Journal has integrated ad sales across all its properties. Under the new arrangement, ad sales for the print Journal will be merged with international sales and marketing programs as well as properties in WSJ’s digital network. These include WSJ.com, MarketWatch.com, Barron’s Online and AllThingsD.com. The move brings an end to the Dow Jones Integrated Solutions division, launched back in 2004 as a separate sales unit.

The company said in a statement that “all sales executives will retain experience in specific media – print or online,” while sales managers will handle integrated sales. I take that to mean the higher level brokers in either digital or print will keep a relatively narrow focus, hold out for the large deals in their own channels, and then pass the baton down the ranks as buyers request cross-media extensions.

Execs expect the changes to result in material contributions to the bottom line. When advertisers buy across all WSJ properties, they spend 20 percent more on average, Dow Jones & Company Chief Revenue Officer Michael Rooney said in a statement.