Spot Runner making ‘course correction’
Cory Bergman August 13th, 2008
Spot Runner has laid off 50 employees but plans to hire about the same number of new positions to ramp up its focus on national advertising. Spot Runner began as a do-it-yourself TV advertising service for local businesses (you can build your own commercial spot for cheap), but it has since expanded into national advertising, online video and even radio ads. In March, the company hired MSN sales chief Joanne Bradford. Spot Runner says it’s not in financial trouble (it has raised a total of $111 million so far), but it’s making a natural course correction.
4 Comments Add your own
1. Anonymous | August 15th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Looks like the direction is silly if some of those 50 laid off can’t be moved into the new spots. Rather poor planning that tends to categorize startups. EVEN FOX.
2. WindWalker | August 19th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
According to a Reuters article Cheap-TV-Spots is beating them up with lower prices and higher quality and 100 international awards. Cheap TV Spots was in the black since start-up in 2001. What color is spotrunner’s bottom line?
3. Taylor Sawyer | August 21st, 2008 at 2:49 am
This is an utterly well written post…
4. Lazarus | August 29th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
RE Windtalker - from what I’ve seen on the vendor side, I’m guessing their total billings are a ways under $50 million, and they still have 200 some odd employees, the vast majority of whom do not plan, buy or traffic media. So, why so venture capitalists keep on investing? What are we missing? As for planning, the founders are known for starting companies, not for running them, and those they have brought in to help run things, smart as they are, do not have any agency, TV, or media expertise -they are technology people.
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