The Team

Michelle Short

Short Form Media Director

Efficient, useful customer service means much more when you’ve had experience on both sides of the transaction.

Michelle Short, Cesari Direct’s Short Form Media Director, began her career as an account executive with the ABC television affiliate in Seattle and then served in the same position at the CBS television affiliate in Phoenix. She now handles the day-to-day operations of Cesari Direct’s short form department and oversees client proposals, planning and buying.

“A benefit to clients is that I have the inside edge when it comes to negotiating and spot clearance,” Short said. “A lot of times there’s a gray area on how low you can go on pricing and still get the media booked. I believe I can help our clients go as low as they possibly can and still get their spots cleared. It translates into getting the most for their media spend.”

Michelle has spent the last four years working on the agency side of the business. One of her many success stories was helping a small regional client expand from three Northwest markets to 210 television markets nationwide and Canada, plus national cable, syndication and network.

What’s her biggest challenge in an uncertain economy?
“Convincing clients to not go on hiatus when times are tough,” Short said. “It seems as though everyone wants to slash budgets and be off the air, but in reality it is the best time to gain market share. When consumer confidence comes back - which it always does - these are the clients and businesses that are successful.”