Business Operating Model FY26  ·  6 Markets  ·  21+ AMs ← PORTAL
Commercial
Core Product
What we sell & how we engage clients
The Product
Core product — 10-second commercial message
The fundamental atn product is the 10-second spot placed within content. Value is driven by adjacency to high-attention programming: traffic, news, weather and sport. Also includes Fuel Watch and CALD multicultural formats.
10-second spotAdjacencyTrafficNewsWeatherSportFuel WatchCALD
Digital & streaming presence
Podcast, catch-up, app. Extends audience beyond broadcast and creates new inventory.
Client Engagement via Entertainment
How we engage clients through content
Sponsorship, integration, live reads, branded content, competition mechanics. Entertainment as the commercial vehicle.
IntegrationSponsorship
Client events & hospitality
Concerts, previews, talent access. Hospitality as retention and pipeline tool.
Relationship
Seasonal & campaign platforms
Back to School 2026, tentpole moments. Multi-market co-ordination. Direct client targeting.
FY26
Revenue Streams
Agency vs direct
Agency
Agency holdco & indie billings
Holding company groups and independent agencies. Volume driver. Rate card and trading terms. Requires atn to be on the consideration set.
HoldcoIndies
Joy Media partnership
Strategic partner. WIP format, co-investment, preferred access. Multi-market.
Tier 1Strategic
Trading index & volume tiers
Volume-based pricing tiers with approval matrix. Bonus triggers incentivise agency commitment.
Direct
Direct client revenue
Higher margin. Dedicated Direct AM per state. Proposal-led process.
High marginGrowth priority
Category development
Auto, retail, health, finance, tourism. Multi-booking patterns identified via pacing data.
Markets
NSW · VIC · QLD · SA · WA
6 markets across 5 state P&Ls. Sydney & Melbourne anchor volume. Brisbane growing. Gold Coast under QLD.
5 state P&Ls
Client Strategy
Key accounts & positioning
Agency Relationships
Agency consideration set
atn must be front of mind before the brief is written. Regular contact, rate card familiarity, presence at agency briefings.
Share of mindPriority
Holdco & indie strategy
Separate engagement models. Holdcos need corporate-level relationships; indies need local AM contact and frequency.
Proposition
ATTENTION, NOT IMPRESSIONS
Core differentiator. Counters Pollinate methodology. Board-ready assets. The audio attention argument.
ResearchDifferentiator
Attention Amplified
Marketing presentation. Redesigned for agency and direct client pitch use.
Product champions
Internal advocates per market. Own deep product knowledge and lead client education on atn's audio offering.
Per market
Key Accounts
Joy Media
Strategic partner. WIP rhythm, co-investment, preferred access.
Tier 1
Direct key clients
Multi-category, multi-market bookings. Identified via public pacing data analysis.
Sales Operations
Sales Process, Onboarding & Training
Recruitment to capability
Recruitment
Recruitment process
Role-specific profiles for AM, Direct AM, Coordinator and Director. Behavioural and commercial assessment criteria.
Onboarding
Onboarding framework
13-tab interactive tool covering discount rules, pipeline ratios, dayparts, brand, business rules and market context.
Live tool
First 90 days plan
Structured ramp-up. Week-by-week milestones. Covers product, clients, process and CRM.
Training
CSS sales training
Structured programme. Objection handling, proposal skills, negotiation. State Directors Meeting agenda item.
Product knowledge
Daypart understanding, audience data, format capabilities. Linked to product champion programme.
Sales process discipline
Standardised pitch structure. 3-part agency pitch. Proposal templates. Consistent commercial language across markets.
Pipeline & CRM
Salesforce, forecasting & reporting
Salesforce
CRM adoption
Primary focus area. Business rules document for State Directors. AM dashboard designed to benefit field staff, not just management.
PriorityFY26
Activity logging
Task types, meeting categories, call outcomes. Minimum weekly cadence per AM.
Weekly sales diary
Standardised call plan and activity template for all AMs. Feeds Salesforce compliance.
Activity discipline
Pipeline Health
Public client pacing data
Prior year booking data identifies which clients were active and spending. Pinpoints in-market advertisers by category and market — prospecting and territory planning tool for AMs and Directors.
BA toolProspecting
Pipeline coverage ratio
3x budget minimum. Per-rep and per-state tracking. Weekly rollup.
KPI
Pacing & forecasting
FY26 booking dataset. Regression-based forward projections. Quarterly rollups. EOFY shortfall analysis.
EOFY critical
Reporting
Weekly sales briefing
Excel template. 6 state tabs × 7 sections. Budget thermometer per state. Distributed pre-Monday.
Board & shareholder reporting
Viburnum escalation driving urgent turnaround metrics. Five-pillar framework. CEO to Chairman briefing.
UrgentViburnum
Competitor & Market Analysis
Understanding the market we operate in
Competitive Landscape
Competitor mapping
Who is competing for the same agency and direct budgets. Positioning, rate benchmarking, share of revenue.
Ongoing
Audio market share
atn's position within the broader audio advertising ecosystem — broadcast, streaming, podcast.
Market Intelligence
Industry monitoring
Agency spending trends, category shifts, holdco strategy changes. Feeds sales planning and pitch development.
Audience & ratings data
Survey data, streaming metrics. Used in agency and direct pitches to substantiate reach and attention claims.
Client category analysis
Sector-level spend patterns. Public pacing data cross-referenced with category growth trends.
BA tool
Positioning Response
Pollinate counter-strategy
ATTENTION NOT IMPRESSIONS. Methodological rebuttal of competitor research. Research-backed positioning to defend atn's value.
People & Culture
Team Structure
Roles, hierarchy & capability
Leadership
CEO & CFO
Executive leadership. COO reports to CEO & CFO. Board and Viburnum accountability.
COO
Sales strategy, ops infrastructure, state accountability. Reports to CEO & CFO.
Mick
State Sales Directors
One per state. Weekly pipeline accountability. Salesforce discipline owners.
NSWVICQLDSAWA
Business Analyst
Forward planning using public client pacing data. Identifies who was active and spending last year. Prospecting and territory planning support.
PlanningData
Sales Roles
Agency AMs
Volume accounts. Rate card negotiation. Activity: calls, agency visits, WIP.
Direct AMs
High-margin direct clients. Separate KPI structure. Proposal-led sales process.
Higher upside
Sales Coordinators
Admin, trafficking, scheduling support. Separate bonus trigger system.
Performance
Performance evaluation & KPI reviews
Regular structured reviews against role KPIs. Quarterly cadence minimum. Director-led with COO oversight.
Quarterly
Values, Behaviours & Culture
Who we are and how we work
Values & Behaviours
Defined values framework
atn's organisational values. Articulated behaviours expected at every level. Embedded in onboarding and performance reviews.
Foundation
Behavioural standards
How values translate into daily conduct. Peer accountability. Linked to bonus behavioural trigger (Gate 3).
Culture Measurement
Culture survey
Regular pulse survey to measure team sentiment, engagement and alignment with values. Results fed back to leadership and actioned.
Listening tool
Recognition & reward
Non-monetary and monetary recognition. Peer shout-outs, milestone moments, team wins. Not just financial incentives.
Non-monetaryRetention
Remuneration & Incentives
REM structure, bonuses & reward
REM Structure
Salary banding & market equivalence
Role-based salary bands. Market dip testing and equivalence benchmarking to ensure atn remains competitive for talent.
Retention risk
Salary reviews
Annual review cycle. Market data inputs. Performance-linked increases. Managed through HR.
Bonus System (3 Triggers)
Financial trigger
Revenue vs budget. State-level threshold must be met to unlock bonus pool.
Gate 1
Operational trigger
Salesforce compliance, pipeline coverage ratio, weekly briefing submission.
Gate 2
Behavioural trigger
Peer review, manager rating, values alignment. Discretionary component.
Gate 3
Incentive Programmes
Sales incentive programme
Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne. Short-cycle competitions to drive activity spikes.
AM KPI scorecard
Monthly self-assessment + Director review. Feeds quarterly bonus calculation.
Recognition
Non-monetary recognition
Peer shout-outs, team celebrations, milestone moments, public acknowledgement. Complements financial incentives.
Culture
People & Resourcing
Do we have enough of the right people?
Headcount & Coverage
AM headcount by market
Are we adequately resourced per state relative to revenue opportunity? NSW and VIC anchor volume — under-resourcing here has the highest revenue impact.
Market by market
Direct AM resourcing
Direct revenue is the highest-margin stream but requires dedicated Direct AM coverage per state. Are all states resourced for direct selling?
Growth priority
Coordinator coverage
Adequate admin and trafficking support per market. Coordinator gaps create bottlenecks for AMs and affect campaign delivery.
Role Gaps & Succession
Current vacancies & gaps
Active roles unfilled across markets. Time-to-fill tracking. Revenue at risk from open headcount.
Revenue risk
Succession planning
Who are the next State Directors? Are high-performing AMs being developed for leadership? Bench strength across markets.
Capacity & Workload
AM client load
How many accounts per AM? Are books too large to service properly? Over-loaded AMs underperform on new business.
Quality vs quantity
State Director span of control
How many AMs per Director? Large teams reduce coaching time and pipeline oversight quality.
Strategic Resourcing
Resource vs opportunity alignment
Are we staffed where the revenue opportunity is largest? Public pacing data can inform where additional AM investment would generate the best return.
BA tool
Contractor vs permanent mix
Use of contract resources to fill short-term gaps. Cost, risk and capability trade-offs.
Sales Communications
Frequency, format & champions
Communication Cadence
Weekly sales briefing
6 state tabs. Revenue pacing, pipeline, priorities. Distributed pre-Monday. Sets the week's commercial context.
Weekly
State Director updates
State-level comms from Directors to their teams. Consistent format. Reinforces pipeline and activity expectations.
All-hands & town halls
Company-wide forums. Strategy updates, recognition, culture moments.
Sales Directors meetings
Cross-state leadership forum. Joy Media WIP, pipeline deep dive, Salesforce discipline, CSS training, Viburnum briefing.
Sydney
Product Champions
Product champion programme
Internal advocates per market. Own deep knowledge of atn's audio product. Lead client education and internal upskilling.
Per market
Product knowledge sharing
Champions disseminate new product, format, or audience insights across the team. Feeds pitch quality.
Enabling Functions
Innovation & Improvement
Systems, process & continuous improvement
Process Improvement
Continuous improvement system
Structured approach to identifying and fixing process inefficiencies. State Directors and AMs empowered to raise issues.
Ongoing
Sales process review cadence
Quarterly review of sales methodology, tools and templates. What's working, what needs updating.
Innovation
New product & format development
How atn creates new commercial inventory. Branded content, integrations, digital extensions.
Technology & tooling
Salesforce, pipeline tools, reporting dashboards. Evaluating new capability that improves sales efficiency.
Ideas pipeline
Mechanism for AMs and Directors to surface new commercial ideas. Reviewed at State Directors meetings.
Finance, HR & IT Integration
Back-of-house enabling functions
Finance
Finance & sales alignment
Revenue reporting, invoice reconciliation, credit management. CFO visibility into sales pipeline and pacing.
CFO
FY budgeting & planning
State revenue budgets set in conjunction with Finance. Bonus pool tied to financial outcomes.
HR
HR & people operations
Recruitment, contracts, onboarding admin, salary reviews, performance management. Linked to General Counsel.
Gen Counsel
WHS & compliance
Workplace health and safety. Manual and obligations across all six markets.
IT
Systems & infrastructure
Web2Py/SpotIt scheduling and trafficking. IT support for Salesforce, reporting tools and comms platforms.
Data & reporting infrastructure
Pipeline data, pacing reports and dashboards rely on clean data flows between sales, finance and IT systems.
Standards & Policies
Rules, governance & compliance
Commercial Standards
Discount & approval matrix
Discount tiers by revenue threshold. Approval levels for State Directors vs COO vs CEO. Embedded in onboarding framework.
Governance
Rate card governance
Standard rate card management. Market-specific adjustments. Consistent application across AMs.
People Policies
HR policies & procedures
Employment contracts, leave, conduct, grievance handling. General Counsel oversight.
WHS policies
Workplace health and safety manual. All markets. Obligations and reporting lines.
Operational Standards
Salesforce data standards
Minimum data quality requirements. Field completion rules. Feeds reporting integrity.
Brand & communications standards
atn brand guidelines. Presentation templates, pitch deck standards, email tone. Consistent market-facing identity.
Legal & compliance
Contract terms, advertiser obligations, regulatory compliance. General Counsel oversight.
Gen Counsel