A Day in the Life of a Media Planner
Media planners act as the liaison between their client and the media. It is the media planner’s responsibility to find the best spot to place his client’s ad and at the most favorable price. During this placement process, media planners must conduct market research, develop intricate media proposals, coordinate with advertising personnel and receive approval on their plans before they can forward their recommendations to their media buying department.
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Function
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To increase the possibility that their client's advertisement is positioned in front of an audience that will think about or likely purchase the client's product or service, media planners study media trends, consumer behavior, demographics and buyers' reading and viewing habits. Media planners also review and evaluate different television stations, newspapers, magazines and billboards. They also consider media such as electronic and static displays on buses, subway stations, trains and taxis. Media planning professionals consider all of these possibilities and pair them with statistical information and complex formulas to ensure that their client’s objectives are accomplished and the client's target audience is reached.
Skills
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A typical workday for a media planner includes communicating with various advertising and administrative personnel, including creative professionals, media buyers, account management teams and senior executives. It is important that media planners have excellent presentation, writing and interpersonal skills to persuade management to approve media plans and budgets and present the benefits of their media proposals to clients. Between meetings and client presentations, media planners must juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, so project management skills are a necessity.
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Work Environment
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It is common for media planners to work in large cities where advertisements get the most exposure, such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. They are employed in advertising and media agencies that range from a few employees to huge firms that employ dozens of people in the media planning department. It is also possible for media planners to work in-house, or to be hired by a company that uses its own employees to search for and purchase advertising spots and media placements. Due to frequent deadlines and tight media schedules, media planning jobs can become hectic and demanding.
Considerations
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In addition to the stress level associated with the job, candidates should consider that media planners often work more than 50-hour work weeks to meet tight deadlines. The jobs are sedentary, and require long hours in front of a computer to finish projects and proposals on time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part-time work is less common in the advertising industry than in other sectors, as constant meetings with clients and media personnel may require extensive travel.
Misconceptions
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A media planner’s job is very similar to that of a media buyer. As a result, sometimes the two roles are confused. Whereas media planners strategically outline where and how often a client’s advertisements should be placed in various media, media buyers use media plans to track, select and negotiate the best rates with media companies directly.
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References
- Photo Credit subway station image by Lucy Cherniak from Fotolia.com
