Job Descriptions: Media Planner

Media Planners are the organisational brain behind advertising campaigns and ensure proposed marketing aims will be met.

Media Planners are the organisational master mind behind advertising campaigns. They look to take a client's marketing ideas and aims and put them into reality by understanding the client and their audience. Planners are responsible for putting the leg work in for a client's advertising ambitions before any ideas are set in stone. This could be looking at their audience, their service of product and what they are looking to get out of an advertising campaign.

This can come from extensive research, understanding of clients and audiences and experience of previous campaigns. Media Planners will be responsible for dealing with a range of advertising mediums suitable for their clients and will orchestrate when their campaigns will go out on anything from online advertising to TV and Radio and buses and billboards, all tailored to the best possible outcomes for their client.

Prospective Media Planners may find work in a variety of organisational structures. The most common will be at an Advertising Agency or firm where graduates will work on separate campaigns coming in from client's. This kind of work may see Media Planners juggling different projects at once.

Graduates looking to pursue a career as a Media Planner need to have incredible organisational skills and be able to plan effectively to ensure a client's campaign is executed well. A thorough understanding of how advertising and PR works is necessary too, as well as good commercial awareness and great communications skills for when they are dealing with clients.

Media Planner Salaries

The average starting salary for a graduate Media Planner is £19,025 per year. This is a great salary for prospective Media Planners and a great return in what is an exceptionally competitive Advertising and PR and Media industries.

For graduates entering in this position they should be aware that, like many other fields similar to this, they will see their salaries increase as they move up the ranks in a particular organisation or agency.

The Daily Duties of a Media Planner

As mentioned before, the work of a Media Planner can be focused on several different projects at the same time. Media Planners need to be aware of the difference stages that individual projects are at and be ready to focus on projects when they are time-sensitive. However, the duties of Media Planners are varied and day-to-day activities fluctuate depending on seasonal busy periods. Here are a few of the activities graduates can expect to do as a Media Planner:

• Planning campaigns - This is the main focus of a Media Planner's day to day responsibilities. They mainly responsible for planning what advertising should go where and when, with the research already having been undertaken to ensure this will be the most beneficial for the client. An understanding of the pros and cons of certain types of advertising comes into play here and what my be more successful for different clients also.
• Researching - The research and preparation Media Planners put in before planning a campaign is a vital part of the process. Understanding the nature of the client and the audience they are targeting, for example, is the kind of information they use. This could be statistical data from online advertising or the uplift they received from an advert scheduled at a certain time. This is a duty that Media Planners improve at over time, as they begin to understand the pros, cons and nuances of particular sectors, clients or advertising mediums. Research allows Media Planners to make more informed decisions when it comes to organising and planning campaigns.
• Reviewing results - Part of the process for clients is reviewing the work they've done. This is more easily tracked when they have launched online advertising and can track conversions, however, Planners review the results of campaigns that have gone before to help improve campaigns they may work on in the future.
• Working with clients - Clients are king for Media Planners, so not only do they need to provide them with an excellent service through the plans they create, but also provide excellent customer service. This requires Media Planners to have an excellent customer service skills and great communication skills. Sometimes Planners maybe require to alter or amend their plans for clients if they have an objection or particular preference, with Media Planners making sure they are always acting in their best interests.

Careers as Media Planners are rewarding and challenging careers. Like many roles, it has its peaks and troughs and graduates can find themselves working flat-out with several projects with pressing deadlines. However, there is fewer rewarding things in a Media Planners day-to-day than when they see a campaign fly and they exceed the expectations of the Client. One thing to be noted is that like all positions in Media and Advertising/Public Relations, the sector is highly competitive and graduates would be advised to have some experience in the bag to improve their chances.