Media planner job profile | Prospects.ac.uk

Media planners identify which media platforms will best advertise their clients' brands or products to their target audience

In your role as media planner, you'll work within advertising agencies or media planning and buying agencies, with the aim of maximising the impact of advertising campaigns through a range of media platforms.

You'll use creative thinking and research to develop appropriate strategies to ensure that campaigns reach their target audiences as effectively as possible. You'll also apply knowledge of media and communication platforms to identify the most appropriate mediums for building awareness of a client's brand.

Types of media planning work

Media planners work with:

press
television
radio
new media, especially the internet via websites and mobile apps
other more unusual platforms, including promotion on buses and taxis.

Responsibilities

You'll need to:

work with the client and the account team to understand the client's business objectives and advertising strategy
liaise with the creative agency team, clients and consumers to develop media strategies and campaigns
work on several projects at the same time, often for several different clients
make decisions on the best form of media for specific clients and campaigns
undertake research and analyse data using specialist industry resources
identify target audiences and analyse their characteristics, behaviour and media habits
present proposals, including cost schedules, to clients
recommend the most appropriate types of media to use, as well as the most effective time spans and locations
work with colleagues, other departments and media buyers either in-house or in a specialist agency
make and maintain good contacts with media owners, such as newspapers, magazines and websites
manage client relationships to build respect and gain their trust in your judgement
proofread advertisement content before release
maintain detailed records
evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns to inform future ones.

Salary

Typical starting salaries for junior, assistant and basic media planner/buyer positions range from £15,000 to £22,000.
As a media planner with several years' experience and managerial or team leader responsibilities, salaries are in the region of £25,000 to £40,000.
At a senior level, salaries range between £50,000 to £80,000+.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll usually work 40 hours a week, but this isn't a 9am to 5pm job and you'll be required to have a flexible approach to your working hours. The role demands regular extra hours, for example to make new business pitches, often at evening presentations. You'll also be working extra hours to meet client-led deadlines.

What to expect

Media planning is a high-pressure, fast-moving and hard-working profession.
Most agencies are based in London with the remainder in major cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. However, opportunities in other areas are starting to increase.
Large media independents are increasingly international in scope. Many are part of a larger media and communications group whose parent company may be based in another European country or in the USA. Large agencies may represent not only regional and local clients, but also national and international clients, making international transfer possible.
You'll be office-based but will travel within a working day. Occasional overnight stays will be necessary and depending on the international standing of the company you work for you may be required to travel overseas.
The job involves a high level of contact with clients and media owners so includes a degree of socialising.

Qualifications

Although this area of work is open to all graduates and those with an HND, the following degree or HND subjects may increase your chances:

advertising
business or management
communication and media studies
English and journalism
marketing
psychology
statistics.

While it's not impossible, entry without a degree or HND is unlikely without relevant experience.

A pre-entry postgraduate qualification is not required.

Skills

You'll need to show:

commercial flair
good interpersonal, negotiation and communication skills, for liaising with colleagues, clients and media owners
a good grasp of literacy, for writing reports and presentations
proficiency with numbers, for data analysis and negotiations
strong analytical and organisational skills
the ability to work with IT resources such as databases and spreadsheets, for the collection and management of information
capacity to work effectively under pressure.

Work experience

Pre-entry relevant work experience will improve your chances of finding employment. The most relevant work experience is anything that has helped you to develop interpersonal skills, such as work in a customer service or sales role.

Internships in media, marketing or advertising companies give applications an edge and are looked on favourably by employers.

A strong and genuine interest in media and an appreciation of the part it plays in advertising is vital. A good way to support job applications is getting to know key aspects and terms used in the industry through organisations and websites such as:

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

You could work for:

media agencies, which cover all media
new media agencies, which cover advertising through digital media, text messaging and the internet
full service advertising agencies.

Some companies have specialist new media departments, but many outsource media planning work and the number of external agencies is increasing. As these agencies are generally small, job functions often overlap and while employees need an understanding of, and enthusiasm for new media, a keen interest in business and advertising is equally important.

In full service agencies, there tends to be a greater interaction between creative and media teams. In some agencies, the role of media planner and media buyer may be combined.

Media planners also find work in more specialist agencies, including:

brand content agencies
brand experience agencies
creative agencies
digital agencies
direct marketing agencies
outdoor agencies.

You may also be known as a communications planner, brand planner or media strategist.

Speculative applications can be successful if you do your research on the role and employer carefully. Explore the company's website and be aware of their current presence in the market. Be persistent, as few jobs are advertised.

Professional development

You'll do most of your training while working, with the support of a more experienced colleague. On-the-job experience is crucial for developing the required skills and building practical knowledge of national and regional media.

A key aspect of early training involves gaining an understanding of audience research figures, which provide consumer and media information and are funded by the relevant media owners. These include:

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) - a television measuring service
Google Analytics - tracks and reports website traffic
The Publishers Audience Measurement Company Ltd. (PAMCo) - audience measurement for published media
Route Research - for out-of-home advertising
Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR) - for both commercial and BBC radio
Kantar Media Expertise - for media and marketing surveys.

Understanding how to make the best use of IT and online resources is important and training and information is provided by organisations such as:

A variety of training courses and opportunities for continuing professional development (CPD) in many aspects of advertising and marketing, including planning, are offered by:

Career prospects

It's usual to start as a trainee, joining a team of senior planners and buyers. You'll learn on the job by working on a portfolio of accounts.

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) runs relevant training courses, including the IPA Foundation Certificate for newcomers to the industry and courses aimed at more experienced professionals.

You could progress from the position of planning executive to that of a more experienced established planner or buyer after about a year. Senior or management positions bring added responsibility, often for multiple accounts and for the work of others. You can expect to reach the position of account director after gaining a few years of experience.

You may decide to broaden your career path, perhaps moving to work in a larger group, in related fields such as data planning, research or marketing. Headhunting is common in the media industry, and you may move between employers to increase your salary and broaden your experience.

Media planner