Media Planner

About the role

The Media Planner reports to the Media Supervisor and/or Associate Media Director, supervising Assistant Media Planners based on account structure. The role involves close collaboration with media and analytics teams to maintain quality control of media campaigns, evaluate performance against client goals, and build industry relationships with publishing and agency partners.

Responsibilities

• Media Strategy & Plan Development (20%)
  • Carry through media strategy vision laid out by Supervisor/AMD and contribute strategic ideas.
  • Conduct media landscape, target audience, and competitive research using tools like Kantar, Comscore, and eMarketer.
  • Lead internal cross-channel brainstorms to generate initial ideas and RFP lists.
  • Write RFPs and rigorously evaluate partner proposals using quantitative and qualitative criteria.
  • Coordinate with various channels (programmatic, search, social) to build and defend media plan recommendations.
  • Participate in creating media plan presentations, incorporating internal feedback and client revisions.
  • Present key sections of the media plan to clients and incorporate their feedback.
• Media Plan Management & Execution (20%)
  • Manage day-to-day media plans as the primary optimizer, ensuring monthly budgets are met and adjustments are made accordingly.
  • Collaborate with cross-channel leads to optimize media budget spend across channels.
  • Lead the billing process, confirming billable amounts with publishers and ensuring accuracy in accounting sheets.
  • Oversee Assistant Media Planners' work across creative management, insertion orders, brand safety, and accounting duties.
  • Execute Quality Assurance (QA) of tracking functionality and creative units to identify and resolve issues.
  • Provide post-launch campaign information, such as screenshots, links, and placement details for client proof of placement.
  • Manage plans, track insertion orders, develop creative specifications, and handle traffic sheets/creative assignments.
  • Execute QA for insertion orders generated by Assistant Media Planners to ensure accuracy and proper protocol.
• Partner Relationships/Management (15%)
  • Maintain strong relationships with partners by providing timely responses and feedback.
  • Negotiate best pricing using industry benchmarking tools (e.g., SQAD), added value, and favorable terms (e.g., net payment, cancellation clauses).
  • Field day-to-day partner communication to manage and optimize campaigns, ensuring contract fulfillment.
  • Participate in larger contract negotiations (e.g., upfront, client portfolio, agency-wide).
  • Meet with current and new partners to stay updated on offerings and identify opportunities for betas or first-to-market ad products.
  • Collaborate with creative agencies by sharing high-level plans, asset needs, and specifications.
• Team Management (20%)
  • Help create Assistant Media Planner onboarding plans and track progress with guidance from Supervisor/AMD.
  • Train Assistant Media Planners on campaign execution workflows, including insertion orders, trafficking, pacing, accounting, and reporting.
  • QA Assistant Media Planners' work to achieve 100% accuracy.
  • Train Assistant Media Planners on proprietary and third-party platforms/tools (e.g., CRISP, DCM, Comscore, Kantar, SQAD).
  • Educate Assistant Media Planners on the media planning process, including RFP deployment, proposal organization, and audience/industry research.
  • Coach Assistant Media Planners through resolving partner situations and owning up to/resolving mistakes.
  • Conduct weekly check-ins with Assistant Media Planners to track work progress and professional development.
  • Update Supervisor/AMD on progress, wins, losses, concerns, and areas for workflow improvement.
• Reporting (20%)
  • Maintain the asset library and create campaign launch decks for clients.
  • Evaluate overall campaign effectiveness by writing mid-campaign and post-campaign performance reports (client-determined cadence).
  • Pull data from various sources (e.g., DCM, CRISP, Crossix, partners) for reporting.
  • Coordinate with channels (e.g., programmatic, search, social) to identify key insights and supporting details.
  • Write reporting insights using storytelling techniques to explain "the what," "why it matters," and "how we’re actioning on it."
  • Present reports to clients and answer questions about campaign details.
• Media Innovation (5%)
  • Proactively identify new partners/tests to evaluate.
  • Form and draft internal and client-facing POVs.

Skills

• Strong time management skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Problem-solving ability with creative contributions.
• Attention to detail and accuracy across communications and campaign execution.