Assistant Media Planner: Responsibilities, Tasks and Pay Scale

The role of an Assistant Media Planner is to assist with various competitive projects, sites for campaigns; researching and analyzing the main audience’s purchasing, along with other media habits. These media planners assist their seniors to get a taste of the responsibilities/ work they have to deal with in the respective area.

Media buying/planning generally involves gaining the top notch advertising rates, adjustment of media schedules aligning to the latest figure of audience; Along with managing budgets to updating the effectiveness of the projects to the clients.

Generally, it’s an office job of 40hrs or more work per week; however they mostly spend their time visiting clients to discuss campaign details, making deliberate presentations and handling meetings. Freelancing is becoming quite common in this domain. Managing contacts with media channels and owners often demands out-of-hour socializing in this respective field.

Responsibilities one must carry:

• They help in creation of conceptual, innovative, well-valued marketing ideas of business building across a diversified choice of media to meet the client’s target.
• They help clients to come up with strategies for better advertising options: digital media, print and broadcast.
• They must stay up-to-date with the running media trends to offer the best media outlets to the clients.
• They must conduct thorough research on data (demographic), numbers and type of customers to figure out their target(audience).
• They usually work with media vendors and act as a liaison; does plenty of negotiations with vendors, clients and co-workers.
• Maintenance of properly organized documentation of the activities followed up in the job.
• Must work with the media core planning team and account service team of the agency to come up with groundbreaking ideas.
• Finish the purchase, proposal and implementation of the progressed plan by insertion of orders, and wrap up on signatures.
• They must meet clients to fully understand their marketing and advertising strategies. Plus, come up with a rough picture of the client’s objective.

Tasks to be followed up includes:

• Conducting research to figure out which media companies be best to buy Ad space from, in accordance to Ad format, website traffic and placement.
• To assist in developing, consulting, implementing, following up, optimizing and reporting online media buys.
• To assist in arbitration of advertising contracts, and taking care of the campaign’s budget.
• Senior media planners to be informed of the research outcomes through written outlines or presentations.
• To contact the media channels/companies and figure out the appropriate time, space availability, and cost estimation for placing Ads.
• Assist the digital media team to check SEM, SEO and a few other local elements are part of the proposal or not.
• Also, the media objective will be reached or not following the executed plan is as well taken into consideration.
• To use the research data, and figure out the most effective budget-allocated plan to give the client’s product a maximum exposure.
• To come up with best media plan, appropriate timings, proper cost breakdown and several other inclusive factors.

 Skills:

• One must have excellent research skills.
• One must have confidence in their negotiating skills.
• Necessity of good interpersonal and team work skill sets.
• To have excellent computer skills.
• One must be creative and ingenious; diplomatic and convincing at the same time.
• To have good writing and listening skills.
• Familiarity with some media planning tools- TNS, Media Monitors, Nielson, Tactician, Strata & Simmons.

 One with such skill sets is sure to land in the media planner field, along with passion and enthusiasm to seek out for the solutions will definitely help them grow and advance faster. 

Qualification:

• A Bachelor’s degree in the related field.

                              Or

• A master’s degree(HNC/HND)in marketing, advertising, statistics, communications or media studies.
• Internship at a full-time media agency in the field of marketing is preferable.

Assistant Media Planner’s Pay Scale:

The average salary of an Assistant Media Planner is $36, 669. Usually, the starting salary for junior media planner/buyer is $15,000 – $20,000.

With creative ability and hunger to know more about the media channels, one can easily progress to a permanent media planner position in a year. Then in 3-5yrs with more account management experience the pay scale rises from $25,000 – $40,000/yr.

As one gains experience, one gains knowledge; thereafter comes responsibility and power.At the senior level, salary varies widely- $50,000 or more.

Many European media agencies such as London agency and agencies particularizing in media branches: Digital media, TVs, etc. , are inclined to reward their employees with higher paychecks.

Competitions in the advertising field is strong at a global level. Therefore, it is fairly desirable for applicants to get suitable experience whether paid or unpaid with an agency relevant to areas of marketing, advertising, market research or business development.