A media planner is a professional in the advertising industry who specializes in determining the best locations for advertisements. Media planners collaborate with their clients to create a media strategy that will effectively position their brand and reach the right audience. Some media planners work for advertising agencies, while others work as independent consultants or for firms that only provide media planning services.
To work as a media planner, you don’t need any special training, though a college degree in advertising or a related field can help. Many media planners learn on the job, beginning in low-level positions and working their way up as they gain experience and demonstrate competence. People skills, as well as the ability to accurately identify demographics and the ability to get to the heart of a company’s mission and products in order to determine how the company can be best positioned for maximum sales, are all essential for this job.
Owners of televisions may have noticed that commercials tend to follow certain patterns. Children’s shows, for example, do not feature advertisements for feminine hygiene products or erectile dysfunction medication. Soap operas rarely air sporting event promotions, and perfume commercials are uncommon on baseball broadcasts. This is because media planners have determined which types of programming would be most appropriate for the products they are marketing based on the demographics who enjoy these types of programs.
A media planner does more than just figure out which demographics are most likely to be interested in certain products. They also consider the specific programming that will air alongside their ads, which may necessitate a media planner reviewing scripts and media screener copies as part of their job to identify potentially problematic ad placement situations. For example, an ad for asthma medication that aired during an hour-long medical drama about a patient dying of severe asthma might not be well received. Similarly, an advertisement from a conservative company should not air during a program that takes a liberal stance on an event or situation, as this may offend the demographic the company is attempting to reach.
A media planner must consider brand image in addition to basic demographic needs. While many products can be marketed to a broad group of people, such as teenage girls or middle-aged men, focusing on a specific demographic can sometimes produce better results. Media planners consider how their brands should be positioned in the market, the messages they want to send through advertising, and the best media programming to pair their ads with.