Inside the World of Media Planning: A Career Guide to Becoming a Successful Media Professional

Do you have both people skills and analytical skills? Do you have the ability to understand trends of audience tastes and media flows? Then, become a media planner adopt strategies to help products and companies.

A media planner identifies the different areas of media and communication which can be best utilized so as to have the best advertising pathway for a brand or a product. As a media planner, you have to do factual analyses and adopt appropriate strategies which will help you to target the specific kind of audience required for a brand or a product.

Why become a Media Planner/Professional?

A media planner identifies the different areas of media and communication which can be best utilized so as to have the best advertising pathway for a brand or a product. As a media planner, you have to do factual analyses and adopt appropriate strategies which will help you to target the specific kind of audience required for a brand or a product. You also have to maximize the impact of a campaigning project and try to monitor the campaigning project to make sure that they are effective.

Popular Specialization in Media Planner/Professional career

1. Social media Analyst: As media has slowly entered into the realm of social media, media planners have to understand what social media is, how it works and generates revenue and how it can be used and integrated into the media planning process. Due to the evolution of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, media has exploded and entered into a global level.
2. Analyst (Media Planning)/ Media Planner: A media planner analyst tends to collect different kinds of data and information and use it for analytical purposes so as to build a proper strategy, engage in different kinds of research and thereafter, target a specific audience set. As a media planner analyst, you have to deal with different information to understand consumer trends, frequency of ads, allocation of budget and how media realities could be integrated into the planning strategy.
3. Media Buyers: Media Buyers are individuals who collaborate with other media planners and work out ways to make the best purchasing decisions. As a media buyer, you have to possess excellent negotiation skills so that you can land specific deals with clients. You will also have to monitor the effectiveness of different campaigns and how it stands in terms of the budget.

What does a Media Planner/Professional do?

Every media planner has to learn these basic tasks which include:

• Working with clients or the client servicing or business development team to understand business objectives and advertising strategy.
• Negotiating and settling on proper deals between the media creative agency teams, clients and media companies like FM channels, television channels, etc.
• Producing different financial and media plans so that proper forecasts could be done
• Making follows up campaigns if a campaign has not received the desired result, after analyzing and making corrective changes in the media plan.
• Undertaking proper research for collecting trend data and developing plans so as to maximize appeal
• Preparing budget and cost schedules
• Maintain a cordial relationship with media owners like magazines, newspapers, and websites.
• Managing a cross-functional team that will help in facilitating the process of the new launch of a product or promotion of the same.
• Arrange public appearances and develop speeches to increase or protect the goodwill of a company or brand.
• Coordinating and managing alliances and partners that help to drive traffic to the digital platform of the business.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of campaigns and developing plans to improve efficiency.
• Acting as a liaison between the consumers, clients, and the advertising staff.
• Presenting the media proposals in a manner that can help the client reach a proper decision regarding advertising strategy.

How to become a Media Planner/Professional – Educational Requirement

Undergraduate studies after school:

It is necessary to have a bachelor’s degree to become a successful Media Planner. A Bachelor’s degree in Advertising/Mass Media/Mass Communication/Business Administration, etc can help you get a post in media planning and make you eligible for entry-level jobs.

Post Graduate studies:

After you graduate, if you are interested, you can go for specialized knowledge of  Media Planning. You will need to have an MBA/PGDM in Business Administration with Media Management/Advertising/Marketing. This will help you go for higher-paying jobs in the media planning department. You can also opt for Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising/Mass Media/Media Management/Similar course which will make you eligible for certain jobs in this department.

Educational fees

The cost of becoming a Media Planner/Professional is somewhere around Rs. 60000 to 3000000.

Job Opportunities

At the beginning of your career, you will get a job with an advertising agency like McCann-Erickson India Ltd or Ogilvy & Mather or with a media agency like Starcom MediaVest Group and Madison Media. With a Bachelor’s degree, you will get an opportunity to work as a Trainee. If you have a Postgraduate degree, then you will be able to work as an Executive Trainee/Media Executive/Management Trainee.

If you have expertise in social media, then you can work as a Social Media Analyst from home. However, opportunities to work from home are very few, especially at the beginning of your career.

Salary of a Media Planner/Professional

Media planner has a fixed salary but there are also incentives attached based on the number of clients accounts a media planner handles. As per the fixed salary, entry-level media planner work for a modest Rs. 20,000-80,000 per month. However, an experienced media planner can go up and work for about Rs. 90,000-5,00,000 or more per month

Career Progression in this profession 

As an entry-level media planner, you will first have to work as a trainee in the media department.

With 2-3 years of experience, you might become an Associate Media Planner / Media Buyer. Eventually, with 5-10 years of experience, you will be suitable for the position of Media Planner/ Media Buyer.

With more than 10-12 years of experience, you can take up roles like a Media Planning Director/ Head of Media Management, etc.

With more than 15-20 years of experience, you can take up top leadership positions such as Vice President / President / COO / CEO, etc.

What does industry trends say – future prospects

The advertising industry in India looks favorable and has been growing consistently. According to the Indian Advertising Market Report & Forecast: 2018-2023, the market reached a value of more than 573.5 Billion Indian Rupee in 2017 and was growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11% during 2011-2017. There are several reasons for this growth. Some of the reasons for this growth rate are the widespread introduction of smartphones which brought a surge of digital marketing, a growing population and favorable regulations of government. As per the report, the market is expected to reach a value of 1102 Billion INR by 2023. Media planners will be necessary for this field to get the most out of this growth.

Also Read:

• Career in Digital Marketing
• Career as a Market Research Analyst
• How to Become a Growth Marketer
• Career as a Media Planner Professional
• Career As a Brand Manager
• Career in Sales