Dear Rachel,
I am hoping you can help me by providing a breakdown of the true responsibilities of a media planner in most agencies. I work as a media planner/buyer in a small to mid-size specialty agency, and in my opinion I find a lot of what our media department is asked to do is not truly a media function but PR (even though we have a PR department) -- event planning or some other marketing specialty only casually related to media (which all marketing is.) While I don't mind helping out, I feel our department has become a catch-all and this is not advancing my media career. I'm frustrated and want to discuss this with my supervisors but I don't know for sure that I'm correct and that other media departments aren't required to do the same things. Help and advice? Thanks!--
Doing Everything
Dear Doing,
Media planning as a function is evolving as it plays a larger and larger role in the overall marketing proposition. If the creative concept used to be the beginning point, it's increasingly the case that media is where it all begins, certainly in the mind of many clients.
Knowing where and how to reach your consumer leads into what you want to say once you've gotten there.
That's changing how media departments are being perceived.
“Many shops are adopting the idea that media planners need to understand the role of PR, sales promotion and event marketing so they can bring all the different methods of reaching their target into an integrated plan," notes one New York media veteran.
"Some shops do it better than others. Some don't do it at all and keep their departments and functions separate,” he says.
“Being at an agency that is trying to accomplish a 360 strategy for its clients is considered at the forefront of the business, and gaining a knowledge of the other marketing tools can be quite helpful.”
This is the case if your agency is approaching these other functions as part of a total plan.
It is not so true if you are just backstopping other departments on matters that are not part of a larger plan.
You need to ask yourself two questions. Am I simply cleaning up after others who can't get the job done on their own? And is this added work taking away from my primary job of planning media?
Weigh what you are learning in these other areas and whether they are advancing your skills as a media planner or simply chewing up your time.
A media planner’s duties generally include developing media plans, national and local, analyzing and evaluating campaign results, supervising and training assistant planners, interacting with clients and media reps, and understanding and utilizing media research tools.
But the actual function of a media planner can vary widely from agency to agency, depending on size, clients and areas of specialty.
“If you are doing work that you do not feel will further your career, you should discuss with your HR department how work is assigned, what skills you will need to get to the next step in your career progression and if the diversity of responsibilities is the norm at your agency or for your client," advises another media veteran.
It may be the case that your goals no longer match the job you are doing, and in that case you may want to consider moving on to another agency. As in all such matters, the hardest thing to come to grips with is knowing what you really want out of your job.
It's one thing to grouse about the work you are asked to do, quite another to fully understand what you'd rather being doing instead. The mistake many people make is thinking that their employer is responsible for their career happiness. It's not so. You are. And to know what will make you happy in your work means knowing yourself down to your very core.
