What is a Media Planner?

Media planners are often the overlooked individuals who are behind the huge success a company may have at an event or activity. Have you ever watched a commercial on television and found that it was very eye-catching, thought-provoking and put in at just the right time to catch your attention? This is probably due to the skill of the media planner.

What is a Media Planner?

A media planner is the creative mind that helps clients develop successful ad campaigns. Although media planners often work with advertising agencies, they may also work with editors or copywriters. The main job of media planners is to decide when, where and how an event or campaign is going to be advertised.

Have you ever noticed that the most popular new toys on the market are advertised during kids’ show or around holiday shopping time? The decision to do this is usually made by the media planner. The media planner knows that by advertising these products while kids are in front of the television, they’re more likely to call it to the parents’ attention. Also, by advertising it around holiday shopping time, the parents are more likely to add this item to their shopping list.

While this is just one example, it’s the perfect description of what a media planner’s job is all about. Another example would be how food brands advertise different and new snack ideas around the time of the Super Bowl. Again, this is due to the creativity of a media planner. Media planners decide what the best place and time is to advertise their client’s product so it gets the most exposure and results in the best sales.

How Do I Become a Media Planner?

Although some media planners have reached their career goals with just a little training, most media planners have at least a bachelor’s degree in media, marketing, advertising, communications or something related to those fields. Having a degree does generally increase the chance of being hired as a medial planner. You may find a job as a media planner without having a degree, but it will require a lot of commitment on your part, and you may have to start at an entry-level job in advertising and work your way up. If you already have a degree in one of these fields, you may find that pursuing an MBA in marketing or advertising lands you a coveted media planner position more quickly than working your way up without an advanced degree (see: The Top 10 Best Online MBA in Marketing Degree Programs).

If you’re not sure you want to earn a degree, you may want to consider taking a few independent courses such as marketing, accounting, statistics, creative design or even information technology. The Princeton Review states that many media planners advance to become copywriters, editors or even Web designers if they have Web experience.

What is the Career Outlook for a Media Planner?

Media planners often fall into the category of marketing specialists or market research analysts, and these positions are projected to see an employment growth of thirty-two percent between 2012 and 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These media professionals earned an average annual wage of $60,800 as of May 2013, although the wages ranged from $33,000 to more than $114,000. A media planner is also a type of public relations specialist – a profession that sees wages ranging from $30,000 to more than $103,000 and is expected to see a twelve percent employment growth.

If you have a creative mind and love dealing with people, a career as a media planner may be a perfect choice. Behind every good event is a great media planner.