ATL Media Planner

Company Description

Starcom

Are you ready to shine?

Who we are:

We are the human experience company

We create experiences people love and actions brands need.

When we combine our deep understanding of people with our unmatched expertise in media, magic happens : experiences get invited in, not filtered out.

Data guides us to opportunity, uncovering what people want and how to reach them. Technology makes personalisation and relevance possible. Creativity makes it magic.

Job Description

A Media Planner is expected to be data driven, insights lead and a solution thinker, who strives to make meaningful impact on the business.

This role demands confidence, presence and the skills to make a meaningful impact. Never just taking and executing orders, Starcom Planners are expected to direct, inspire and add value at every turn. They need to create and nurture internal and external relationships, negotiate and demand value from media partners.

A high level of collaboration, a willingness to teach others and a real desire to push the boundaries is what will be expected.

In addition, this role requires a high level of accountability and responsibility over the offline media investments we are entrusted to manage.

Some working outside the standard working hours may be necessary.

Job Purpose:

• To demonstrate real passion, care and vision for the brands in your portfolio.

• Together with the team, successfully meet the client’s contracted KPI’s and the commercial targets.

• To be accountable for the successful delivery of media plans, schedules and budget management sheets. To deliver accurate implementation plans on time, every time.

• To ensure the best inter-media channels selections take place on every plan – the best stations, programs and touchpoint recommendations are made on every schedule.

• You will work closely with the digital strategist/planner and may be requested to assist from time to time.

• All post-campaign reports to completed and delivered accurately and on time.

• All TV rating and KPI tracking requirements are to input into the live digital dashboards.

• Work collaboratively with the offline and online strategist and the Communications Strategist with creative agencies.

• Ensure collaboration and alignment with other external agency partners and media owners.

• To deliver ongoing incremental media improvements, based on live optimization reports, post campaign analyses, MMM’s and audit results.

• Resolve planning related issues with a solution driven mindset, whilst maintaining strong relationships with colleagues, agency partners and clients.

• Ensure budgets are properly managed and financial losses mitigated due to under / over-spends.

• To grow the strategic reputation of the agency by delivering world-class planning and trading excellence.

What you can expect in an average week:

Your average week may include:

• Manage quality of work in terms of:

• Agency processes

• Global tools and processes

• Accurate consolidated flowplans (where required, offline and online) within budget.

• Flowplans updated timeously to reflect current state of campaign.

• In charge of developing all offline media plans and coordinating bookings with buyers

• Post-campaign analyses 2 -3 within weeks of campaign ending.

• Collate media tracking data for client (e.g. Afstereo), compensating client where necessary

• Negotiating best deals and managing admin related to dealings with media owners

• Create, send and manage CE’s to brand managers

• Lead the billing process on your portfolio with buying team

• Manage billing queries with buying team

• Build and maintain solid client relationships

• Attend status meetings.

• Attain bonus-related client KPIs for planning.

• Lead in tracking savings across the business YoY

• Keep abreast of commitment tracking and report any under spends to BUD

• Attend meetings scheduled by Hub and Global teams

• Effective representation of Publicis Media: Keep abreast of international and local trends, across all agency disciplines and practices. 

• New Business: Assist with new business pitches on costing exercises when required.

• Update monthly forecasting reports.

• Ensure the Lumina platform is kept up to date and digital integrations are added and maintained.

• Keep your Telmar, Digital i.e.Google, Facebook, Twitter training and certifications up to date and participate in required training sessions.

• Ensure that your time sheets are maintained and timeously updated.

Qualifications

• Advanced Telmar training to be updated annually – Survey Time, Autographics, Geographics, Transmit, Radio Planner, Radio Tracker, Print Planner etc.

• Google Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

• Google Analytics

• Google Ads Video

• Google Display Ads

Experience:

• At least 8-10 years of media planning experience

Hard Skills:

• Able to effectively project manage

• High attention to detail

• Numerically strong and analytically able

• Strong communicator with effective interpersonal relationships across team and clients

• Advanced IT skills including Microsoft Word, best-in-class Power Point, Excel, Outlook and web-based applications.

• The ability to synthesize and reduce different inputs to create a well-considered and accurate representative view.

• English fluency and language skills for effective business writing

• Strong presentation skills

• Solid data interpretation and analytics skills

• Be able to exercise strategic principles and structured thinking to tackle business development projects assigned by client

• Be able to select appropriate frameworks, tools and approaches to use in solving client problems

• Develop strategic implementation presentations from strategy data relevant to client business

• Must be open to learning digital and comfortable handling conversations with clients about digital platforms whilst having the support of a digital planner.

• Must be able to run adspend on Wizzad and have a strong analytical and excel background

• Must be able to lead in client meetings and have a strategic discussion

• Will be working closely with Global and MEA Hub teams on all reporting

Soft Skills

• Is open to constructive feedback and challenges accordingly.
• Is effective at building relationships and working as a team
• Shows leadership and decision-making ability
• Manages change well – adapts and remains flexible to business priorities
• Ability to collaborate without ego as well as work effectively independently
• Is willing to transfer skills and share knowledge openly
• Ability to self-start and self-manage

Additional Information

Our Philosophy on Planning:

Planners play a vitally important role, by converting our strategic thinking into implemented action that deliver business outcomes.

• Our clients relay on us to deliver financial value at every turn – requiring us to negotiate discounts and added value on every schedule.
• Our clients need accurate budget management on every schedule, plan and overarching portfolio deck for every campaign, product, division and portfolio.
• Our clients expect us to tap into the best minds and skills from around the world, to deliver cutting-edge and world-class product, tools, technology, skills and knowledge to the table.
• Our clients want to get their time in the sun and be made famous for the work they produce in partnership with their agency teams – to do this, we need to regularly be entering awards and producing post campaign reports that demonstrate value.
• Planners lean on our strategic teams to provide direction, so they can implement and turn strategy into action.
• Our media investment team rely on our planners to provide the clout that will unlock buying efficiencies with media suppliers.
• Our Power of One teams and creative agency partners need us to provide a deep understanding of the customer/ client / consumer and provide inspiration to produce meaningful communication.
• Because of this, we actively seek out planning talent with the personality, ‘smarts’ and attitude to manage multiple work streams, multiple clients and multiple agency stakeholders. 
• Starcom wants you to grow and thrive in an environment that demands strategic excellence.
• In return, we provide a culture where everyone’s opinions count, where your ideas and inputs are valued and where you are given the autonomy to push yourself as far as your ambition leads you.