The Sales Planner will act in partnership with our Advertising Sales & Strategy teams to lead and support thoughtful and compelling programs that deliver successful outcomes for our Advertisers. The Sales Planner will be knowledgeable of digital and audio advertising platforms, tools, and products to create compelling media offerings. The Sales Planner will work with The Athletic clients externally and be a partner to sales and other operational teams internally.
Responsibilities
- Support development of RFP (Requests for Proposal) process utilizing the full scope of The Athletic’s ad products that strategically address the advertiser’s needs and campaign objectives for digital and audio business lines.
- Build and revise media plans, check avails, reserve fixed placements and update associated fixed placement calendars, and negotiate Terms & Conditions; Enter final plans into online proposal systems.
- Manage the digital process workflow from RFP to IO and liaise with key approval stakeholders in AdOps, Revenue Analytics, Legal, Ad Product, Research and Strategy.
- Adhere to process controls and ensure all approvals are accurately secured.
- Maintain proper documentation of all IOs, T&Cs and Campaign activities.
- Attend all Product trainings and develop a deep understanding of the full suite of The Athletic’s products across all platforms.
- Assist with campaign kick off management.
- Coordinate handoff of digital campaigns to AdOps to ensure pre and post sales continuity.
- Field customer complaints and work with the appropriate department to resolve them.
- Respond to servicing and information requests from team members and clients: work with various internal teams to gather information for customers and fulfill requests.
- Provide excellent customer service to both internal and external clients.
- Communicate detailed and specific account information to Sales and Operations management as needed.
- When other team members are out of office or low on bandwidth, Planner is responsible for coverage and resourcing assistance to support larger department needs.
- Planner is expected to surf the TA site regularly and frequently to ensure our Client’s ads are delivering as expected.
Requirements
- 1-2+ years media experience
- BS/BA degree or related degree
- Attention to detail and organized
- Excellent knowledge of advertising and digital media
- Proficiency in Microsoft and Google office applications; sales and data management tools such as Salesforce are also desirable
- Motivated self-starter and quick learner
- Collaborative, responsive and accountable
- Excellent communication skills both with external clients as well as internal stakeholders
- Excellent relationship-building skills and the ability to work effectively in a team environment
- Strong ability to communicate end-to-end planning process and share that knowledge with the larger team
- This is a remote-based position in the United States or Canada
The annual base salary range for this role is $75,000.00 - $85,000.00 USD. The total compensation offered for this position may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, and location. It may also include non-cash rewards and benefits. The base salary range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
We are excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process. If you are a candidate for a technical role, we will let you know what specific tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.
Skills Required
- 2-5 years of related experience in digital advertising
- Digital planning experience
- Bachelor’s degree
- Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
- Audio advertising experience
- Working knowledge of online proposal systems such as Lineup/Adpoint, DSM, Fat Tail, or Operative
- Proficiency with Microsoft and Google office applications
- Experience with sales and data management tools such as Salesforce
What We Do
Here for every sports story that matters. -- The Athletic (http://theathletic.com) is a subscription-based media publisher of smarter sports coverage for die-hard fans. Founded in 2016, The Athletic’s all-star team of writers have produced thousands of quality stories for subscribers free of ads, pop-ups and auto-play videos. The Athletic now offers in-depth local coverage in 47 North American pro sports markets along with premium national coverage across MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA & more. Readers can count on original, authentic storytelling written by talented local and national sports journalists like Ken Rosenthal, Pierre LeBrun, Seth Davis, Stewart Mandel, Shams Charania and many more. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
