What is Media Planning?
Media planning involves several steps which lead to the right message being shown to the right audience. Every step is executed with thought and it takes planning and coordination between multiple departments for viewers/consumers to see the finished product. When an agency is planning a campaign, the first thing an advertiser thinks about should be about which media planner to use to fit the brief the best.
Put simply, media planning is how marketers choose which message will be shown to which audience and through which kind of messaging and platform.
What Is the Role of a Media Planner?
Media planners are also known as brand planners or brand strategists. They provide services to advertising agencies or individual clients. Working alongside clients, they help bring media campaigns to life.
They are the point of contact between the client and the advertising agency and help to ideate, conceptualise, and execute media and marketing campaigns.
Media planners also help clients articulate what their goals are, both in terms of target audience and their ideal ad campaign.
What Is the Job Description of a Media Planner?
A media planner stands by an advertising strategy right from its conception until execution. They also track the response to the strategy to see if it was effective or not.
A media planner’s job description and duties include:
- Studying data and being aware of the kinds of campaigns that have succeeded and more relevantly, the ones that have not. It makes them aware of the changes they have to make when approaching the next ad campaign.
- Thinking creatively and imaginatively to formulate brand and marketing campaigns unlike others that are in the market. They also need to ensure their campaigns target the right audiences via the right media outlets.
- Presenting a variety of options to the client based on their objectives.
- Working with the clients, art teams, social media teams and coordinating between them to ensure the best possible outcome.
- Analysing the data from a campaign once it’s launched to understand what has succeeded and what requires refinement and reevaluation.
What Are the Skills Needed to Be a Media Planner?
A media planner’s first responsibility lies with their client. Their job is to ensure the client is satisfied with the campaign that is created based on their brief. Hence, good communication and people skills are a must. Alongside that, media planners must have other skills such as:
1. Good Presentation Skills
Along with communicating, they must be able to present their plans in front of management and clients. They should be able to answer the client’s questions with ease while providing ample information about the same.
2. Sales and Advertising Skills
A media planner, in essence, is a salesperson. They conceptualise and sell an idea to the management and the client. They need to have full confidence in their ideas and be able to explain best how it can generate revenue.
3. A Strong Sense of Organisation
The role of a media planner is a juggling act between the client, management, resources, and vendors. They need to be organised in order to take on all these responsibilities at the same time and ensure everything goes off without a hitch.
4. Marketing and Negotiation Skills
A good media manager has to be aware of the current media market and which type of campaigns will be profitable vs. those that won’t. They must also know how to negotiate well in order to get the best deals they possibly can for ad spaces - be it physical or online.
5. A Comprehensive Knowledge of Different Mediums of Advertising
Trends and mediums to advertise constantly change and a skilled media manager should keep track of that. A strong campaign launched on an outdated or even ‘out of fashion’ platform will still not do as well.
Why Should One Become a Media Planner?
There are several benefits to being a media planner:
1. Lucrative Salary
Media planners can work their way up from smaller ad agencies to larger, more established ones. As they make the shift, their salary bracket improves, allowing them to earn more. A skilled media planner can earn up to ₹15 LPA.
2. High Demand for Jobs
There is a high demand for skilled, creative, and articulate media planners. Agencies are constantly on the lookout for fresh talent that can embody the values of the agency.
3. Variety of Roles Available
With each ad agency, there are also media planners who specialise in working in different types of media (print, television, etc). It is always possible to find a role best suited to your interest.
4. Competitive Field
The world of media is a competitive one, which is ever growing and changing. New agencies are coming up every day while old ones are rebranding with the times. There is always scope to learn and grow in the media planning field.
Steps to Take To Become a Media Planner
There are three paths an aspirant can take to get into the field of media planning:
Study Media at an Undergraduate Level
In this case, an aspirant can earn a degree in an appropriate field such as a Bachelor of Mass Media or a Bachelor of Mass Communication. They can also go the business route and study for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) or Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com).
Here are some of the colleges offering the courses above:
After completing this degree, an individual can choose to study further or apply based on their undergraduate degree alone.
Study Media at a Postgraduate Level
Alternatively, an aspirant can study any undergraduate degree, such as English or Liberal Arts, and study media at a postgraduate level in the form of a degree/diploma/certificate.
Some of the colleges they can apply to include:
Complete an MBA
A third alternative is for aspirants to earn an MBA after completing an undergraduate degree in any subject. Here are a few things to know about an MBA.
MBA Courses:
There are many types of MBA courses that a candidate can do such as:
- MBA in General Management
- MBA in Marketing
- MBA in Human Resource Management
- MBA in Consulting
- MBA in Entrepreneurship
- MBA in Finance
For those interested in the field of media planning, they should ideally pursue an MBA in Marketing.
MBA Subjects:
There are some MBA subjects that are common, regardless of the MBA course chosen. These subjects in MBA are beneficial to students, regardless of the specific stream taken. These include:
- Market Research & Data Analysis
- Consumer Behaviour
- eCommerce Marketing
- Business Communication
- Retail Management
MBA Syllabus:
For those specifically studying an MBA in Marketing, here are a few of the subjects taught in the MBA syllabus:
- Market Research & Data Analysis
- Consumer Behaviour
- eCommerce Marketing
- Business Communication
- Retail Management
Are There Entrance Exams for Media Planner Degrees?
Each college has its own entrance exams. However, for MBA courses, colleges take exams such as CAT, MAT, XAT, etc. It is best to do research when applying to each college.
What Are the College Programmes Fees to Become a Media Planner?
Here are the fee structures for some of the courses mentioned above including MBA fees:
Are There Loans Available for Students Interested in Pursuing Further Studies?
As course fees, especially MBA fees are high, banks offer a variety of student loans at competitive rates. However, there are also organisations such as Propelld offering 100% digitised private student loans.
