Media Buying
A media buyer is instrumental to the success of the media plan. The buyer is the one who negotiates the final placement according to a plan's specifications. They are also responsible for predicting the future success and value of new TV shows, magazines, websites and numerous other vehicles.
Without a skilled buyer, the plan remains nothing more than a document. Consumers never see a brand's media plan. All they see is the buy.
Professional buyers are the ones who can make or break the bank since they are the ultimate deal-makers for their clients. Negotiation, interpersonal communication, and evaluation skills, as well as extreme multi-tasking abilities are all critical to success in this role.
Tracey is a Texas Media Ex who is a buyer. She spends nearly all of her time in negotiations with sales representatives. She may be negotiating local TV, radio or outdoor, or perhaps vying for the best placement for her brand's on-line advertising campaign. Tracey really knows the local markets that she manages for her clients. Many planners come to her for insight into these local markets as they are creating plans.
Other buyers she works with purchase national media, including the big-ticket task of negotiating network TV. She and others are also very involved in negotiating the details of sports sponsorships and other event marketing opportunities. Her clients might even ask her for advice in considering product placement opportunities such as in movies.
Media Planning
A media planner is responsible for determining the best media options for a brand to consider, including both traditional and non-traditional vehicles. Problem solving, interpersonal communication, analytical thinking and writing skills are critical to success in this role.
Danny is a Texas Media Ex who is a planner. His daily activities vary tremendously depending on the time of the year. Along with his supervisors, he develops the strategic direction for all of the brand contact points that consumers will make with the four clients he represents.
Danny spends the majority of his time in brainstorming sessions, on the phone, synthesizing ideas based on data, and monitoring plans as campaigns run their course. His team is responsible for meeting on a regular basis with clients to determine their needs, to get their feedback, and to present the final plans that will ultimately deliver his clients' messages to consumers.
New Media Development
Individuals working in this area are responsible for creating new brand contact points for advertisers to deliver their messages. This field ranges from developing content to inventing technology, and subsequently commercializing that content or technology. Creating brand alliances, barter agreements and new business models are all part of this world. These are the folks blazing new media trails for advertisers to consider.
Jonathan is a Texas Media Ex who works in new media development for a major telecommunications company. He spends a large portion of his time staying on top of the needs of the individuals who use his company's products. Jonathan finds new ways to use the products his company produces to deliver pertinent commercialized information from advertisers. In addition, he spends a lot of time at trade shows for emerging technologies to find new and more customized ways to provide people with the information they want about products and to help them screen out the messages they do not want.
As a jack-of-all-trades, Jonathan works with the media sales team for his company to set ad rates and dissect consumer responses. He also works with the media planners and buyers at agencies or in-house marketing/advertising departments as he helps tell the story of his company's new media products.
Media Research
A media researcher is a true investigator. This is a person who can be employed by an independent research firm, a client or an agency. Regardless of their location, a media researcher is responsible for generating and or investigating primary and secondary data to facilitate critical communication investments. Different media researchers work to answer a variety of different questions such as how an audience should be segmented, how media vehicles are actually being consumed or which media effort was the most effective for a campaign. No matter what the questions a media researcher is answering, one thing is true…there is a need for unprecedented amounts of data today and in the future. The outlook for media researchers is truly bright.
Theresa is a Texas Media Ex who is a media researcher. Her days at work are spent juggling a full team on a wide client roster. She spends much of her time visiting with her clients to determine what questions need to be further investigated and designs the research instruments that will be used to gather data. Although she doesn't conduct the research herself, she oversees this process. Once data is generated, Theresa manages her team to analyze the stats and to prepare meaningful reports that speak to the client's needs.
Theresa is the ultimate left-brain, right-brain example. She spends about half of her time on the phone, in meetings and generating ideas to investigate. She spends the other half of her time reviewing survey results, data mining, and finding answers to many coveted questions.
Resources
Information at Your Fingertips.
Because information is the foundation of any solid media planning or buying strategy, one of our main concerns is providing students with access to as much current and relevant information as possible.
If information truly is power, our students pack quite a punch.
At our disposal, we have three rooms in addition to classrooms dedicated to the enhancing the academic careers of TexasMedia students:
- Media Research Lab
- Interactive Media Lab
- Leo Burnett Library
Media Sales
A media sales rep is the person who represents an individual media vehicle or a family of vehicles. Sales reps are employed by the TV and radio networks and local stations, newspapers, magazines, outdoor providers and Internet content providers, as well as numerous alternative media venues. Some media also use the sales services of rep firms who represent large groups of media families.
The sales rep is responsible for customizing packages to meet the needs of the clients they serve. They work directly with media buyers in this high-energy negotiation process. As with buying, negotiation, interpersonal communication, and evaluation skills, as well as extreme multi-tasking abilities are all critical to success in this role.
Nancy is a Texas Media Ex who is a sales rep for a national U.S.-based magazine. She manages clients for the Southwest region and spends much of her time traveling around the region to meet with potential buyers. She also represents ad space and partnership opportunities on the website of her magazine.
Nancy works directly with promotional managers at the magazine to put together proposals for her clients that capitalize on their added-value media needs, including support for special events that her clients host. She must stay well informed of special sections and other editorial content of her magazine and site so that she can help her clients' messages work most effectively.