Media Buyer Sample Job Descriptions

Media buyers acquire advertising space for print, radio, television, billboard, and online campaigns by utilizing market research and negotiating with advertising sales agents to ensure they reach the desired target audience. A media buyer should have excellent negotiation skills, strong organizational abilities, and be a strategic thinker. [Your Company Name] is hiring an experienced media buyer to take our advertising to new heights. As an ideal candidate, you have in-depth knowledge of current media channels and advertising options, and you have experience in securing the optimal advertising space for clients.

Typical duties and responsibilities

• Target key demographics and develop media campaigns
• Negotiate ad space and airtime rates with vendors
• Develop media plans and budgets that best fit clients’ needs
• Create ad schedules and adjust when appropriate
• Ensure ad quality and placement, as well as relevance to campaign objectives
• Track ad money spent, and return on investment

Education and experience

This position requires a bachelor’s degree in business, digital marketing, mass communications, or a related field.

Required skills and qualifications

• Knowledge of traditional and digital advertising trends
• Strong background in using media analytics tools
• Superior negotiation and communication skills
• Ability to multitask and organize multiple projects
• Excellent attention to detail
• Strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills

Preferred qualifications

• Experience working in digital ad platforms such as Facebook Ads Manager, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager or other programmatic media platforms
• A proven track record of driving results

As a Media Buyer at ABC Company, you will contribute to this mission by taking ownership of the negotiation of rates and management of advertising inventory across television, radio, and digital markets. You will report directly to the Director of Media and work closely with our Media Coordinators, Digital Marketing, and Creative teams.

In this role, you can expect to

• Monitor and analyze key metrics to identify underperforming markets, stations, media/vendors, and programs
• Optimize the strategic plan by negotiating difficult circumstances with senior-level station personnel
• Negotiate with large station ownership groups to gain access to key programming positions with ABC Company’s 2-minute commercials
• Use findings from conference calls with research firms to enhance ABC Company content and improve results
  

What it takes to succeed

At ABC Company, we are Default Aggressive toward our goals and take Extreme Ownership of our results. We’ll provide you with the training and tools to set you up for success, and we hope that you’ll bring:

• Demonstrated proficiency with Excel and spreadsheets
• Exceptional knowledge of industry tools
• Bachelor’s degree (preferred)

One of ABC Company’s top clients is seeking to hire a part-time Media Buyer for their Paid Policy Media team. They are primarily seeking someone to help bring the company’s Impact material to life by producing engaging and enjoyable content. The ideal candidate would be a social, and hard-working person who enjoys working beside a team. This person is passionate and devoted to their work all the while still being enthusiastic about the media buying and related marketing industries.

This would initially be part-time (around 20 hours/week), but their goal is to increase their demand to where they could potentially be needing full-time hours. They are shifting to develop positions that are/were currently completed by agencies to now creating those as in-house roles. This is where the potential conversion comes in, but there is no guarantee.

Starting with a smaller team you will be working closely with team members as well as cross-functionally. Collaborative on how to create other forms of buying outside of the typical digital market similar to media buying.

Key responsibilities

• Create and design various materials for print and digital collateral
• Ensure projects are completed with high quality and on schedule
• Adhere to internal style guidelines, maintaining the quality of the company brand
• Prioritize and manage multiple projects within design specifications and budget restrictions
• Listen to internal stakeholders and the team around you, understanding their needs and vision and interpreting their requirements
• Work with a wide range of media and use graphic design software

Capabilities

• 3-5 years of experience in graphic design
• High proficiency in design programs, especially Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
• Knowledge of layouts, visual fundamentals, typography, print, and the web
• Previous experience producing policy or advocacy-related designs is a plus
• Compelling portfolio of work over a wide range of creative projects
• Getting ‘into the weeds’ and needing to be able to pinpoint why certain decisions are being made
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent eye for detail
• Ability to multitask and work in a fast-paced environment

Portfolio/nice to haves

• A portfolio is needed prior to scheduling the interview
• Working with agencies whether within or alongside
• All social media platform experience – 1-2 nice to have, but all of them is best
• Heavy on digital campaigns
• Very nice to have previous experience with media buying such as radio, TV, and print while incorporating the typical digital media buying campaigns

What you’ll do

• Negotiates with advertising sales agents to acquire cost-efficient and budget-conscious advertising, sponsorships, or product placements
• Understand their client’s needs and wants and research what media are available in the markets afforded by a client’s budget
• Purchases advertising time on our client’s behalf
• Analytical thinking, communication, persuasion, and research abilities
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure seamless plan integration and workflow
• Provide detailed campaign analysis and recommendations to internal and client teams
• Experience purchasing and managing a variety of media campaigns and various deal structures including, CPV, CPM, CPC, and CPA
• Solid experience in managing all aspects of buying, including tracking and media optimization
• Monitor and review creative through the gathering of recorded copy and live air-checks
• Vett out talent, shows, new media offerings, markets, stations, etc. to determine the value and if offerings align with the client’s strategy
• Work with the strategists to help determine overarching media strategy, client goals, media recommendation, and plan
• Build thoughtful media plans based on given criteria and narrative
• Send payment requests to accounting for all CIA clients
• Request financial information from new clients and/or vendors for accounting to set up in their system
• Confirm media funds are in-house prior to booking media
• Input all media schedules into the system
• Send orders to vendors, confirm orders and match out IOs with contracts
• Review pre/post logs to ensure media is running as ordered
• Manage all make good requests
• Ensure monthly invoices are reconciled for all account assignments
• Participate in internal meetings to review results and make recommendations to the team before the client call
• Plan, negotiate, book, and optimize annual deals from multiple clients
• Assist with any additional task overflow within the department

What you’ll need

• A bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, mass media communications, advertising, or a related field
• Minimum 5 years of radio buying experience, at local and national levels (Direct Response focused buying experience is a plus)
• Must have exceptional Excel & PowerPoint skills, with knowledge of formulas, calculating, and manipulating data comfortably within Excel
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Advanced knowledge of Salesforce
• Experience in the Strata media buying platform

Bonus points if

• Demonstrable Media buying experience
• Agency and/or Broadcast Media experience
• Experience with Project Management
• Experience in Communication Processes
• Analytical, creative, and innovative approach to solving problems
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy
• Entrepreneurial mindset; comfortable in a data-driven business environment