| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Media and Advertising |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Media Manager |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 2 to 5 years in media planning at an agency |
Media Planner job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Media Planner
Department: Media and Advertising
Reports to: Media Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Media Planner designs how a brand's advertising budget is spent across channels. They study the target audience and campaign goal, decide the mix of TV, print, digital, outdoor and radio, and build a plan with reach, frequency, timing and cost. The role sits in the media team of an agency under a media manager, and hands the plan to buyers to execute. A good one builds plans that reach the right people at the lowest sensible cost and can defend every choice to the client with data.
Key responsibilities
- Study the target audience, market and campaign goal, and pull audience data to guide channel choices.
- Decide the channel mix across TV, print, digital, outdoor and radio to meet the brand's reach and frequency goals.
- Build the media plan with budget split, schedule, expected reach, frequency and cost per point.
- Model different budget scenarios and show the client the trade-offs between reach, frequency and cost.
- Present and defend the plan to the client, and adjust it based on their feedback and budget.
- Hand a clear, approved plan to the buying team and brief them on priorities.
- Coordinate with creative so the plan fits the assets and formats being produced.
- Track campaign delivery and results, and feed learnings back into the next plan.
- Prepare post-campaign reports that compare planned versus delivered reach and results.
- Keep up with new platforms, audience tools and formats to improve future plans.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in mass communication, marketing, statistics or commerce
- Knowledge of media planning and audience measurement tools
- An MBA in marketing is an advantage
- 2 to 5 years in media planning at an agency
KRAs and KPIs for a Media Planner
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Plan quality | Plans approved by the client within two rounds on most campaigns |
| Reach efficiency | Target reach met at or below the planned cost per reach point |
| Forecast accuracy | Delivered reach and frequency within a set range of the planned numbers |
| On time plans | Media plans delivered by the client deadline for every brief |
| Post-campaign reporting | Post-campaign reports shared within the agreed days of campaign close |
| Client confidence | Plans accepted with clear rationale, with few requests to rework the approach |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: BARC or comScore data, Media planning software, MS Excel, Google Analytics, TAM or audience tools.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior Media Planner, Media Manager
Interview questions for a Media Planner
- How would you plan media for a regional snack brand launching first in Maharashtra with a limited budget?
- Explain reach and frequency to a client who only asks about the number of insertions.
- How do you decide the split between television and digital for a mass brand?
- The client cuts the budget by 30 percent after approval. How do you rework the plan?
- What audience data do you use, and how do you handle gaps in it?
- Walk me through a post-campaign report comparing planned versus delivered reach.
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What does a media planner do?
A media planner designs how an advertising budget is spent across channels. They study the audience and goal, decide the mix of TV, print, digital, outdoor and radio, and build a plan with reach, frequency, timing and cost. They present it to the client and hand the approved plan to buyers to execute.
What is the difference between media planning and media buying?
Media planning decides the strategy: which channels, how much budget each gets, and the reach and frequency to aim for. Media buying negotiates and purchases that inventory and makes sure it delivers. In small teams one person does both; in larger agencies planners and buyers are separate but work closely.
What skills do you need to be a media planner?
A media planner needs strong analytical skills, comfort with audience data and reach and frequency modelling, budget allocation, and knowledge of both digital and traditional media. Presentation skills matter because you defend the plan to clients. Attention to detail is key, since a wrong number can misdirect a whole campaign budget.