Media Buyer Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the media buyer job description, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements that you may be asked to meet to be hired for the media buyer role by most recruiters/employers.

What Does a Media Buyer Do?

A media buyer is responsible for a wide range of media buying services and advertising to achieve the best return for clients.

Media buyers also assist in developing and maintaining client relationships.

They work closely with account executives, sales managers and department heads to help deliver advertising effectively to local customers and distributors.

The media buyer job description also involves publishing advertising campaigns from concept through implementation, verification and payment.

It also entails revising and editing material to maintain accuracy and consistency of information.

Another important part of the media buyer’s duties is identifying and negotiating appropriate arrangements for ad space using various media sources.

The negotiation includes securing prices, contract terms, and delivery schedules while ensuring cost-effectiveness.

It is also the responsibility of the media buyer to coordinate with advert sales representatives to facilitate the scheduling and placement of advertisements in a wide range of print, online or broadcast mediums.

They review sales projections, develop a business plan based on competitors’ ads and trends in the marketplace, as well as assess advertising budget for planning purposes.

Analyzing and interpreting data, such as sales figures and advertising costs is among the tasks of the media buyer.

They oversee data management, ad layout and design services and prepare advertising material for publication or broadcast.

The media buyer work description includes monitoring competitive pricing and providing input to analysis of market trends to help clients reach their marketing goals.

It also involves acquiring the highest quality media space at the most advantageous prices from the widest range of options possible through researching sources, telephone calls, faxes and negotiations with publishers, editors, or station executives about rates for potential new accounts or renewing existing accounts.

A key part of the job is learning about the company’s product or service, including how it is used and its benefits to customers.

The media buyer must also understand how others in their company’s field market promote their products or services.

Media Buyer Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

The media buyer job description consists of the following tasks, duties, and responsibilities:

• Develops and negotiate advertising strategies for selling media time and space and then buys the combination of media, such as network TV and radio programming, magazines, film and outdoor advertising that best fits the strategy
• Negotiates media contracts with television networks, local stations (or their representatives), newspapers and magazines
• Adheres to company policies for negotiating rates with the media representatives; makes regular reports on progress of negotiations to the manager or supervisor
• Analyzes competitors’ actions and determines strategy in response; monitors sales figures of competing companies
• With the manager or supervisor, plans and reviews media campaigns, selecting media and advertising vehicles that are effective
• Coaches sales representatives in selling television advertisements to potential customers
• Monitors sales results of local radio and print advertising to ensure that customers receive full benefit
• Keeps in close touch with advertising agency managers for new developments in media markets
• Provides feedback on past and present accounts
• Responds to client requests for production reports and recommendations for improvement of company services within established guidelines
• Provides on-the-spot problem solving, including assistance with graphic representation of advertising creative ideas, and consultation on media vehicles and creative revisions
• Maintains regular contact with client representatives to obtain details of account status
• Reviews available advertising space to determine what products or services are being sold
• Adjusts the advertising mix in response to market conditions, competition and customer needs
• Maintains records of all financial transactions related to the company’s media buying activity
• Acts as company spokesman in media relations
• Appears in television or radio advertisements for the company’s sponsors or service line clients
• Makes presentations to clients and external groups on topics related to the company’s products or services.

Media buyer Job Description for Resume

If you have worked previously in the position of media buyer or are currently working in that role and need to make a new resume or CV, then you can create a compelling Professional Experience section for your resume by applying the media buyer job description example above.

You can highlight the major duties that you have performed or are currently performing as a media buyer in your resume’s Professional Experience by utilizing the ones provided in the media buyer job description sample above.

This will show that you have been effective in performing the media buyer duties and responsibilities, which can greatly boost your chances of being hired for the new job, especially if it requires someone with some media buyer work experience.

Media Buyer Requirements: Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

Here are major requirements you may be expected to fulfill by most recruiters/employers to be hired for the media buyer position:

• Degree in marketing or equivalent education and experience is especially helpful but is not required
• Minimum of two years of experience as media buyer with a major agency, advertising company or magazine publisher, selling TV and radio spots, space in magazines and outdoor advertising
• Good oral and written communication skills; an ability to gather information from various sources smoothly; the ability to make quick decisions is essential; little or no direct client involvement
• Should have excellent organizational and planning skills, as well as the ability to work on several projects at the same time
• Knowledge of the media industry and buying advertising time and space is essential
• Ability to analyze data and make sound recommendations for advertising clients
• Knowledge regarding print media, both display and editorial, is helpful.

Media Buyer Salary

According to Glassdoor, the annual total pay for a media buyer in the United States is $77,601, with an average salary of $58,222.

Conclusion

The media buyer position requires you to learn many things, like how to market your product or service.

It also requires you to know how and where people utilize the product or service you are selling, and this will help you determine the kind of ads and messages that need to be published so that it will be most effective.

This post is helpful to individuals interested in the media buyer career.

They will be able to learn all they need to know about the media buyer duties and responsibilities to decide if that’s the job they want to do.

It is also useful to recruiters/employers in making a detailed job description for the media buyer position in their organizations, for use in hiring competent people for the role.