Associate Vice President, Media Planning

DAC Group•Chicago, IL

1d•$185,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Vice President, Media Planning will have the unique responsibility of helping to further define and integrate our media planning offering (both linear/traditional and digital) within our award-winning full-funnel media agency. As a leader within the media team, this individual will provide strategic leadership while still demonstrating a deep knowledge of each channel and media planning in order to provide value to clients and teach/train a team of subject matter experts. The key objectives for this role are four-fold: Expand our integrated media planning function across linear/offline as well as upper funnel and performance digital media, to ensure DAC’s nascent but expanding traditional/linear and upper funnel media offerings are in line with the expectations of both the industry and ourselves as an award-winning agency Support Strategic Insights, Proove Intelligence (Analytics) and Media activation teams to establish and iterate on a full-funnel, online and offline measurement framework Help teach and train the agency on upper funnel (incl. digital as well as linear/traditional/ATL) language/lingo, buying processes, and measurement. Though the primary focus of the role is planning, hands-on buying experience with traditional/offline media is a bonus for this role Grow and lead a world-class Planning team that can scale with the needs of the agency’s business. This role requires a proven ability to manage a small but growing team in the face of change, including ensuring team knowledge is current, staffing and resourcing is effective for our client mix, and work is distributed appropriately across the team. Effective team management is as important as in-depth knowledge of media planning

Requirements

12+ years of relevant experience in media planning/buying. While planning is the more critical element of the role, an in-depth understanding of buying is also required
Proven existing relationships with vendors, platforms and publishers
Form relationships internally with key stakeholders
Demonstratable comfort in traditional and digital media
Effective and impactful communication at all levels
Demonstrable experience with enterprise-level client campaigns
Experience across multiple industry verticals is preferred
Demonstrable presentation skills (creation of materials and in-room presentation)
Solid knowledge of tactics, vendors, methodologies, and industry trends and topics
A growth mindset for expanding opportunities within the client base
A growth mindset for expanding an agency’s offering
Eager to understand, test and implement new-to-DAC methodologies with a view to improving service offering

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of Canada, UK, and EU markets a plus

Responsibilities

Use 3rd party research tools such as MRI Simmons, Pathmatics, Kantar, GWI, Nielsen and iSpot, as well as analytics data such as GA4 and client-owned CRM data, to identify and define key audiences, media channel insights, and objectives
Work hand-in-hand with Strategic Insights, Client Strategy, Media, and Content Strategy & Creative (where applicable) teams to create truly integrated, full-funnel media plans
Work with Media leads, Strategy and Proove teams to establish Full Funnel Media measurement framework
Partner with Strategic Insights, Media and Proove Intelligence (analytics) teams to ensure media plans are data-driven with defined objectives, and properly measured -- including bringing forth appropriate solutions for awareness, brand lift, consideration and other “upper-funnel” measurement
Research and vet new upper funnel (traditional and/or digital) media opportunities and vendors/partners, and work with Account, Strategy and Media teams to define and present new campaign ideas to clients
Act as a client-facing subject matter expert for clients that have significant upper-funnel buys alongside Account management, Media and Strategy team members
Demonstrate a strong understanding of the clients’ businesses and the customer journey
Liaise with partners/vendors to plan and execute as required (e.g., local cable buying agency)
Support internal training initiatives including authoring materials and leading training sessions on key traditional/linear/ATL channels and upper funnel media tactics, including planning, buying, measurement, and “lingo”
Build relationships with key publishers, platforms, networks and partners
Create sales/pitch and marketing materials
Assist in development of new business pitch materials; attend and present in pitches
Provide thought leadership where applicable, including within DAC’s owned content as well as conferences and events
Demonstrate expert-level knowledge of the role different channels and tactics play in integrated media plans
Responsible for demonstrating an understanding of consumer behaviors within media, and a working knowledge of media relevant to the client’s business including TV (linear, national/local, and digital/streaming), digital including social, search and programmatic, experiential, audio/radio, print, OOH, and partnerships
Stay up to date with the industry, including trends, new vendors, etc.
Track and measure media program health and report on it to Senior Vice President of Digital Media, agency executives and account teams, as required
Hire, train and build a world-class planning team as business needs dictate