Associate Media Director

The Associate Media Director (AMD) is a client-facing people & excellence leader who oversees strategic and holistic media activation, optimization, and buying for a team of Media Managers across Programmatic, Search, Social, and Ad Ops and for a portfolio of clients. Accountable for overall campaign delivery, they will ensure the development and execution of excellent and effective media activation strategies, utilization of data to enhance targeting and campaign performance, and make informed choices aligned with the communication strategy and client's business goals. Additionally, they will provide people leadership, manage high-value client relationships, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and demonstrate thought leadership in the media industry.

What You Will Do: 

Strategic Media Activation:

• Oversee and review Media Managers' strategic media activation planning and buying across multiple channels for a portfolio of clients, ensuring high-quality and flawlessly executed campaigns that meet client objectives and performance metrics before they're submitted or presented to the client.
• Maximize return on investment by ensuring that media implementation and activation strategies and plans, including budget allocation and target audience optimization, are strategically and holistically executed, aligned with the consumer journey, and supported by audience insights.
• Utilize client and proprietary data to enhance targeting, provide insights, and maximize campaign performance.
• Demonstrate zoom fidelity by making informed choices that align with the communication strategy and client's business-level goals.
• Ensure selection of platforms, publishers, and channels based on meticulous analysis of capabilities and desired client outcomes.

People Leadership:

• Manage and mentor a team of media managers, providing guidance and support and holding them accountable to the highest standards of performance.
• Train, motivate, grow, and evaluate team members, ensuring they follow best practices.
• Maintain overall control of workflow and assigned team responsibilities and priorities, identifying, and addressing issues and helping determine staffing needs for appropriate allocation of personnel.
• Support personal development through goal setting, on-tracks, and accountability.
• Optimize how we leverage the expertise we have today and build expertise for tomorrow.

Client Leadership:

• Work closely with cross-functional teams to understand client needs and develop media activation plans aligned with their objectives. Listen, participate and learn what’s important to them and translate those needs and expectations for the team.
• Provide senior-level strategic media activation leadership and maintain strong client relationships.
• Ensure high-quality media activation plans exceed client objectives, offering smart and thoughtful understandings of how strategic media activation can help achieve and exceed goals.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of client business, from both current and historical perspectives.
• Participates and presents in New Business efforts and presentations, where appropriate

Cross-functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate with Strategy, Planning, BD, and CX to develop strategic and innovative media plans that deliver maximum impact.
• Collaborate with Strategy/Planning on overall channel optimizations, beta/test & learn opportunities, ensuring zoom fidelity (direct SPR peer = Director, Strategic Planning).
• Work with Investment on channel best practices, providing them feedback on client and beta needs.

Thought-Leadership

• Provide thought-leadership internally & externally by staying up to date on the media industry and trends identifying opportunities to improve campaign performance.
• Showcase deep marketplace understanding and explain the strategic benefits of investment and activation choices (ex. inventory, platforms, channels, etc.)
• Manage relationships with media vendors/publishers and negotiate rates for best client value, as relevant.
• Identify and encourage calculated risks and innovative initiatives rooted in the communication strategy.

What You Bring:

• 8+ years of experience in media, with a proven track record of delivering outstanding results for clients.
• Skilled in conducting meticulous analysis of platforms, publishers, and channels to select the most suitable options for desired client outcomes.
• Experience overseeing flawless execution of campaigns across all channels that meet client objectives and performance metrics.
• Ability to develop and execute strategic media activation plans across multiple channels.
• Ability to effectively manage and mentor a team of media managers, ensuring adherence to performance standards and best practices.
• Proficiency in maintaining overall control of workflow, assigning responsibilities, and addressing issues.
• Skill in supporting team members' personal development through goal setting, accountability, and tracking progress.
• Skill in maintaining strong client relationships and providing senior-level strategic media activation leadership.

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