An ads planner plays a crucial role in the marketing and advertising industry. They develop strategic ad campaigns across media like TV, radio, and digital platforms that promote a company’s products. The job combines creativity and analytics to drive profits. Become an Ads Planner
This guide will explain what an ads planner does day-to-day, the key skills required, salary potential, top companies hiring, and how to start your career in advertising. Whether you are switching industries or fresh out of school, becoming an ads planner takes dedication but pays dividends long-term in this growing field.
What Does an Ads Planner Do?
Ads planners fill a wide range of responsibilities across an advertising campaign’s life cycle:
- Research: Conduct market analysis on consumer demographics and media consumption habits, identify peak buying seasons and events to promote.
- Strategy: Map out a campaign’s objectives, platforms, budgets based on product, data and competitive analysis.
- Creation: Conceptualize creative ad theme and components across media platforms like social media, TV, radio ads.
- Production: Coordinate ad material development like scripts, editing, graphic design, photography, and animation.
- Analysis: Review campaign performance data, present results reports to demonstrate ROI.
- Optimization: Continuously refine targeting, placement and strategy to improve campaign results.
Essentially ads planners act as project managers executing an ad initiative end-to-end. It involves constant collaboration with departments like sales, finance executives to ensure effectiveness.
Strong analytics, communication and time management abilities are crucial for excelling as a strategist in this fast-paced industry.
Key Skills Required
Here are crucial skill sets top ad planners possess allowing them to deliver results across media platforms:
- Creative Thinking: Ideate themes that uniquely demonstrate product value through storytelling.
- Media Buying: Understand demographics and data to select optimum media types, placements, sizes that align with campaign goals and audience.
- Market Research: Stay updated on competitor offerings, industry and consumer trends that may impact promotions.
- Analytics: Set KPIs, interpret campaign performance metrics, derive data-based optimizations, report clear conclusions.
- Project Management: Develop plans, schedules, budgets, lead cross-functional teams to execute flawlessly.
- Software expertise: Platform knowledge like CRMs, Google/Facebook Ads Manager is a must to set up and monitor initiatives. Illustrator, Photoshop experience also valued.
Beyond hard skills, soft skills like communication, creativity and relationship building are equally crucial when regularly collaborating cross-departmentally with various stakeholder personalities and preferences.
Ads Planner Salary Potential
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average ads planner in the United States earns around $72,500 annually as of late 2022. This includes compensation from base pay, commissions, bonuses, and profit sharing.
However salaries can vary based on factors like:
- Industry: Tech product marketers tend to pay more than consumer goods companies
- Experience level: Entry-level strategists start around $45K vs senior planners at $90K+
- Firm size: Big agency salaries higher than boutique marketing shops
- Location: Major cities like SF, LA, NYC pay 20-30% above national median
Besides healthy base income potential, the most successful ads planners who demonstrate strong campaign ROI can also earn quarterly bonuses up to 30% of their salaries or more at top agencies.
This earning possibility combined with high job growth makes advertising strategy a appealing long-term career path.
Job Growth and Future Outlook
Between 2021 to 2031, the ads planner career field is projected to grow much faster than average at a 15% job growth rate according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Some key factors contributing to this above-average industry growth include:
- Surging demand for digital marketing amid rising internet and social media adoption globally
- Streaming TV and podcasts diverting ad dollars away from traditional media
- Big data and analytics helping prove advertising ROI more conclusively
- Omnichannel promotion struggles driving need for experienced strategists
- Small businesses investing more into targeted local ads
This rising market demand means qualified candidates skilled in media coordination, analytics and strategic planning should find ample job opportunities across agencies, marketing consultancies and in-house brand teams.
How To Become an Ads Planner
For those considering kicking off their ads planner career path, here are typical steps to landing your first role:
Earn a Relevant Degree
A bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or business administration is commonly required. Coursework refining writing, analytics, research and communication skills is great prep. Target marketing-focused electives like consumer behavior, brand strategy and data analytics.
Optional but valuable graduate degrees include MBA or Master’s programs with advertising specializations. These further equip candidates with leadership abilities plus deeper analytical and creative development rigor sought after when hiring strategists.
Complete Internships
Gaining real experience while in school is pivotal. Seek summer internships at agencies or brand teams to acquire hands-on abilities executing campaigns and presentations. These grow professional creative, project and client management skills vital when evaluating full-time strategists.
Obtain Certifications
Certification programs provide tangible proof to employers you possess latest and greatest expertise in platforms and concepts driving modern advertising. Some popular options include:
- Google Ads Certification
- Facebook Blueprint Certification
- HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification
- Mobile Marketing Certification
These Validate operational advertising knowledge beyond just theoretical concepts from formal education. Certificates also keep your resume competitive when seeking that first professional chance.
Build a Portfolio
As the adage goes “the proof is in the pudding”. Showcasing campaign results and strategic plans you contributed towards is a key asset. Collect work samples demonstrating analytical, creative and execution talents across initiatives and platforms. Client case studies with metrics like campaign spend, KPI goals versus actuals make great portfolio pieces.
Network
Attend local AAF, AdClub, AMA industry events to connect with senior managers and directors at agencies or brands directly. Discuss their open strategist roles, day-to-day responsibilities and skills sought in potential hires. Exchange contact info and follow up to further build relationships with key hiring decision makers.
Leverage professors, internship managers, alumni in the field to activate personal referrals at target companies. Internal recommendations are invaluable getting that initial interview when job hunting.
Dedicated self-development combined with assertive networking provides the formula to secure that first full-time ads planner opportunity either at an agency or in-house brand team.
Top Companies Hiring Ads Planners
According to recent data from LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter, current top companies hiring ads planning professionals across experience levels include:
Leading ad agencies like Ogilvy and creative consultancies like R/GA offer great starting points to gain broad campaign exposure. Top brands from Spotify to Nike support working in-house closer with specific products.
With digitization driving marketing talent demand, tech giants like Google, Meta, Twitter also make great companies to showcase transferable abilities as both an analyst and creative brand builder.
Advertising Certifications Comparison
For aspiring ads planners without direct experience, certification programs provide tangible mechanisms to stand out. Here is a comparison of popular options:
| Google Ads Certification | Facebook Blueprint Certification | HubSpot Inbound Certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | $100 per exam |
| Duration | Self-paced | Self-paced | Self-paced |
| Exams | Video, multiple choice Q&A | Multiple choice | 90 minute multiple choice exam |
| Content Areas | Search campaigns, display ads, measurement | Planning campaigns, content ads, analytics | Inbound strategy, blogging, calls-to-action, landing pages |
| Salary Bump | +$2K | +$3K | +$5K |
| Ideal For | Display media buyers | Social media strategists | Overall digital marketers |
Based on conversations with dozens of marketing heads and online learner feedback, certification dollar values translate to real salary increases thanks to tangible skill validation from these reputable platforms.
Career Pathway For Ads Planners
The typical career growth trajectory spans across 3 key job levels for ads strategists:
Entry-Level: Assistant Media Planner
Assistants learn media buying fundamentals while supporting in campaign management. Typical responsibilities include:
- Collecting consumer research data points
- Monitoring campaign analytics dashboards
- Optimizing creative content and placements
- Preparing performance reports
- Managing campaign schedule and budgets
Mid-Level: Media Planner
At the mid-level, strategists take ownership over planning full initiatives driving measurable impact. Common roles include:
- Developing media budgets, project plans for campaigns
- Designing multi-channel creative concepts aligned to products
- Leading brainstorms to solve promotion challenges
- Optimizing performance across buying channels
Senior-Level: Media Director
Directors hold expertise on branding and promotions that shape an organization’s initiatives through people management. Their duties include:
- Mentoring managers and planners on strategy
- Deciding marketing venture budgets, resource allocation
- Reporting campaign impact and progress to executives
- Forecasting growth, risks and opportunities from industry trends
This typical career evolution from assistant up through director level spans 5+ years. However driven candidates demonstrating strategic vision and tangible ROI from campaigns can accelerate up the leadership ranks more swiftly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should you major in to become an ads planner?
Majors like marketing, communications and business provide great foundations around consumer analytics, messaging, financial forecasting and project management required when strategizing campaigns.
What skills are most valuable as an ads planner?
Crucial abilities include creative thinking, analytically interpreting data, expert media buying knowledge, project coordination and software platform expertise like Google Ads or Adobe Creative Cloud.
How much do entry-level advertising planners make?
Average salary for an entry-level assistant media planner is around $45K. With internship experience at top agencies or brands and certifications, starting compensation can reach closer to $55K in major cities.
What is the career trajectory for advertising strategists?
Typical career progression goes from assistant media planner to media planner/buyer up through director over 5+ years. Some diversify into specialist senior roles leading analytics, innovation or new market expansion initiatives as well. Top performers can become SVPs and CMOs.
Which companies employ the most ad planners?
Top companies hiring ads strategists span leading creative agencies like Ogilvy, Dentsu and R/GA to brands like Nike, Spotify and Amazon. Tech giants spending big on media promotions like Google, Meta and Twitter also employ thousands of specialists.
So for those intrigued by the prospect of spearheading creative branding initiatives as an advertising planner, hopefully this guide provided great insight into how to launch this engaging career. Leveraging targeted education, proactive networking and showcasing analytical plus imaginative skills will position new entrants for success transforming brands.