WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MEDIA PLANNER (THANK YOU, COMMITS!)

Poorvi Kothari (Class of 2014) wrote this piece for The Commits Chronicle in June 2016:

Before I joined Commits I had no idea that a role like media planning even existed. But thanks to our classes with Mala Ma’am (Malavika Harita, CEO of Saatchi Focus), I not only learnt a lot about advertising but I also got introduced to some great roles, like those of media planners.

And that’s the beauty of Commits. You can come in without even knowing what you want to do or what you are capable of, but one thing is for sure, you’ll leave with a vision, direction, and goal in life.

POORVI AT HER DESK AT THE GROUPM OFFICE IN BENGALURU.

So what exactly is media planning? When I say I work as a media planner, people usually get a little excited and ask, oh, so you are in the TV industry? To which I politely say no. Then they jump to the next possibility: Oh, so then you are a journalist? To which I again say no. As I start explaining how the advertising world works, they become impatient and ask, oh, so you make ads? I say no, I just plan them. By then, even though they haven’t understood what “plan” means in this context they give up and say, oh, okay, that sounds good. 

So, yes, “media planner” is not a profession that everyone gets right away, like “journalist” or “copywriter”. Let me, therefore, try to put it in simple terms: Imagine a mind-blowing advertisement that never reaches its target audience. What good is the ad then? Media planners ensure that a brand’s ad is served up to the right audience. We are like distributors.

After an ad is created, media planners think of the best ways to reach out to the brand’s target audience (be it print, TV, radio, or digital). This involves a lot of statistical analysis as well as number-crunching. Media budgets are huge, typically in crores of rupees. Using this money to effectively reach out to a million consumers in the target audience is a big challenge.

I could go on about everything that happens in media planning, or at work, or at client meetings where we are grilled for explanations about why we are spending this much on a particular medium/channel/programme/website/newspaper, etc., or what the rationale is behind a particular strategy. We are talking big bucks here so, often, we play the role of lawyers, accountants, strategists, and investment bankers.

POORVI WITH HER TEAM MEMBER, COMMITSCION REYA DUTTA (CLASS OF 2015).

To sum up, media planning is the business side of advertising. It is not all about numbers, though. To me, media planning is a good mix of creativity and ingenuity combined with a knack for identifying key insights about what we refer to as media consumption. What I really love is how beautifully numbers can tell us stories, and the best part is when you are trying to sell a story and your job becomes so much easier because you can do so on the back of some powerful data.

Creative agencies feel proud when their TV commercials are seen on air, but for us it’s satisfying when people say, Hey, did you see that ad? It’s all over the place, man! That’s when I know, okay, I did a decent job there.

• Here are three ads whose media plans were prepared by Poorvi and her team:

What it takes to be a media planner

Commits alumnus SUMIT SONAL (Class of 2011) has been working as a media planner with OMD Worldwide in Bangalore since September 2010. Here he gives us an insight into media planning as a profession:

SUMIT SONAL

Life as a media planner is hectic — say goodbye to your 9-to-6 routine because it really doesn't exist — and you have to be very, very patient while working on huge media plans that sometimes exceed Rs.14 cr for just a single quarter.

Sometimes you will have to make amendments to a single plan at least four or five times (if you're lucky!) before it gets approved. Presentations for global and regional teams, in the case of international clients like Intel, will take up most of your time.

Media planning has changed with time. Today's client will ask questions on each rupee spent. More and more channels are being added to the list every day, and it is the same with publications and websites. You should be updated all the time; only then will you be able to create plans that will deliver the goods for your client. To do this, you will have to stay in constant touch with your vendors and also READ! Afaqs and Campaign India are two websites that give you a good insight into what’s happening in the industry and you must make it a point to visit them regularly.

BRAND VISIBILITY: Staying in touch with your vendors will keep you up to date on upcoming properties. For example, you must have seen the promos for Avatar on Star Movies and Star Plus. The network approached us to be the associate sponsor because by then Reliance had already been finalised as the main sponsor. Being associate sponsor or sponsor ensures maximum visibility for your brand, considering the brand will be present everywhere the property is being promoted: promo runs, out-of-home media, Facebook, and paid search ads.

Avatar, a premium property, is very expensive to buy. Associate sponsorship can cost you anywhere between Rs.50 lakh and Rs.60 lakh (how far the cost can be brought down depends completely on the buying team).

We took Avatar, and it was declared as one of our big, good buys of the year as the property delivered tremendously well for both English and Hindi audiences.

To conclude, you need to be very patient and value relationships with colleagues, vendors, in fact anyone you meet if you want to become a good media planner. The media is a close-knit industry, so be sure to leave the person you meet with the right image.

One last point: It’s not important to be good at maths; I never was. You can still do well in this business. Also, be computer-savvy because it really helps!

• If you’re serious about becoming a media planner, you should buy this book by Arpita Menon: Media Planning and Buying.