Media Buyer

$60,000 - $68,000/Yr

Ddm Marketing & Communications - Grand Rapids, MI

Full-time - Mid Level

Grand Rapids, MI

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

As a Media Buyer at DDM Marketing + Communications, you will play a crucial role in supporting the media team's efforts to build strong, successful paid media campaigns for our clients. This position involves working directly with media strategists and media vendors to effectively purchase and place media advertisements. Your responsibilities will include comparing and negotiating rates, ad space, and air time to maximize return on investment (ROI) for our clients. You will be tasked with creating media Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and insertion orders, building strong relationships with media vendors, and monitoring costs and placements to ensure that contracts are upheld. Your primary function as a Media Buyer will involve creating and routing RFPs to media vendors, negotiating pricing and placements, and owning the creation, trafficking, and signing of insertion orders. You will also assist media strategists with audience research to ensure that campaigns are effectively targeted. Specific duties will include writing media RFPs based on campaign briefs, requesting proposals from media vendors, and collaborating with media strategists to identify the best placements for advertisements. You will utilize tools such as Galeforce to build insertion orders based on approved media flowcharts and review ad metrics and proofs to ensure that placements meet anticipated value. In addition, you will be responsible for reviewing media invoices to ensure appropriate budget pacing, reviewing media vendor contracts, and meeting with vendor partners regularly to understand new offerings. Collecting information about the audiences that can be reached by different media channels, including the approximate size of those audiences and targeting options, will also be part of your role. This position requires a strong understanding of marketing strategies, the customer journey, and various marketing channels, along with excellent communication and negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

• Create and route RFPs to media vendors
• Negotiate pricing and placements with media vendors
• Own insertion order creation, trafficking, and signing
• Build strong relationships with media vendors and understand vendor offerings
• Assist media strategist with audience research
• Write media RFPs based on campaign briefs
• Request proposals from media vendors
• Compare and negotiate rates, ad space, and airtime
• Collaborate with media strategists to help identify the best placements
• Utilize Galeforce to build insertion orders based on approved media flowcharts
• Review ad metrics and proofs to ensure placements meet anticipated value
• Review media invoices to ensure appropriate budget pacing
• Review media vendor contracts and request DDM signatures
• Meet with vendor partners regularly to understand new offerings and ask questions on behalf of the media team
• Collect information about the audiences that can be reached by the different media channels, approximate size of those audiences, and targeting options for audiences

Requirements

• 2+ years of experience in media buying or similar role
• Bachelor's degree in relevant field, such as marketing, business, or advertising
• Strong understanding of competitive advantages among media vendors and ability to recognize value in media pricing
• Understanding of marketing strategies, the customer journey, and marketing channels
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills
• Well organized and detail oriented
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to prioritize multiple projects and tasks