About the role
The Associate Director will play a critical role in collaborating with internal planning & buying teams at Essence, clients, media partners, and data and technology companies for the successful execution of Advanced Television and Digital advertising in support of Home Entertainment products of Universal Pictures, Focus Features and other major entertainment studios.
Focusing on the Digital Movie Rental and Ownership (VOD, Electronic Sell Thru) as well as PVOD windows, the Associate Director is responsible for developing and presenting strategies for budget allocation across media types (digital, MVPD, linear), media placement as well as reporting and tracking of spends and performance.
The AD will be the day to day client contact and lead the team responsible for organizing, managing, and executing Advanced TV and digital advertising campaigns and must possess strong communication skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks and execute projects under set timelines.
The ideal candidate must be familiar with the Advanced TV landscape as well as have a good understanding of the television to digital convergence including TV Everywhere, Dynamic Ad Insertion, over-the-top and digital advertising.
You must be eager to learn and be interested in becoming a go-to expert in the Advanced TV space.
The Associate Director, Media Planning also serves as the lead of the MVPD planning team and will have oversight and responsibility for the day-to-day management of the tactical media plan and its proper implementation, working to implement the brands overall media strategy in the context of changing marketplace conditions and opportunities.
This role is responsible for demonstrating a strong working knowledge of the media space and available media research.
The role sets the tone for how the account is managed by assuring focus on key client objectives and Essence best practice.
Some of the things we’d like you to do:
Lead development, execution, and follow up of media plans that specify which forms of media will be used to effectively reach the digital movie’s target audience, including emerging media tactics and with an emphasis on Advanced TV tactics (addressable, hyper-local and Connected TV/OTT)
Responsible for expressing the rationale behind media investment decisions and evidencing the performance versus expected outcomes.
Oversight of all deliverables produced by their pod, either by direct or delegated means (including flowcharts/plans, analyses, budget updates, spreadsheets and other client deliverables)
Sustain up-to-date performance data to continuously be applied to planning methodology
Line manage 2-4 direct reports to support career growth and development within Media Planning
Point of escalation for team issues (within and outside of team).
Provide proactive communication with client regarding media recommendations, testing initiatives, campaign details, tracking and goalsThought leadership expressed as POVs, client presentations, internal presentations and other avenues
A bit about yourself:
Bachelor’s degree in a Media/Advertising or related fields
5+ years’ experience in Digital Media, Advanced TV or Advertising
Technical proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Solid understanding of the principles of marketing and advertising, media concepts and terms, and creative and budget requirements
MVPD and/or OTT/CTV experience preferred