Media Planner — PHD Canada (Omnicom Media)

Working for PHD Canada

PHD Canada, with 40 years of Canadian history, are part of a Global network, and bring the breadth of global strength and the depth of local expertise to Canadian brands.

Our people make the difference, striving to be the most strategic and creative-led media agency in a data and tech world that delivers growth for our clients.

We are a culture of thought-leadership, creativity and innovation.

We believe in our people and delivering great work for our clients. It is these ambitions that make PHD a great company to work for as well as rewarding work via client accolades and industry recognition.

Some additional benefits you get by being part of PHD include:

• Learning: Both in person with your manager, within the agency and through an online platform that brings internal and external learning together 24/7.
• Beer Club
• Events organised by the social committeethroughout the year
• Big Hug – PHD’s very own CSR initiative driven by our people and their passions for the greater good
• Access to industry events
• Discounted Gym membership
• Flexible Health benefits
• OMG mentorship program

For further information on PHD culture, please visit https://www.facebook.com/phdcanada or Instagram/phdcanada to see what we are about.

Purpose of the Role:

The Planning Manager is expected to support the Integrated PHD team by delivering client satisfaction through the building and execution of strategic, competitive, and creative media plans.  The Planning Manager will have a strong knowledge of the client’s business and apply that knowledge to help the PHD integrated team to drive results and exceed client KPIs

You will become an active member of an enthusiastic team of cross discipline professionals. You will give your best and bring out the best in others to elevate the overall performance of the team.  You will be increasingly involved in the ongoing day-to-day work with specific focus on liaising with the integrated team to create a superior plan designed to exceed the defined success metrics.    This will be achieved by leveraging proprietary tools including OMNI Studio, incorporating best practices, understanding investment strategies, incorporating analytics and being open to different ideas and perspectives.

You will be an essential and valuable member of the PHD team through positive and professional engagement of client teams, agency partners, media partners and field experts.  Multiple data points and facts will enable you to develop defendable opinions, perspectives and hypotheses. You will be focused on the development of the most intuitive, progressive and business-driving plans for your clients while supporting other groups across PHD to ensure the ongoing health of the agency.

The resource is generally called upon to focus on one or more major accounts (revenues over $1M) as well as one or more teams in a complex business environment.

The main focus of this function is: PROCESS and SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

An excellent Manager is both creative and analytical.  They will be recognized for their collaboration, openness, curiousity, client service, level of rigor, teamwork, accuracy, attention to detail and creativity.  Lean forward and get started!

The Role & Expectations

Client Engagement:

• Media Expertise via yourself or PHD subject expert
• Professional and open
• Inclusive

Communication & Collaboration:

• Accurate and professional
• Inclusive of all stakeholders
• Internal hub to ensure all is on track

Accountability:

• To your immediate integrated team… seek and deliver support with enthusiasm
• To our clients…. know their goals and help them to exceed
• PHD Network…. sharing, gathering, supporting

Financial Management:

• Manage with appropriate agency and client stakeholders
• Work within defined best practices (local or Global, Agency or Client)
• Attention to detail

People Management:

• Coaching Planning Associates within the team
• Engage Senior team as required
• Recognize your strengths and opportunities as well as those within your team

Leadership:

• Knowledge is the foundation of leadership
• Observe and learn from others within and outside PHD
• Evolve and adapt as the situation dictates

Media/Business Acumen:

• Never stop learning. Leverage all learning resources and tools at PHD/OMNICOM
• Working understanding of all areas of focus within PHD
• Be active within the industry by engaging with experts, attending events, challenging the norms and being open to the possible

Your Responsibilities

• Media Planning– Infuse every plan with thoughtful, functional, creative, data-driven executions rooted in insights. Familiarity with market research and media applications are crucial. Incorporate measurement and campaign optimization for ultimate performance
• Team– Engage your team with enthusiasm, knowledge, questions and ideas.  Aim towards the future…. prepare to be a coach and mentor while being open to receiving valuable feedback from others. Leverage your team to grow skillsets, presentation skills, detail-orientation, technical skills, leadership and critical thinking
• Client Management– Build and maintain an effective working relationship with appropriate business leaders to continuously grow the account. Provide a unique point of view to help clients interpret the best way to test and scale new approaches and identify opportunities to grow their business
• Cross Team Alignment– Work across multiple teams – strategy, marketing sciences, activation, business lead – and externally to understand and develop the most appropriate media concepts and buying strategies across multiple platforms

Some Specific Responsibilities:

• Maintain appropriate confidentiality of client and agency information
• Key contact on client business as appropriate
• Responsible for overall media process (planning/buying/on-line/strategy/data management etc)
• Produce work that needs minimal editing – including appropriate grammar/syntax and numbers/formulas
• Actively listen and ask clarifying questions
• Adhere to deadlines and keep supervisor and team member up to date on progress and pending projects
• Technical skills
  • Efficiently prepare presentations in PPT and Word
  • Use excel shortcuts and tools (ie pivot tables, sumif, average, etc)
• Manage relationships with appropriate partner agency personnel
  • Organize and book meetings
  • Develop meeting agenda and content
  • Input into full agency team documents, POV’s, opportunities
  • Participate in or lead ideation sessions
  • Meeting documentation
• Accountability to providing ongoing strategic insight into client business
  • Actively input/develop strategic documents/discussion
• Presentation Skills
  • Work with Sr. team members to prepare and rehears for external presentations
  • Present in an accurate, organized, and logical manner
  • Adapt presentation style to audience
• Client Interaction / Satisfaction
  • Establish cooperative working relationships with client(s) to improve business performance
  • Actively participate in meetings by sharing ideas, asking questions, and listening attentively
• Engage the Activation and Performance Teams
  • Actively input/develop campaign/client overview
  • Actively input/develop briefing documents
  • Lead ideation sessions for go-to-market ideas/executions
  • Billing and finance management
  • Manage Pre and Post Buy reports
  • Actively engaged in execution and optimization strategies
  • Partner to develop meaningful insights, opportunities and solutions
• Contribute to the PHD team with respect to recruiting, and contributing to teammates Growth Plans and/or performance reviews as appropriate
• Understanding client marketplace dynamics (economic, sales, competitive, consumer)
  • Contribute/create competitive media reports
  • Track competitive business success/growth/declines
  • Engage PHD network for global trends within relevant category
• Ensure utilization of PHD proprietary and industry research tools in plan development
• Fully understand the financial and billing position of each client including budget management and BCR generation
• Preparation/Contribution of reports and strategic analyses to clients
  • Annual/campaign media plans
  • Competitive Reviews
  • Various POV’s of media Opportunities
  • Meeting minutes
  • Status reports
  • Post buy reports
  • Campaign Tracking reports
  • Traffic sheets
  • Position reports
  • Comparison analysis (year over year, campaign v campaign, market v market etc)
• Develop in depth knowledge of all media – offline and online and strategies
  • Print, OOH, Radio, Broadcast, Social, Digital, event, sponsorship
• Demonstrate solid expertise/knowledge of data and analytics
• Manage client training from a media/communications perspective
• Actively participate and support PHD Values and agency initiatives
• Run client education seminars

Expected Behavioural Attitude

• Leadership, initiative and entrepreneurial spirit
• Positivity, passion and determination
• Spirit of collaboration and teamwork
• Good stress management, responsiveness and adaptability
• Good management of emotions and intentions
• Effective management of priorities
• Organizational skills and rigor
• Creativity and sense of innovation
• Interpersonal skills
• Customer’s sense
• Managerial and political skills
• Negotiation skills
• Actively represent and encourage others to act within the PHD Values

Core Competencies

• Leadership/team building and mentoring capabilities
• Strategic ability (Insight)
• Creative thinker
• Solid media evaluation skills
• Knowledge of Industry & proprietary tools/resources
• Professionalism
• Excellent presentation skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Problem solving ability
• Sound judgment

Job Category Level:

Middle Management

Key Qualifications

• University/College education in marketing, communication or other relevant related fields
• 1+ years of experience in media or related fields
• Bilingualism an asset but not required
• Working knowledge of digital and traditional media ecosystem
• Knowledge of Industry Tools/Resources as asset (BBM, Google Analytics, Adwords etc)
• Working knowledge of Excel and Microsoft Office Software

OMG is dedicated to cultivating a workplace that not only respects but actively champions Inclusion, Diversity and Equity through Action (IDEA). This commitment ensures that our workforce composition intentionally reflects the rich cultural mosaic of Canada with representation from various dimensions of diversity. It also drives how our team members, leadership, client services, employment practices, and relationships with all stakeholders are shaped.