A Beginner's Guide to Media Planning vs. Programmatic

When considering a career in media and advertising, many entry-level candidates face an important decision: should I pursue a role in media planning or programmatic advertising? Today, we explore these roles with insights from Jason Liu .

This post was inspired by a COOP candidate who is looking to pivot from being a representative of her child's Parent-Teacher Association in New York City into the marketing/advertising field. She is considering media planning but is unsure about which path to take. Here are my key takeaways.

"Building the Kite" vs. "Flying the Kite"

Both roles are essential in the advertising process but require very different skill sets and approaches. Jason used a helpful analogy to explain the distinction between the two: media planning is like building the kite, while programmatic advertising is like flying it.

As a media planner, your role begins with crafting the strategy—deciding where and when to launch a campaign, selecting the best platforms, and aligning the plan with the client’s goals. This requires not only strategic thinking but also managing evolving client expectations, reassuring them that your approach will deliver results. While this can be rewarding for those who enjoy client interaction, it can be overwhelming for those who find constant adjustments to client demands stressful.

Once the strategy is in place, the programmatic associates step in to execute it. They ensure the campaign runs smoothly and optimize its performance in real time. This hands-on role requires constant adjustments, much like a kite that needs fine-tuning to stay airborne.

Together, the media planner and programmatic associate form a partnership, transitioning from strategic vision to real-time execution, with the shared goal of meeting the client’s objectives.

Both roles are critical to a campaign's success, but they require different personalities and skills. Here’s a breakdown of what I learned from Jason and some insights into which path might be a better fit depending on your strengths and interests.

Media Planning: Building the Strategy and Winning the Client

Media planning is all about building the strategy—the foundational steps that set up the entire campaign. As a media planner, you will research, analyze, and develop a comprehensive plan for where, when, and how ads will appear. It’s a role that’s heavily reliant on creativity, client interaction, and reading the room. You'll have to be well-versed in all the different channels that your client can leverage. Over the course of your relationship, which could span a decade or more, you're expected to know your client better than they know themselves—anticipating their needs, understanding their audience, and staying ahead of evolving trends. This deep familiarity allows you to craft strategies that resonate on a deeper level and help the client achieve their goals, even as their business and market conditions change.

Jason explained that media planners typically allocate client budgets into three key stages: 60% for top-of-funnel awareness, 30% for mid-funnel engagement, and 10% for bottom-of-funnel conversions. This strategic breakdown ensures a balanced approach, focusing on building brand recognition, nurturing potential leads, and driving final sales. This allocation can vary slightly depending on the client and their specific goals—some campaigns might shift to 70% for awareness and 20% for engagement, with the remaining 10% focused on conversions. The challenge is to effectively manage each stage to optimize the overall campaign performance.

But as Jason pointed out, media planning isn’t just about creating the strategy—it’s also about winning the client. The pressure is on to convince clients that your plan will meet their goals, and failure to do so can lead to losing the client to another agency. If your client shuts down your initial proposal, you’ll have to go back to the drawing board, try again, and again—keeping them happy and engaged throughout the process so they don’t go elsewhere. Since client retention is crucial to the success of the agency, failing to meet their expectations could not only harm the agency's reputation but also put your own job at risk. This pressure is why media planning is like "building the kite." It’s all about the preparation, the research, and the strategy that sets everything in motion.

To me, it sounds a lot like working with an early-stage startup. Much like how marketing agencies or teams help founders design strategies to guide the company’s growth and adjust on the fly, media planners lay the groundwork for a campaign that can evolve over time. The role requires you to anticipate needs, stay ahead of trends, and adjust based on feedback—preparing for long-term success while remaining flexible in the face of change.

What personality traits are best for media planning?

• Curiosity: Media planners need to be naturally inquisitive, constantly learning and adapting strategies to find what works best for each client.
• People Skills: Building strong relationships with clients is key. Media planners must excel at reading the room, communicating ideas clearly, and managing client expectations.
• Adaptability: The needs of clients often change quickly, and media planners must be able to pivot and adapt their strategies to meet new demands.

If you’re someone who enjoys strategic thinking, problem-solving, and working closely with clients, media planning could be the perfect role for you.

Programmatic: Executing the Plan with Precision

On the other hand, programmatic advertising focuses on executing the media plan. Once the media planners have created the strategy, the programmatic associate brings it to life. Working with Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs), programmatic associates ensure that ads are served to the right audience at the right time, and they manage the campaign as it runs, optimizing it for better performance.

This is where the "flying the kite" analogy comes into play. The plan is already in place, and now it’s time to keep the kite in the air—making adjustments, analyzing data, and ensuring everything runs smoothly.

During my interview with Jason, I learned that he received a generalist offer from The Trade Desk and a specialist offer from PulsePoint simultaneously. He chose to proceed with PulsePoint because it allowed him to leverage his specialized knowledge in pharmaceutical and healthcare accounts, which he developed during his time at McCann New York and Hearts & Science . On the other hand, given my decade of diverse experiences outside of the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, I might have personally leaned toward the generalist offer from The Trade Desk. It’s clear that each individual’s background and career path will guide their decision-making process.

What personality traits are best for programmatic?

• Analytical Thinkers: Programmatic is a data-centric role. Those who thrive in programmatic advertising are comfortable working with numbers and optimizing campaigns in real-time.
• Attention to Detail: Programmatic success is driven by small adjustments that can lead to big results, so being detail-oriented is valuable.
• Execution-focused: Unlike media planners, who focus on strategy, programmatic associates are more concerned with ensuring the plan is being executed effectively and continuously improving performance.

If you enjoy working with data, optimizing performance, and ensuring everything runs smoothly, programmatic advertising might be the right fit for you.

What is the Worst Part of the Job, and Can I Overcome It?

As I analyze job offers, I’ve learned to think about what might be the worst part of the job and whether I will be able to handle it. This approach comes from Simon Sinek 's The Dip. In his book, Sinek argues that every job or project goes through periods of difficulty—what he refers to as the "dip." It’s during this phase that we often ask ourselves whether we should push through or move on. Sinek suggests that it’s important to assess whether these challenges are worth overcoming, or if they’ll ultimately hold us back.

In both media planning and programmatic advertising, there are aspects that may feel like “dips.” For media planning, the most challenging part might be the client management—the task of convincing clients to trust your strategy and managing their evolving needs. On the other hand, in programmatic, the challenge may come in the repetitive tasks of reporting and maintaining marketing decks. Understanding these potential challenges allows me to better evaluate which role might be a good fit.

Anticipating what challenges might arise in a role—and reflecting on how my personality and past experiences align with those challenges—has been invaluable in my career decisions. I find it important to do some self-analysis before committing to a career path. By asking myself whether I am truly suited to the tasks and pressures of a role, I can gain clarity on whether I would thrive or struggle. If my skills, personality, and preferences match the day-to-day requirements of the position, I’m more likely to enjoy the work and push through the inevitable dips. Otherwise, I may need to reconsider whether the job is a sustainable fit for me in the long run.

Jason’s Perspective: The Most Challenging Part of Media Planning and Programmatic

In my conversation with Jason, he shared his thoughts on the most challenging aspects of both media planning and programmatic.

For media planning, Jason pointed out that the client relationships—what some might call "schmoozing"—are often the most challenging part of the role. Building rapport, managing expectations, and adapting to client feedback can be exhausting, especially when clients’ needs evolve rapidly. As Jason put it, he’s someone who prefers working within defined parameters, so the unpredictable nature of client needs and the open-ended research involved in developing a strategy was a difficulty that wasn't going to go away.

I can relate to that. Personally, I’ve found that I struggle with clients who don’t know what they want or are constantly changing their minds. This became particularly clear to me when working with both early-stage and late-stage startups. In early-stage startups, the direction often feels uncertain and constantly shifting, which requires a lot of open-ended research and adaptability. It's very possible to work hard for a week or a month on something and then completely scrap it and move in a totally different direction. By contrast, in late-stage startups and larger organizations, the focus tends to be clearer, and goals are more established, allowing me to work more efficiently. While I enjoy the open-ended research aspect of investigative journalism, where I can exercise my intellectual curiosity, I recognize that for those who prefer structured, execution-based tasks, such an environment can be challenging.

For programmatic, Jason highlighted the monthly reporting and upkeep of marketing decks as one of the more challenging aspects of the job. While it’s a common practice of tracking campaign performance and optimizing results, it can also feel repetitive. From my experience, I’ve found this part of the job to be manageable. There’s a certain satisfaction in routinely analyzing the data and fine-tuning campaigns based on those insights, and I actually enjoyed updating reports with monthly changes and insightful analysis in my previous roles.

Which Role is Right for You?

Ultimately, the choice between media planning and programmatic advertising comes down to your personal preferences and your approach to work. Are you someone who thrives on strategic thinking, creativity, and client interaction? Or are you more drawn to the execution-focused, data-driven tasks of optimizing campaigns in real time?

Ask Yourself:

• Do I prefer building long-term strategies and working closely with clients? (Media Planning)
• Am I driven by data, numbers, and optimizing in real-time? (Programmatic)
• Do I want to anticipate needs and be flexible in the face of constant change? (Media Planning)
• Am I excited about executing precise campaigns and making small adjustments for big results? (Programmatic)

For me, understanding the challenges of both roles and reflecting on my own strengths and preferences has helped clarify where I might thrive. Each role has its unique hurdles. It’s all about navigating those dips and deciding which one you’re willing to push through.

I hope this helps!

#Media #Programmatic #Advertising