Media Analyst
If you love spreadsheets the way kids love ice cream on a hot day, consider a career path as a Media Analyst. These researchers pore over data for media campaigns. They serve as the backbone for any company seeking to use media to sell products or further a cause.
A Media Analyst uses advertising data to determine which marketing channels are best for whatever they’ve been tasked with selling. The channels are varied: online advertising, print, television, radio, and more. There’s even data available on posters, banners, and billboards that are viewed on subways and buses, turnpikes and buildings.
The Media Analyst’s goal is to figure out what advertising channel will sell a product or service but the methods they use to get there vary. Some of the Media Analyst duties include:
- Determining a roadmap for researching audience buy-in
- Picking the research tools needed to follow the roadmap
- Understanding the target audience
- Culling and analyzing data from interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, or other qualitative or quantitative research
- Conducting statistical analysis of campaign results
- Reading and analyzing news articles and social media, then determining if the content is favorable
- Using technology to analyze audience reach
- Developing reporting templates
- Entering all of this data into a report
- Reporting on their findings both in writing and in person
- Networking with media contacts
- Meeting deadlines and organizing tasks
The Media Analyst can work in an advertising venue such as a television or radio station, an ad agency handling multiple clients, or on a large marketing team for an enterprise organization. They could even work for a polling company like world-renowned Harris Poll. Or they could freelance their skills to the highest bidder.
Skills Needed
The Media Analyst is generally market-savvy and must pay attention to trends that could change the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. It’s an important job that typically isn’t in the spotlight, but plays an important role affecting corporate margins.
The Media Analyst must have a general appreciation of the media and how those tools affect an audience. They typically have training in journalism, communications, or marketing, but also may know something about psychology or business. If they work in the advertising industry, they may work closely with an Agency Account Manager, a Creative Director, the Content Manager/Content Strategist, or other Marketing Specialists to get the job done. This means the Media Analyst must be a good collaborator as well as a data geek. Some of the other prerequisites required for the job include:
- Emotional intelligence
- Creative intelligence
- Active listening
- Strong communication skills
- Organizational skills
- Planning
- Methodical and thorough
- Understanding of market trends
- Flexibility
- Good concentration skills and singular focus
- Computer-friendly
- Math skills
- Strategy and intuition
- Logic and creativity
- Self-motivation and task-driven
- Confidence and decisiveness
- Highly accurate multi-tasking
- Teamwork
- Writing and editing skills
- Vendor management
- Understanding of how people interact with media
- Willingness to learn new things
- Good time management skills
- Ability to handle stress
- Research, tracking, and analysis
The Media Analyst could be a generalist who researches data from multiple audiences and venues or channels; however, they may also specialize within a big organization that has high advertising spend. That’s where you’ll find a Social Media Analyst or other channel-specific titles.
No matter their specialty area, a Media Analyst must know a lot about software used to track data and information.
Suggested Software Proficiency
A Media Analyst researches the application of and response to local and national advertising and marketing spend. They must know the basic Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. They should know collaboration tools like Microsoft SharePoint, Basecamp, or Google Docs. The Media Analyst uses pivot tables, charts, or other data visualization tools. They constantly monitor data from these tools to help chart the course of advertising or marketing efforts.
Other types of software they need to do the job include:
- Strata
- Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator
- Google Ads
- LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
- AppNexus
- Vizio, DoubleClick, Mediaocean, Kantar, iSpot, LiveRamp, or other media tools
- SRDS and SPSS
- May need programming skills in R, Python, or SQL
- Esri
- Advantage Software
- Nielsen
- Google Trends
- Centro
- AdReady
- AdRoll
- Adweek
The Media Analyst is highly dependent on these tools and must be able to pull the needed data, analyze it, and share actionable insight with cross-functional teams. Their job is to make insightful suggestions on a media mix, based on concrete evidence culled from marketing and advertising data.
Find Your Media Analyst Here
Finding the right mix of skills for your Media Analyst is a challenging problem in our low unemployment market. The good news is that Artisan Talent has been diligently working for years to stay ahead of exactly this kind of problem. You need talent. We have talent. Coincidence? Start the conversation.
Attention Media Analysts: We have your dream job. You can trust the Artisan Talent team to match your skills with the best cultural fit. Where would you like to go next? We can help you get there. Contact us today and get started on your next adventure.
