Maybe you've noticed in the newspapers recently the results of the JNRR (the Joint National Readership Research) and wondered why it is so important that one paper gained X number of new readers while another lost X number of readers. The reason is that for people in my line of work, the JNRR is a sort of bible. I'm head of the media department in Young Advertising, and what the media department does is place our clients' advertisements where the target audience is most likely to see, hear or read them. So we have to know exactly who is reading what, and in the JNRR that "who" is quite detailed.
To put it at its most simple, suppose we had a client who specialises in travel insurance: we would be able to find out from the JNRR which newspaper people who take foreign holidays read, and book our advertisements into that paper. From the research we'd know that we were reaching the maximum number of holiday-makers. Research is vital in this business and most of it concentrates on people over 15. There's very little on younger consumers.
Every advertising campaign has a media plan that shows where the advertisements are to be placed. It's very detailed - it says exactly what page an ad will appear on, or during what TV programme it will be shown. It is up to me and my team of 10 people to produce a media plan that fits in with the overall advertising strategy for the brand and reaches the clients' target audience in the most cost-effective way.
In formulating any media plan, we work very closely with the other departments in the agency including the creative department and the account-handlers, in the development of the campaign. Part of the job is negotiating with the media for the best price for ad space for our clients. I have to have facts and figures at my fingertips. It would not be unusual for a client at a meeting to ask, say, for the exact number of people who watch the Late Late Show or how much it costs to book a 30-second ad during the Gerry Ryan Show. Those figures change all the time, so I have to be on my toes. On a more general level, I also have to be aware of stuff like when soccer internationals are on or when there's going to be a big concert. That's just in case it would be right for our clients to book an ad during the interval or place a poster near the venue.
I'd also be very conscious of what our clients' competitors are doing media-wise, so I'm a major consumer of all types of media. Media buyers never really switch off - even if I'm at home watching TV in the evening I'm taking as much notice of the ad breaks as of the programmes. The job has the usual office hours, though I do work late if the agency is working on a presentation or a pitch for new business. I often take some work home and my home computer is linked up with the office. The work is very pressurised, because we're working to deadlines all the time and the media is in a constant state of change.
Every Monday morning there's a production meeting attended by all departments in the agency during which there's a discussion of every single job we're working on. Part of my title is "strategic development director", which is not so much day-to-day media planning for a particular client, but taking a longer view of what should happen in the future. That side of my job means following demographic and social trends and writing lots of reports and presentations.
At the agency we have an open-door policy, so clients are free to talk directly to all departments - instead of the more traditional approach of clients only speaking to account executives. Liaising with clients is a big part of my job. I've been with Youngs for eight years. I got my basic training in media buying on the certificate in advertising course in what was then the College of Commerce in Rathmines - it's now the DIT.
I'm also on the board of directors of the agency, so I get involved in the overall running of the company. That's another interesting part of my job.
In an interview with Bernice Harrison
