Media Planner

A media planner figures out the best places to show ads so the right people will see them. They spend their days looking at charts and numbers on their computer to understand who watches which TV shows, who listens to what radio stations, and who visits which websites. They talk with creative teams who make the ads, and with clients who need people to know about their product—like a new cereal or a toy store. For example, if a company makes scooters for kids, the media planner might decide to put ads on a kids' cartoon channel on Saturday morning, not on a news show that grown-ups watch late at night.

This work matters because it helps people find out about things they might actually want or need. When you see a commercial for a movie you're excited about, or your parent hears an ad on the radio for a sale at the grocery store, a media planner helped make sure that message reached you at the right time and place. Without media planners, companies would waste money showing ads to people who don't care, and people would miss hearing about things that could actually help them—like a new library program or a doctor's office nearby.