For some reason, recently I have had a lot of candidates looking to leave media agencies. Like birds flying south for the winter, many people seem to be leaving media agencies as soon as the cold sets in.

Working in advertising has seemed to have lost its sheen in recent years. With social coming to dominate the landscape, and companies looking to branch out into in-house work, the climate for media agencies has gotten tougher. With more data points to map out, more customer segments, more rules and regulations to follow, there is a huge amount of work that goes into making the next great campaign for the client.

Working in a media agency can be a tonne of fun though, and for the right candidate a role in a media agency can be an excellent long-term career builder. Being a media buyer can also offer an awesome salary package, and a chance to showcase intuition when procuring media placements. Below I’ll be showcasing both the importance and the fun of working in a media agency.

In the great media food chain, media agencies play an integral role. Media agencies themselves serve a strange but powerful role for most companies, like Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series or Yoda from Star Wars, they serve the role of mentoring companies until they are ready to put themselves out there into the market.

In context, many companies launch their campaigns with only an in-house team at their disposal. When the in-house team develops their campaign, they simply go to a media buyer to procure the assets for advertisement. This seems to be the best way to go for some, but in-house teams often have blinders on when it comes to campaign analytics. Media agencies can see the whole media landscape, not just direct competitors. They’ve been in the jungle long enough to develop an innate sense of instinct. Not only does a media agency often understand the precision needed for campaigning, but also the timing. This is not to say that a media agency will save a company money, but they can definitely be a great investment by training companies into hitting the market with both timing and precision.

Much like boxing can be fun until you get hit in the face, working in a media agency comes with the same sense of joy in the challenge. With enough training and coaching in media advisory, the right game plan and strategy coming from media brokerage and the right campaign, watching it all come together and making it happen can be a tonne of fun and very satisfying. The difference for some is that they may not see the joy in the grind to get there, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.

If coaching a company in media advisory, finding the best assets for a campaign in media procurement or even building a campaign in the digital media space sounds like fun for you, get in touch!