Media Planing Manager

The Media Associate will be responsible for developing and executing integrated media strategies that maximise the effectiveness of the Company’s marketing investment and support brand, product and commercial objectives. The role will manage media planning, budget allocation, media buying and agency relationships across traditional and digital channels, ensuring that investment decisions are driven by consumer insight, market intelligence and measurable performance. Working closely with Marketing, Product, Sales and external media partners, the Media Associate will play a key role in supporting product launches, brand campaigns and sales objectives while continuously improving media effectiveness and return on investment.

The successful candidate will be a commercially focused media professional who combines strong strategic thinking with detailed understanding of media execution and performance. They will be comfortable taking ownership of significant media investment, challenging agency recommendations and making evidence-based decisions on how marketing budgets should be deployed. The role requires an individual who can operate independently, influence stakeholders and maintain a strong focus on both brand impact and measurable commercial outcomes.

Responsibilities

Media Strategy & Planning

• Develop annual and campaign-level integrated media strategies aligned with brand objectives, product launches and commercial priorities.

• Plan appropriate media mixes across TV, OOH, digital, social, search, programmatic and emerging platforms.

• Translate marketing and commercial objectives into clear media strategies and activation plans.

• Ensure media activity is appropriately targeted across audiences, markets and customer segments.

• Identify opportunities to strengthen reach, consideration, engagement and conversion.

Media Budget Management

• Manage and optimise media budget allocation across channels, campaigns and audiences.

• Develop recommendations on investment levels based on consumer insights, campaign objectives and performance data.

• Monitor expenditure against approved budgets and ensure effective use of marketing investment.

• Continuously optimise media investment to improve efficiency and ROI.

• Provide clear recommendations where media investment should be increased, reduced or reallocated.

Media Buying & Agency Management

• Manage day-to-day relationships with media agencies, media owners and other external partners.

• Lead the review and challenge of agency proposals, media plans and buying recommendations.

• Negotiate media packages and commercial arrangements where appropriate.

• Ensure media buying is competitive, transparent and aligned with agreed strategy.

• Monitor agency performance and ensure delivery against agreed objectives, service levels and timelines.

Campaign Performance & Optimisation

• Establish appropriate measurement frameworks and KPIs for media campaigns.

• Monitor campaign performance across reach, engagement, consideration, conversion and other relevant metrics.

• Analyse media performance and identify opportunities for optimisation.

• Translate campaign data into clear and actionable recommendations.

• Conduct post-campaign reviews and ensure learnings are incorporated into future activity.

Market & Media Intelligence

• Maintain a strong understanding of the UK and European media landscape.

• Monitor consumer behaviour, competitor media activity and emerging advertising technologies.

• Identify new channels, platforms and media opportunities relevant to the automotive sector.

• Provide media insights and recommendations to internal stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ relevant experience in media planning, media buying, integrated marketing communications or a related discipline.

•Automotive industry experience is highly desirable.

• Strong understanding of the UK and wider European media landscape.

• Experience across traditional and digital media, including TV, OOH, social, search and programmatic.

• Demonstrable experience managing significant media budgets.

• Strong experience managing and challenging media agencies.

• Strong analytical capability with the ability to translate complex performance data into commercial decisions.

• Good understanding of media measurement, attribution and campaign effectiveness.

• Strong commercial judgement and negotiation skills.

• Excellent stakeholder management a…