What Media Buyers Do

• The primary responsibility of a media buyer is to buy and sell or advise on the purchase of television, radio, print, online and outdoor media for marketing purposes. Media buyers typically work closely with media planners before making purchase decisions. The key difference between the two is that media planners specialize in selecting specific media and types of media appropriate for a client's marketing goals, whereas media buyers specialize in negotiating the best media rates and maximizing marketing budgets.
  
  Media buyers work directly with media outlets like cable television providers, national television networks, radio stations, newspaper and magazine editors, website administrators and outdoor media firms. They negotiate advantageous media rates with these outlets by buying in bulk, committing to purchase contracts, establishing cooperative business relationships and exhibiting goodwill through repeated business. They also work directly with clients, which may be individual businesses or marketing or advertising agencies hired to represent the marketing interests of businesses.
  
  Although media planners are usually the ones ensuring that clients buy well-targeted media, media buyers must also be aware of the demographic, psychographic and geographic attributes of both the media they buy and the target markets of their clients. They must also exhibit a strong understanding of consumer-behavior principles and theories on media consumption.
  
  

Types of Media-Buying Outfits

• There are four main types of media-buying outfits. Media-buying agencies are similar to advertising agencies, however, they specialize in media buying and typically do not offer any creative or nonmedia marketing strategy services. Most frequently, these agencies refer to themselves as media-planning and buying agencies, and planners and buyers work side by side to serve their clients. The second type is the full-service advertising agency, which usually consists of several distinct departments, one of which is often media buying and planning. Large companies that employ their own in-house marketing departments may also have their own in-house media-buying departments. Finally, some media buyers work alone, canvassing for their own clients and establishing their own media-seller relationships without the support of other buyers, planners and analysts.
  
  

How Media Buyers Make Money

• Media buyers earn the majority of their income in three ways. First, media buyers typically earn commissions on the media they purchase. They often receive 15 percent of every buy as a bonus from the media outlet where the purchase was made.
  
  Larger media-buying outfits often buy media in bulk without specific plans as to where or when they will sell it. By buying large blocks of media, they can negotiate lower purchase rates and resell smaller chunks of the media at regular prices.
  
  Finally, some media buyers may charge retainer fees or hourly fees from their clients, although this is a less common means of reimbursement.