As we approach last quarter of the year, I’m feeling a little nostalgic.
Hi, my name is Ligia and I’m a media buyer.
As I reflect on my 29 years in the industry, (“Did you ever want to be a planner?” – “Um, no”) I often get asked “What do you do for a living” and I inwardly sigh as I know what is coming. But I put a big smile on my face and say “I’m a media buyer” and as expected, the response is met by a semi interested or surprised look and the inevitable “Oh that sounds cool but sorry, what does a media buyer do?”
My short/standard answer is always “I buy advertising space for my clients” and whether the recipient does or doesn’t mean it, they say “Oh that sounds awesome” and I guess it is because, darling, it is so much more than just buying advertising space for clients!
When did it all start? For me, it was back in 1992 – back in the days when the advertising motto was ‘work hard, play hard and boy, did we do just that.
I started at the most exciting and award winning agency at the time which was Ogilvy & Mather Right Foot, Left Foot, Stumble Trip and Fall (as we affectionately used to call it) but of course it was the mighty Ogilvy and Mather, Rightford Searle-Tripp and Makin.
Working with the giants of the industry, I learnt from the best – these were the days of Redro, VW Bus, Black Cat Peanut Butter and loads more award winning, memorable ads and we celebrated every award winning ad made. The David Ogilvy boardroom was always overflowing with champagne and snacks as we patted ourselves on the back. Those were the days – media owner functions at game reserves, ‘team building’ weekends to far flung places and so many parties, breakfasts, lunches – what a time.
When full-service agency days ended
As we say nothing lasts forever and those mad, marvellous full-service agency days ended, giving rise to the independent media agency and things would never quite be the same again. Media departments everywhere moved out of their full-service agencies and started operating as their own entities, and it sure was a huge adjustment, especially if, like me, you are a social butterfly and loved being part of a 120-strong agency.
Suddenly it was just ‘us’ – 12 people in a building. A lot to get used to.
It was also quite clear that the days of leaving for a lunch meant “See you tomorrow” were definitely over as the motto “Work hard, play hard” was replaced with, “Work hard and work harder”. Well I’m exaggerating just a little but in part; it was true otherwise why do people talk about “The good ol’ days of advertising?”
My stint at the small 12 people media agency also came to an end and while at the time it was a bitter pill to swallow, (well, who wants to be retrenched?) looking back, it was possibly the best thing that ever happened to me, as I then went onto experience another (slightly bigger) agency and was given the opportunity to work on a formidable piece of business which turned out to be an enormous learning curve and without it, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.
Finally, I feel that I have come full circle and feel like I have come ‘home’ – it was with much trepidation that I accepted the offer to join a new media agency. Papa always said, “Don’t work for a company that you don’t know anything about” and let’s just say that I was never good at listening to Papa. I love the agency that I am working with and for. I love the ethos, I love the people and the leaders and again in my ripe old media age, I am learning and growing every day and I am truly grateful.
What exactly does a media buyer do?
What exactly does a media buyer do? Of course, it is a lot more than buying advertising space for your clients. It is the media buyer’s role to implement the plan and to negotiate better rates on behalf of the client where possible (these additional savings are usually over and above the annual commitment deal negotiated by the strategists).
Some examples of how buyers add extra value to clients could be getting preferential positions (first or last in break) at no additional loading, or free spots over and above what is planned, or even additional discounts. We have great relationships with the media owners and these relationships allow us to continually gain more value for our clients.
It is also our responsibility to ensure that the material is supplied to the media wwner timeously and correctly and in the end, to ensure that the plan is loaded on the buying system (which is also linked to the billings) accurately.
You may well ask: “What qualifications do I need to become a media buyer?” You need to be attention to detail orientated, a peoples’ person, have good time management skills and be able to work under pressure – so in short, be a bit like a neurosurgeon.
Ligia Jaquest is a media buyer at Meta Media, Cape Town.
