Associate Media Director

Company: VML South Africa
Location: Seattle
Posted on: March 31, 2025

Job Description:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.What We're Looking For:VML is looking for an Associate Media Director to embody and support the vision and strategic direction of the VML connections department and our client. The ideal candidate will be able to lead client discussions, build trust, and instill client confidence, while also managing the flow of client media-related issues and developing excellent relationships with VML connections clients.What You'll Do:Leadership:

• Embody and support the vision and strategic direction of the VML connections department
• Be part of client leadership teams along with client engagement, creative and strategy representatives
• Lead approach on how to best solve the most interesting client problem/challenge
• Lead client discussions, working to build trust and instill client confidenceManagement:
  • Manage the flow of client media-related issues. Create solutions and resolve problems.
  • Develop and maintain excellent relationships with VML connections clients
  • Coach and lead your direct reports and manage their performanceMedia Planning:
    • Embody VML's integrated connections planning approach, working closely with the creative team to drive innovative, effective ideas that meet our audience where they live
    • Spark ideation of interesting and emerging media ideas
    • Proactively share industry news and implications with cross-discipline teams & clients
    • Empower innovative ideas by bringing appropriate new media technologies and capabilities to the ideation conversation
    • Be a champion of consumers/audiences, finding ways to engage them with empathy and understanding
    • Define strategic bodies of work needed to solve business problems. Lead and vet strategic POVs against ongoing media objectives and interrogate best practice application
    • Ensure media plans execute as planned and approved, on schedule and on budget
    • Work with the analytics team to measure media performance while in market, uncovering what happened and why, making recommendations for optimization
    • Develop recap reporting to understand and document final campaign performance against goals and any critical learnings for future campaignsWho You Are:
      • Possess outstanding verbal and written communication skills
      • Adept at using media research and planning tools to determine audience size, create personas, and uncover actionable insights
      • Have demonstrated success with client relationships, team management, and media planning
      • Able to juggle multiple projects and deadlines at once
      • Curious and tenaciousWhat You'll Need:
        • 7+ years of experience with media planning, primarily in an integrated agency environment, integrating with creative teams
        • Digital media planning and buying experience (e.g. display, online video, programmatic, native, influencer marketing, paid social)
        • Print/OOH planning and buying experience
        • TV/Video planning experience (e.g. experience planning linear and advanced TV (e.g. OTT, addressable TV, connected TV)
        • Demonstrated ability to manage and lead across multi-office internal agency environment and multi-agency external client engagements
        • Strong experience and integration with research/planning and analytics/measurement/optimizationWhat we offer:
          • Passionate, driven people: We champion a culture of people that do extraordinary work.
          • Consciously cultivated culture: We aim to embody the behaviors to build an inclusive community that is in it together, bringing both positivity and active listening into the workplace as we simultaneously strive to empower creative bravery.
          • Competitive benefits: What we offer full-time hires ranges from the full spectrum of group health coverage options (medical, dental, vision) to a generous 401k match (100% dollar-for-dollar match, up to 5% of salary contribution), and a variety of paid time off offerings that reflect our investment in all aspects of your overall life balance and wellness.
          • Growth-minded opportunities: We aim to nurture a culture of real-time feedback, growth-oriented mindset, and plenty of training opportunities through VML and WPP, so you can continue to grow personally and professionally.VML is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, military/veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, or other protected group status. We believe in creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion and strives to recruit a diverse slate of candidates to help us achieve that goal.The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package.$60,000 - $140,000 USDAt VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization-creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers-who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction.
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Keywords: VML South Africa, Seattle , Associate Media Director, Advertising , Seattle, Washington