So what’s the opportunity?
We’re looking for a Media Planning & Buying, Digital Advertising Analyst who is excited about figuring out how to reach the right people, in the right places, with the right message. And then digging into the data to see what’s actually working.
You’ll be part of our paid media team, planning, buying, launching and optimizing campaigns across a diverse mix of clients, issues and audiences. You’ll work closely with our account, creative and strategy teams, and directly with clients, to turn campaign objectives into smart media plans and bring them to life.
This is a hands-on role. You should be comfortable moving between building a media plan, setting up campaigns, talking to vendors, reviewing creative specs, digging into performance data and presenting recommendations to a client.
Curiosity, reliability, professionalism, responsiveness and a positive attitude matter to us. So does attention to detail. We’re looking for someone who takes ownership of their work, asks good questions and is always interested in finding a better way to do things.
What you’ll do
- Develop integrated media plans based on campaign objectives, audiences and budgets.
- Research audiences, markets, media behaviours and opportunities to inform recommendations.
- Recommend channel mix, targeting, flighting and budget allocation across paid media.
- Build detailed media plans and forecast reach, frequency, impressions, traffic and other campaign outcomes.
- Set up, traffic, launch and manage campaigns across paid social, search, programmatic and other digital media platforms.
- Work with publishers and media partners to develop placements, negotiate rates and identify added-value opportunities.
- Monitor campaigns regularly and optimize targeting, bidding, budgets, placements and creative based on performance.
- Keep campaigns, budgets, timelines, creative requirements and media plans accurate and up to date.
- Analyze results against campaign KPIs and turn the numbers into useful insights and recommendations.
- Build campaign reports and contribute to post-campaign analysis and recommendations.
- Manage media budgets, pacing, reconciliations and financial tracking.
- Work closely with creative, account, strategy, analytics and vendor teams to make sure campaigns get to market accurately and on time.
- Present media plans, campaign performance and recommendations directly to clients.
- Stay curious about new platforms, formats, audience behaviours and changes in the media landscape — and bring those ideas back to the team.
What you’ll bring
- At least 2 years of hands-on experience in media planning, buying and digital advertising.
- Experience building, launching and optimizing campaigns across platforms such as Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager and programmatic advertising platforms/DSPs.
- A solid understanding of audience targeting, campaign objectives, bidding, budgeting, pacing, optimization and measurement.
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, particularly for media planning, budgets, campaign data, pacing and reporting.
- Strong analytical skills and an ability to go beyond reporting what happened to explain what it means and what we should do next.
- Excellent attention to detail. There are a lot of moving pieces in media, and getting the details right matters.
- The ability to manage multiple campaigns, clients, budgets and deadlines at the same time.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and comfort working directly with clients.
- A collaborative approach and the ability to work closely with people across different disciplines.
- A willingness to take feedback, ask questions, solve problems and keep learning.
What spark* offers
- A hybrid work environment in Ottawa.
- Exposure to diverse clients, campaigns, audiences and issues.
- A collaborative, multi-disciplinary team spanning strategy, creative, media, public relations, research, accounts and digital.
- Opportunities to take ownership, learn and grow.
- Competitive compensation and benefits.
If you like media, like solving problems and get a little satisfaction out of seeing a well-built media plan actually work in market, we should talk.
Salary Range: $60,000-$75,000
