Media Associate, Paid Media Planning

What to know

Develop and execute game-changing media strategies that tie engagement to the bottom line. As Media Strategist, you'll develop and implement digital and traditional advertising strategies across clients ranging from leading nonprofits to political and advocacy groups to major brands (and everything in between).

This is an entry-level role for  someone who is passionate about campaigns and causes, and equally strategic, creative, and analytical. You have the strong research, communication, and critical thinking skills necessary to help come up with innovative paid media solutions to complex challenges. And you are enthusiastic about innovation and testing to stay on the cutting edge of a rapidly changing field. 

You will use your depth of paid media experience to inform your work but also tap into your digital curiosity and passion for innovation to bring new ideas and thinking to the team.

The company 

Blue State is a purpose-driven agency. We partner with leading causes, brands, and campaigns and create real change. From AARP and Doctors Without Borders to Amnesty International and Oxfam, we transform how brands and causes raise money, influence policy, build platforms, and grow communities of supporters. Led by the most creative and analytical minds from the political, nonprofit, and brand worlds, Blue State is an independent agency in the US and London.

The team

As part of the Paid Media team, you’ll work closely with a cross-disciplinary group of Blue State employees who are passionate, geeky, and care about their clients and causes. Blue State fosters an environment where everyone has an opportunity to shape new approaches, grow and learn from their colleagues, and take advantage of a personal development fund to stretch their skills even further. You’ll have the opportunity to work with some of the most inspiring charities, ambitious brands, and passionate advocacy and social change campaigns.

A day in the life 

• Support the development of  media plans and recommendations for a range of assigned clients by helping to translate their strategic visions into media plans that accomplish a wide range of client objectives including direct response (lead gen and fundraising), awareness, persuasion, and advocacy.
• Oversee day-to-day execution of media campaigns including managing budgets, pacing, and reconciliation; working with team members and external vendors to optimize campaigns; generating client-facing insights and recommendations.
• Participate in client-facing interactions to deliver media strategies and performance reports
• Work collaboratively with other internal or external teams, including other media planners and buyers, strategists, account directors, designers, and analysts, to produce campaigns, creative ideas, audience and target recommendations, and experimental designs.
• Keep us up to date with the latest digital media trends including researching publisher and ad tech partners, as well as supporting media R&D projects

What we offer

• Unlimited time-off (inclusive of sick, personal, and vacation days)
• $1,000 annually in professional development funds
• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Inclusive family planning coverage, including fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits
• Flexible and health savings accounts
• 401K & employer match
• Generous paid holiday schedule
• 12-week fully-paid parental leave for all parents-to-be
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Remote work flexibility

We approach in-office working with a hybrid model. On-site presence is welcome for US staff who are within commuting distance of the NY or DC office. Managers retain discretion to require in-person attendance for folks on their discipline or client teams as necessary, including for those whose roles require them to be in person.

The salary range for this position is $66,500 compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Some things we're looking for

• Ability to effectively manage multiple clients and projects on time, within budget, and meet performance goals.
• Exceptional attention to detail, especially with regards to budgeting, pacing and spend tracking, managing vendor relationships and paperwork, and reporting.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to adapt to new situations, solve problems on the fly, and communicate with those around you. Teamwork and scrappiness required.
• A shared passion and curiosity for delivering change. This includes comfort with ambiguity, a restlessness that resists the status quo, and a commitment to quality that ensures we’re always making progress.
• Humble in victory, constructive in defeat. We champion and expect empathy, communication, collaboration, and respect.

Not required, but a plus if you have:

• Up to 2 years experience in cross-channel media planning, with a focus on digital media
• Demonstrated experience translating client business goals into cohesive paid media strategies and specific KPIs, and a record of managing multi-channel  media campaigns that delivered on those goals.
• Understanding of digital and/or traditional media strategy, planning, campaign management, and analysis reporting, and the tools and platforms used

At Blue State, diversity is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. We encourage those from underrepresented communities — women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, those with disabilities and people at all the intersections in between — to apply. Even if you don’t think your current skill set checks every box below, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.

Blue State is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible application and interview process. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact us at recruiting@bluestate.co with the subject line: Accommodation Request to get started.

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