Skip To Content

    25 Things Everyone Who Works In Media Planning Will Understand

    Let's be honest, it's the most important bit of advertising.

    1. The more work you put into creating an inventive and original plan, the less likely the client is to sign it off.

    2. A client thinking they know what they're doing is, much, much, worse than them knowing nothing.

    3. Your knowledge of Excel is second to none, and you hate that.

    4. Conference calls with dozens of different participants are a form of torture.

    5. You will have lost all interest by the time the call has been going on for an hour.

    6. An open bar will probably end badly for whoever is hosting it.

    For example, what happened at the Summer Party of a certain digital network in Shoreditch in 2011.

    7. You will frequently work more hours than you ever thought possible, and start to doubt if anything else exists in the world.

    8. When someone else tells you how hard they work, you'll be forced to stifle a laugh.

    9. A rep going directly to a client will instantly make them a mortal enemy.

    10. Lunches are great, except for that one irrelevant rep who just won't stop bugging you.

    11. Complaining about not being on a media plan is a very easy way for a rep to alienate everyone.

    12. Every meeting is twice as long as necessary.

    13. The only way you can get a pay raise is by changing agencies.

    14. You've memorised hundreds of acronyms, for seemingly everything in existence.

    15. Reps will attempt to explain awesome technology to you, convinced it is both innovative, and useful.

    16. So you never believe any claims about the shiny new digital products being bandied around.

    17. Creatives will, completely sincerely, pitch an idea that needs triple the budget, runs for half the duration of the campaign, and involves a damn blimp.

    18. Even when they're terrible, you will laugh at every single one of your client's jokes.

    19. You'll frequently refer to the "Halo Effect" when the results aren't good, despite being convinced it's not a thing.

    20. It's guaranteed that, despite the best, most responsible intentions, every company away day will end up a drunken disaster.

    Still be fun though.

    21. Which will only be overshadowed by the escalating nights of drinking leading up to Christmas.

    22. You have definitely experienced someone wearing fancy dress in the office.

    23. At a certain point when putting together decks, you will just start to give up and guess.

    24. Trying to get someone to answer your calls and actually do anything on a Friday afternoon is almost the most irritating thing that can happen.

    If it's after 1pm, everyone is probably in the pub.

    25. But absolutely NOTHING will come close to the epic, burning, focused hatred you have for timesheets.