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Media buyer vs agency manager

The differences between media buyers and agency managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a media buyer has an average salary of $74,390, which is higher than the $55,080 average annual salary of an agency manager.

The top three skills for a media buyer include digital marketing, campaign performance and media buying. The most important skills for an agency manager are insurance products, training programs, and lead generation.

Media buyer vs agency manager overview

Media BuyerAgency Manager
Yearly salary$74,390$55,080
Hourly rate$35.76$26.48
Growth rate8%6%
Number of jobs20,88491,702
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 87%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4847
Years of experience6-

What does a media buyer do?

Media Buyers are marketing professionals who manage the company's advertisements. They create the company's media plan to determine the advertising needs of the company. They negotiate with external providers to get the best advertisement placement values. To do this, Media Buyers are expected to conduct thorough research on the different advertising companies, networks, media, size of placement, and length of advertisement. Their research must consider the target market and determine the best media to reach their target market. Media Buyers should have good negotiation skills and must be able to maintain good working relationships with providers.

What does an agency manager do?

An agency manager works alongside a recruitment team to find new applicants for a company's vacancies. Agency managers typically work in companies that have both a high number of employees and a regular recruitment schedule. Creative industries, especially in film and TV productions, commonly have agency managers. An agency manager works as part of a human resource team to bring in talent that will be beneficial to a company. A keen understanding of human behavior and strong communication skills are both necessary for this position. A psychology degree could also be beneficial.

Media buyer vs agency manager salary

Media buyers and agency managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Media BuyerAgency Manager
Average salary$74,390$55,080
Salary rangeBetween $56,000 And $98,000Between $28,000 And $106,000
Highest paying CityBurlington, VTNew York, NY
Highest paying stateVermontNew York
Best paying companyBloombergCadence Design Systems
Best paying industryProfessional-

Differences between media buyer and agency manager education

There are a few differences between a media buyer and an agency manager in terms of educational background:

Media BuyerAgency Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 87%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorCommunicationBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Media buyer vs agency manager demographics

Here are the differences between media buyers' and agency managers' demographics:

Media BuyerAgency Manager
Average age4847
Gender ratioMale, 30.1% Female, 69.9%Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage7%10%

Differences between media buyer and agency manager duties and responsibilities

Media buyer example responsibilities.

  • Manage both PPC and display buys across a network of clients.
  • Manage day to day performance expectation of SEO, SEM, and outside vendors.
  • Manage the client's Youtube page and report monthly on all social media platforms.
  • Manage the @ RCIHelp twitter account and provide RCI consumers with direct responses and posts.
  • Implement, alter and write algorithms using SQL in order to increase efficiency within the portfolios manage.
  • Negotiate, develop, monitor and manage delivery of book campaigns on CPA, CPC and CPM models.
  • Show more

Agency manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage agency expenses, including conducting payroll and equipment/material purchases.
  • Confer with clients in order to provide marketing and technical advice to increase recognition, branding and ROI.
  • Specialize in life, health, and annuities.
  • Post billing and run various reports and invoices for active agencies.
  • Incorporate, license, organize, and run a commercial collection agency.
  • Handle hiring, training, recruiting and development of all brokerage agents production.
  • Show more

Media buyer vs agency manager skills

Common media buyer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 18%
  • Campaign Performance, 9%
  • Media Buying, 8%
  • Facebook, 7%
  • Google Analytics, 6%
  • Media Planning, 5%
Common agency manager skills
  • Insurance Products, 29%
  • Training Programs, 23%
  • Lead Generation, 14%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%
  • Performance Reviews, 4%
  • Field Training, 3%

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