Media buyer vs purchasing supervisor

The differences between media buyers and purchasing supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a media buyer and a purchasing supervisor. Additionally, a media buyer has an average salary of $74,390, which is higher than the $68,702 average annual salary of a purchasing supervisor.

The top three skills for a media buyer include digital marketing, campaign performance and media buying. The most important skills for a purchasing supervisor are purchase orders, MRP, and supplier performance.

Media buyer vs purchasing supervisor overview

	Media Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Yearly salary	$74,390	$68,702
Hourly rate	$35.76	$33.03
Growth rate	8%	-6%
Number of jobs	20,884	19,412
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 87%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

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 a purchasing supervisor do?

A purchasing supervisor orders supplies, equipment, and materials from vendors by buyers. The purchasing supervisors assess, select, and build relationships with the vendors. They do the negotiation for the contracts of goods and services. It is their job to review the purchase orders for accuracy and ensure to obtain the best prices. The skills supervisors need to develop include marketing, communication, leadership, and management. They should also know about purchasing products and services.

Media buyer vs purchasing supervisor salary

Media buyers and purchasing supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Media Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Average salary	$74,390	$68,702
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $98,000	Between $45,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Burlington, VT	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Vermont	California
Best paying company	Bloomberg	CDW
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between media buyer and purchasing supervisor education

There are a few differences between a media buyer and a purchasing supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Media Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 87%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Communication	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Media buyer vs purchasing supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between media buyers' and purchasing supervisors' demographics:

	Media Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9%	Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%
Race ratio	Black 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, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between media buyer and purchasing supervisor 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.

Purchasing supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage increasing procurement demands of inventory/supplies for manufacturing activities base on an ERP MRP system.
Lead and analyze all RFQ's, RFI's and RFP's from different qualify vendors.
Interview current and prospective suppliers to determine supplier capabilities, logistics and inventory control and management while negotiate delivery terms.
Review requisitions and RFP's, obtain quotations, negotiate pricing, examine bids and award contracts.
Assist in the yearly budgeting process including RFQ's and establishing contracts both locally and at the corporate level.
Direct large projects by creating RFP's, cost negotiation, and bid analysis on specifications and budget cost provided.

Media buyer vs purchasing supervisor skills

Common media buyer skills

Digital Marketing, 18%
Campaign Performance, 9%
Media Buying, 8%
Facebook, 7%
Google Analytics, 6%
Media Planning, 5%

Common purchasing supervisor skills

Purchase Orders, 20%
MRP, 5%
Supplier Performance, 4%
Logistics, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%
On-Time Delivery, 4%

Media Buyer vs. similar jobs

Media Buyer related careers

Media Buyer related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Media Buyer
Media Buyer vs Purchasing Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs