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The differences between media planners and strategic planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a media planner, becoming a strategic planner takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a strategic planner has an average salary of $88,718, which is higher than the $58,044 average annual salary of a media planner.
The top three skills for a media planner include media planning, powerpoint and campaign performance. The most important skills for a strategic planner are project management, DOD, and logistics.
| Media Planner | Strategic Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $58,044 | $88,718 |
| Hourly rate | $27.91 | $42.65 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 24,126 | 24,228 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 89% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 10 |
A media planner is responsible for managing market campaigns and promotions for clients' advertising needs through various social media platforms and other mediums of communications. Media planners handle the brand's media presence, strategizing its maximum appeal to the target audience. They coordinate closely with the clients for the progress updates, as well as informing them of any adjustments, especially on meeting the public's interests and concerns. A media planner develops innovative techniques, analyzes market data, and manage campaign results, ensuring to meet the clients' objectives and goals.
Strategic planners are professionals who participate in the planning of business strategy for medium or large corporations as well as assess their operational and strategic performance. These planners are required to analyze financial and budget reports so that they can make strategic recommendations based on the financial health of the company. Together with the market researchers, these planners must conduct market research so that they can identify threats and opportunities. Strategic planners must also educate their senior executives in making effective decisions by constructing forecasts and analytical models.
Media planners and strategic planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Media Planner | Strategic Planner | |
| Average salary | $58,044 | $88,718 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $69,000 | Between $62,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | RPA | |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a media planner and a strategic planner in terms of educational background:
| Media Planner | Strategic Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 89% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between media planners' and strategic planners' demographics:
| Media Planner | Strategic Planner | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8% | Male, 62.9% Female, 37.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |