Traditional Media Buyer & Negotiator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at M J Brunner Inc

The Traditional Media Buyer & Negotiator is responsible for the strategic planning, negotiation, placement, and stewardship of traditional media investments including broadcast television, cable, radio, out-of-home (OOH), local sponsorships, and select experiential media opportunities. This role serves as the agency's primary expert in traditional media channels, ensuring clients achieve maximum reach, frequency, and brand impact while securing the most favorable rates, value-added opportunities, and premium inventory.

The ideal candidate combines strong media buying expertise with exceptional negotiation skills, deep market knowledge, vendor relationship management, and an understanding of how traditional media integrates with modern digital and programmatic campaigns.

Primary Responsibilities

Media Strategy & Planning

• Develop traditional media recommendations aligned with client business objectives and campaign goals.
• Build market-specific media plans across television, cable, radio, OOH, sponsorships, and other traditional channels.
• Evaluate audience delivery, reach, frequency, ratings, CPP, CPM, and cost efficiencies.
• Identify optimal media environments to maximize awareness, consideration, and visitation.
• Collaborate with digital, analytics, account service, and strategy teams to create integrated media solutions.

Media Negotiation & Buying

• Negotiate rates, inventory, and value-added opportunities with television stations, cable providers, radio groups, OOH operators, and sponsorship partners.
• Secure premium placements including:
  • News programming
  • Live sports
  • High-profile local events
  • Prime-time programming
  • High-traffic OOH locations
• Leverage market relationships to obtain favorable pricing and enhanced added-value packages.
• Evaluate proposals and make recommendations based on efficiency, audience quality, and strategic fit.

Vendor Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with media vendors and station representatives.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for traditional media partners.
• Stay informed of market trends, programming changes,political impacts, rate fluctuations, and emerging opportunities.
• Conduct regular vendor meetings and market reviews.

Campaign Execution & Stewardship

• Manage all aspects of order placement, traffic coordination, and billing reconciliation.
• Ensure campaigns launch accurately and run as intended.
• Monitor delivery throughout campaigns and secure makegoods when necessary.
• Track and document negotiated value-added placements and bonus inventory.
• Reconcile invoices against contracted rates and delivery commitments.

Reporting & Performance Analysis

• Provide post-buy analysis and campaign recaps.
• Monitor ratings delivery and audience performance.
• Identify optimization opportunities for future buys.
• Support attribution, visitation, and business outcome measurement initiatives.

Key Areas of Accountability

Financial Stewardship

• Deliver media investments at or below budget.
• Maximize negotiated savings and added value.
• Improve overall media efficiency and effectiveness.

Inventory Acquisition

• Secure premium placements that competitors cannot easily access.
• Maintain strong relationships that create preferential treatment and first-look opportunities.

Client Performance

• Ensure traditional media contributes meaningfully to overall campaign objectives.
• Support awareness, consideration, traffic generation, and brand growth metrics.

Cross-Channel Integration

• Coordinate traditional media efforts with digital, programmatic, social, search, and CRM teams.
• Ensure consistent messaging and audience coverage across channels.

Required

• 5-7+ years of media buying experience.
• Proven expertise in television, radio, OOH, and sponsorship buying.
• Strong rate negotiation and contract negotiation skills.
• Experience working across multiple DMAs and regional markets.
• Understanding of Nielsen ratings, media math, and audience measurement.
• Ability to manage budgets ranging from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars annually.
• Strong organizational and project management skills

Preferred

• Agency experience.
• Experience within gaming, hospitality, retail, healthcare, or regional consumer brands.
• Familiarity with Strata, Mediaocean, Nielsen, Scarborough, SQAD, and related media tools.
• Understanding of traditional and digital media integration

How We Work

• Atlanta or Pittsburgh-based with a flexible schedule—remote days for deep work, in-office for collaboration, whiteboards, and creative energy.
• A fast-paced, ego-light, roll-up-your-sleeves culture. A team that believes in Good People Creating Great Work—and has a lot of fun doing it.

Who We Are

Brunner is an integrated marketing communications agency with a fast-paced, creative environment. We value Perseverance, Integrity, Tenacity, Curiosity, and Heart in every aspect of our business, especially our team members. We are good people creating good work. Brunner’s commitment is to its people - fostering growth within (robust training, low attrition, and commitment to diversity), becoming an extension of their client’s teams and maintaining long-term relationships, and creating great marketing programs that achieve business impact for their clients.

Perks

We offer your full traditional benefits including health, dental, vision, a 401k plan, and life insurance. We also offer commuter and transit benefits, as well as an employee wellness benefit for you to enjoy your life outside of work. Add to that unlimited PTO, half day summer Fridays and all the holiday time off you would expect.

Flexible Work Policy

It's simple - work where it's most convenient for you! We recognize that we're a mixed group of people with different priorities in our lives, so we empower our employees to create their ideal working scenario...in-office, at home, or a hybrid of both. Keep in mind you might need to pop into the office for a client meeting here and there, or even an agency-wide meeting.

Environmental Demands

Normal office environment. Ability to sit for extended periods of time including extensive use of PC equipment.