Responsibilities
- Lead the development of strategic paid media plans for the globe, ensuring holistic media planning that encompasses both RTB (Real-Time Bidding) and Direct IO (Insertion Order) media—operating autonomously as a senior lead and owning the BU recommendation cycle end-to-end.
- Collaborate with media agencies and in-house execution teams to develop global paid media plans that align with overarching business goals.
- Author clear, actionable media briefs for agency partners and internal teams—serving as the strategic lead on cross-functional agency management and integration, and providing the guardrails necessary for high-impact execution.
- Ensure all media strategies are grounded in a deep understanding of the region level media industry nuances while considering global brand consistency.
- Determine optimal channel mixes and platform strategies based on campaign objectives and player insights.
- Directly oversee and execute campaigns within in-house media channels, with a specific focus on performance and brand uplift eg. Meta and Google platforms.
- Manage the activation and integration of 1st party data into paid media workstreams to drive personalized player connections and improved targeting efficiency.
- Monitor real-time platform health and performance, making tactical adjustments to bidding, creative rotation, and audience segmenting.
- Stay at the forefront of platform updates (Meta, Google, etc.) to ensure 2K is leveraging the latest alpha/beta features and best practices.
- Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of media campaigns, from initial plan development through to "live" status.
- Oversee critical executional workstreams, including budget management, finance processes, trafficking, spec sheet coordination, and campaign reporting.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for day-to-day media operations, ensuring all tactics are executed with precision and on schedule.
- Maintain rigorous oversight of media investment, ensuring adherence to financial protocols and internal procurement standards.
- Lead analysis of commercial performance data, online/offline performance data, and customer insights to derive meaningful, BU-ready recommendations—translating complex data sets from tools such as GWI, MRI Nielsen, and Pathmatics into actionable strategic direction that optimizes high-value spend.
- Deliver clear, data-grounded recommendations to Business Units to optimize paid media investment and improve campaign ROI—working autonomously as the lead point of accountability for both agency-managed and in-house channels, and ensuring insights flow back to BU stakeholders in a timely, actionable format.
- Utilize industry-standard research and planning tools (e.g., GWI, MRI Nielsen, Pathmatics, WARC) to inform audience targeting and media selection.
- Lead campaign reporting workstreams, providing stakeholders with transparent and insight-rich performance readouts.
Requirements
- 5+ years of professional experience in media planning, with a demonstrable focus on strategic planning and building media briefs for agency partners across the full media mix.
- Direct experience with hands-on-keyboard execution and oversight of campaigns on platform such as Meta and Google.
- Expert knowledge of holistic media planning principles, with specific proficiency in both RTB and Direct IO.
- Proven experience in the application and oversight of 1st party data within paid media environments.
- Proficiency with media planning and audience research tools—specifically GWI, MRI Nielsen, and Pathmatics—with the ability to translate outputs from these.
- Proven track record of taking US media campaigns live, including hands-on experience with US-specific budget management, finance processes, trafficking, spec sheet coordination, and campaign reporting.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with proven experience developing actionable media briefs and managing cross-functional agency integration across multiple partners.
Nice to Have
- Experience in the video games or entertainment industry.
- Knowledge of global media trends and international planning.
- Experience in a hybrid environment managing both in-house execution and agency partners.