Moving Forward...

Gearing towards the end of this semester, I have to reflect back on this class. Being a part of the media planning process has been extrememly stressful, but definately worth it. To be able to look at the plans books and see the two pages that Amanda, Tim and I have done, its amazing how far we have come.

The past two months have been a roller coaster. The media team worked overtime to find numbers, contact people, find impressions, and everything under the sun to make our media plan the best it can be. We even got into some problems. Television was the hardest to find, and thankfully our professor was there to help us find numbers. It took weeks to finalize the flowchart and figure out which research to use, and which to dump. The rest of the class was just as stressed, finalizing every single detail for the plansbook and the campaign as a whole. We learned how to work together as a team. At times, we might have snapped at each other, but in the end our hard work has finally pulled off. Now, I see commercials and wonder how they figured them out. I notice more where advertisements are being placed, and wonder why they put them there. For Ad Decision Making, we are discussing the Media Plan now, and my mind goes straight to the flow chart, wondering what this one will look like compared to the JCPenney one. I am thinking like a Media Planner, something I never thought I would be able to do. I think about campaigns I see, and wonder what else was put into it, and even think about what that plans book would look like. I feel more like an advertiser then just a student in a class.

During the process, Media Planning was intense to say the least. The team couldn't find numbers, we look everywhere for them, and the people we contacted never responded. It was frustrating, which made me wonder if I wanted to do Media Planning as a job after school. But now, I understand it more than before. I appreciate it more, and how advertisers figure out every little detail out. Knowing the ins and outs is definately better in the long run. It is a fairly new area to advertising, and I hope that interviewers will see that and think, 'she understands this, she could be a great asset to the agency.'

This is important for this class because it shows how far the team, and the media team, have come. Two months ago we had nothing, and now we have a full media plan, with flow chart and all. I am proud of the media plan, and get excited when I show it to people. Future Advertising competition people should start media early, and think about it as soon as possible. They should make sure to consider every scenario, even if it seems impossible. I'd rather you try to fit another avenue of media, then come short of the budget. Use up the budget as much as possible. This looks good in the judges eyes, and lets them know you tried your best to make it happen. It is important to understand that yes, the competition is intense, its time consuming and at first, you wish you never signed up for it. In the end, it will not only look amazing on your resume, but you will feel more confident going into a job, or even a interview, because you understand what an agency is like. The stress, the late hours, and the hard decisions, its all there. It is preparing you for everything that is going to happen when school is all over, and that is better than just sitting in a class and wondering about it.

Bests,
Lisa