Creative director to advertising media buyer
A creative director already meets 41% of what the advertising media buyer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.7/ 100
1 How much of what an advertising media buyer is expected to do is already part of a creative director’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the advertising media buyer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An advertising media buyer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a creative director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- copyright legislation
- identify customer's needs
- manage budgets
- media planning
- meet expectations of target audience
- types of media
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An advertising media buyer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a creative director background worth leading with.
- already held media planning arts and humanities
- already held create media plan management skills
- already held meet expectations of target audience information skills
- already held perform media outlets research information skills
- already held evaluate advertising campaign information skills
- already held types of media arts and humanities
All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the advertising media buyer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn buy advertising space required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn manage contracts required
- still to learn negotiate terms with suppliers required
- still to learn present arguments persuasively required
- optional, not held develop online community plan optional
- optional, not held negotiate buying conditions optional
- still to learn study sales levels of products required
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- optional, not held draw conclusions from market research results optional
- optional, not held monitor media industry research figures optional
- optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
- still to learn digital media required
- optional, not held interactive media optional
- optional, not held media studies optional
- optional, not held manage online communications optional
- optional, not held create media schedule optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- optional, not held polling techniques optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an advertising media buyer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 buy advertising space practise this
- 02 develop professional network practise this
- 03 digital media study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held media planning knowledge
- already held meet expectations of target audience skill
- already held types of media knowledge
- already held advertising techniques knowledge
- already held analyse consumer buying trends skill
- already held coordinate advertising campaigns skill
- already held create media plan skill
- already held evaluate advertising campaign skill
- already held perform media outlets research skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held demography optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held develop online community plan optional
- optional, not held manage online communications optional
- optional, not held create media schedule optional
- optional, not held demography optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- optional, not held draw conclusions from market research results optional
- optional, not held interactive media optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- optional, not held media studies optional
- optional, not held monitor media industry research figures optional
- optional, not held negotiate buying conditions optional
- optional, not held polling techniques optional
- optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
27 held skills the advertising media buyer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAD software knowledge
- not needed by the target role adobe creative suite knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse cultural trends skill
- not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role approve advertising campaign skill
- not needed by the target role assess each stage of the creative process skill
- not needed by the target role brainstorm ideas skill
- not needed by the target role create advertisements skill
- not needed by the target role define creative components skill
- not needed by the target role design management knowledge
- not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop media strategy skill
- not needed by the target role examine advertisement layout skill
- not needed by the target role give live presentation skill
- not needed by the target role graphic design knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage creative department skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage the handling of promotional materials skill
- not needed by the target role manage workflow processes skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role provide input to collaborators to guide their work skill
- not needed by the target role receive actors' resumes skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role select artwork developed by staff members skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role use CAD software skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn digital media required
- optional, not held demography optional
- optional, not held interactive media optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- optional, not held media studies optional
- optional, not held polling techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can a creative director become an advertising media buyer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A creative director already covers 41% of what an advertising media buyer is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the advertising media buyer role treats as required.
What skills does a creative director need to become an advertising media buyer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is buy advertising space.
How hard is the move from creative director to advertising media buyer?
Its learning distance is 55.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.