Change is the end result of all true learning.
When Fidelis Odozi has a goal, he works hard to achieve it. He has taken a winding road to the advertising world. Fidelis is a Media Planner at FRWD Co. in Minneapolis, where he also worked as an Assistant Media Planner and a Media Intern. He is very active at various marketing and advertising events in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. Before working at FRWD Co., he worked as a Social Media and SEM Specialist and Market Research Intern at Denamico Inc. He also worked as a Marketing Associate at SunShare, a Marketing Intern at Award Staffing, a Guest Service Agent at DoubleTree by Hilton, Night Auditor/Front Desk Representative at Days Inn, a File Clerk at Wells Fargo, and an Administrative Assistant at ShopTrak Inc.
One of his first jobs was at Another Land, Inc. as an Operations Specialist. Fidelis got his B.S. in Marketing from Metro State University and Inver Hills Community College. He has great advice and insights on what is needed to build your knowledge and skills for an advertising career, and I am very excited to share his thoughts and experiences with you.
What does a typical day for you as a Media Planner look like?
A typical day consists of:
Attending meetings to discuss and align on deliverables (internally, with the client teams, or with vendors).
Answering to emails so that my inbox does not become too overwhelming.
Working independently or collaboratively with colleagues to make media planning and buying decisions.
Setting up campaigns in various media platforms, including paid search (Google AdWords, Amazon), social media (Facebook, Twitter), or programmatic display and video (MediaMath, Doubleclick, Amazon Advertising Platform) platforms.
Optimizing campaigns to drive the most impact.
Analyzing results and reporting on the performance of campaigns.
Building the digital media capability of internal client teams.
Conducting research on the latest digital media trends.
Meeting face to face with vendors to learn about the latest on data and measurement from their respective companies.
Conducting audits of internal media plans, teams, and processes for new or potential clients.
What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about working collaboratively to arrive at an answer/solution to a question/problem.
What do you find most challenging about being a Media Planner?
It can be challenging to make decisions about which vendor(s) to work with in a constantly changing landscape of tools and technologies that enable more accurate measurement of media, and more precise audience targeting.
What do you find most enriching about being a Media Planner?
The exposure to a wide variety of verticals which provides never-ending opportunities to learn new and useful skills and techniques.
How did you find yourself on an advertising career track?
For me, it was a combination of personal interest and networking.
Words of advice for anyone who wants to pursue a career in advertising?
A few words of advice:
Focus primarily on digital advertising.
Start your career working on the agency side.
Polish up your resume, print copies, go to agencies in your area and try to get yourself an internship.
Attend networking events in your area.
Know what terms like CPM, CTR, CPC, CPA, ROAS, Reach, and Frequency stand for and what they mean.
Watch YouTube videos about advertising. I guarantee there are YouTube videos that will provide you with the definitions and training opportunities.
To learn about Fidelis' career journey, check out his LinkedIn profile.
Thanks for reading!