Associate Media Director

Associate Media Director We are looking for an Associate Media Director to lead integrated media strategy and planning for a portfolio of B2B and consumer clients, with a particular focus on financial services. You'll be the senior media strategist on your accounts: starting from each client's business goals, defining what success looks like in commercial terms, and building the audience, channel, and investment strategy to get there. You'll partner closely with Strategy, Creative, Analytics, PMO, and Client Leadership teams, as well as the activation specialists who bring plans to life in market. The right person for this role thinks like a business advisor first: someone who can explain to a CMO or head of distribution how media is moving the numbers they care about, who uses AI-powered tools to work faster and smarter, and who builds a team that does the same. You'll build long-term relationships with senior clients and supervise and mentor junior members of the media team. Media Strategy & Planning Translate client business objectives and commercial targets (e.g., asset growth and net flows, advisor engagement, new accounts, qualified pipeline, customer lifetime value) into clear media strategies, investment frameworks, and budget and channel allocations Develop integrated, full-funnel media plans across paid, owned, and earned channels that balance long-term brand building with near-term demand, and make a clear case for how each investment ladders up to business results Lead audience strategy, segmentation, and journey development across complex decision-makers, including B2B buying committees, financial advisors and intermediaries, institutional investors, and consumers Uncover the audience, category, and competitive insights that sharpen strategy, drawing on syndicated research, first-party data, and AI-assisted analysis Build scenario plans and forecasts that show clients the expected business impact of different investment levels and channel mixes Measurement & Business Impact Define success up front in business terms, and partner with Analytics to build measurement frameworks that connect media investment to outcomes such as leads, pipeline, revenue, and asset growth Bring a test-and-learn mindset to every account, applying incrementality testing, lift studies, media mix modeling, and attribution, and knowing which approach best answers which business question Turn performance data into investment recommendations: shift budget toward what is driving business results, and help clients understand the tradeoffs behind each decision Ensure clean connections between media platforms and client marketing automation and CRM systems so media can be tied to downstream results Provide oversight of campaign activation and tracking (taxonomy, tagging, conversion tracking), partnering with planners and activation specialists to ensure execution stays true to strategy AI-Enabled Ways of Working Use AI-powered tools across the planning workflow (research, audience insight, competitive analysis, plan development, scenario modeling, and reporting) to reduce manual work and create more time for strategic thinking Evaluate the AI capabilities emerging in media platforms, planning tools, and agency workflows; pilot what is promising and help the team adopt it with sound judgment around data privacy, accuracy, and client compliance requirements Stay current on emerging media, platforms, and how AI is changing the way audiences discover and research brands, and bring timely points of view to internal teams and clients Client Leadership Serve as the senior media voice on your accounts, leading status meetings and presenting plans and results as clear business stories for director-, VP-, and C-level stakeholders Understand each client's business model, distribution strategy, competitive landscape, and go-to-market priorities, including the regulatory, compliance, and brand-safety considerations (e.g., FINRA and SEC marketing rules) that shape media for financial services brands Lead the development of proposals and scopes of work for media projects, and contribute strategic thinking to new business pitches Business & Vendor Management Manage media budgets, billing forecasts, and the profitability of media work Manage relationships and contracts with media vendors and publisher partners on behalf of clients; negotiate value and hold partners accountable to delivery and results Evaluate and recommend data, technology, and media partners based on their ability to drive client outcomes, cost, and fit Team Leadership Supervise, mentor, and develop media planners and supervisors, coaching them to think strategically, connect their work to client business results, and use AI tools effectively Help establish best practices and repeatable, AI-enabled processes for planning, measurement, and reporting What You Bring 6+ years of media strategy and planning experience, primarily in an agency environment, with a track record of integrated plans that delivered measurable business results Financial services experience is required; asset or wealth management experience is strongly preferred. You understand how firms market to financial advisors, intermediaries, institutional investors, and individual investors, and you're comfortable working within legal and compliance review processes Strong commercial acumen: you can read a client's business model, connect marketing investment to revenue and growth targets, and talk about ROI with confidence Working knowledge of modern measurement approaches, including incrementality testing, media mix modeling, and multi-touch attribution, and experience applying them to real budget decisions Comfort with AI-powered workflows: you regularly use generative AI and AI-enabled planning tools to accelerate research, analysis, and deliverables, and you're curious about where the technology is headed Cross-channel fluency across paid social, search, programmatic, CTV and online video, audio, and content partnerships, with enough platform knowledge (e.g., LinkedIn, Meta, Google, DV360, The Trade Desk) to direct and pressure-test activation Experience managing multi-million-dollar media budgets and media vendor relationships Fluency with media research and planning tools (e.g., MRI-Simmons, Kantar, Pathmatics, MediaRadar, GWI) Experience supervising and developing junior team members Excellent presentation and storytelling skills; you're at your best leading conversations with senior client stakeholders A confident self-starter and creative problem solver who manages multiple priorities, stays detail-oriented under pressure, and leads with strategy while staying grounded in how the work gets done Bachelor's degree in advertising, marketing, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience Nice to have Experience reaching financial advisors and institutional audiences, including advisor-focused platforms, financial trade publications, and thought-leadership content programs Experience with demand generation, account-based marketing, and intent data platforms (e.g., 6sense, Demandbase, Bombora) Familiarity with marketing automation and CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo) Experience building or using AI assistants, agents, or automations within media planning and reporting workflows Location: Any Prophet U.S. office: San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, or Austin (Hybrid working model: 3+ full days in office/at client site) Salary: $110,000 – $125,000 USD Prophet is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. All employment, promotion, and evaluation decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need. Prophet