Senior Media Planner & Buyer

Description

About Delavan Holdings

Delavan Holdings is a diversified holding company with interests spanning automotive retail, recreational vehicle dealerships, hospitality, and lifestyle brands across Wisconsin and the greater Midwest. Our portfolio includes Kunes Auto Group, Kunes RV, Lake Lawn Resort, Camp Timber-Lee, Ignition Dealer Services, and G10 Fulfillment — brands that serve diverse audiences and require both performance-driven marketing and emotionally resonant storytelling, often at the same time.

Position Overview

We are building an in-house advertising capability, and we need a senior media professional to anchor it. The Media Planner & Buyer is equal parts analyst, strategist, and executor — someone who can translate business objectives into data-informed media programs across traditional and digital channels, manage vendor and agency relationships with confidence, and bring measurable accountability to how our marketing dollars are deployed.

You will work alongside a seasoned traditional media professional who manages existing broadcast and print relationships, and you will serve as the audience intelligence, digital strategy, and performance measurement layer that makes the whole operation sharper. Over time, as our marketing function scales, this role is expected to grow with it.

This is not a role for someone who wants to oversee others doing the work. You will be in it — building plans, reviewing vendor proposals, pulling reports, asking hard questions of agency partners, and connecting media performance back to business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Research markets and audiences using third-party data tools (Nielsen, Scarborough, MRI-Simmons, Comscore, SRDS) and translate findings into audience segmentation, channel strategy, and media plans with clear KPIs and measurable objectives.
• Build and own comprehensive media plans across all active verticals — channel mix, flighting, reach and frequency targets, budget allocation, and post-campaign analysis that connects results back to business outcomes.
• Manage and evaluate digital media channels — paid search (Google Ads, Microsoft/Bing), paid social (Meta, YouTube, TikTok), programmatic display, OTT/CTV, and streaming audio — working in coordination with agency and vendor partners.
• Review vendor proposals, rate cards, audience data, and media kits with a critical eye; provide clear buy/no-buy recommendations and negotiate with confidence on behalf of the organization.
• Build and maintain performance reporting frameworks across all channels — tracking what is being spent, where, with what results, and surfacing recommendations for optimization on an ongoing basis.
• Evaluate current vendor and agency relationships for performance, value, and accountability; provide informed recommendations on where to stay, where to shift, and where to bring additional capabilities in-house over time.
• Collaborate with vertical-specific marketing managers and creative leadership to ensure media strategy and creative are working together — audience targeting informs creative, and creative performance informs media decisions.
• Contribute to building the media infrastructure — planning templates, buying workflows, vendor evaluation frameworks, and reporting standards — that will scale with the organization.
• Familiarity with or willingness to develop working knowledge of automotive OEM co-op advertising structures is a meaningful differentiator for this role.

Requirements

Qualifications

•  7–12 years of media planning and buying experience, with demonstrated depth across both traditional and digital channels.
• Hands-on experience with digital media platforms — paid search, paid social, programmatic, and/or OTT/CTV — either through direct platform management or close oversight of agency execution.
• Strong command of audience research and intelligence tools — Nielsen, Scarborough, MRI-Simmons, Comscore, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to build, present, and defend media plans and performance recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing multi-client or multi-vertical campaigns simultaneously without losing detail or accountability.
• Proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets for budget modeling, scenario planning, and reconciliation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication — able to translate media data into plain-language insights that inform business decisions.
• DSP platform experience (The Trade Desk, DV360, Simpli.fi, StackAdapt, or equivalent) is a plus but not a requirement for the right candidate.

What Sets You Apart

• You have worked in a multi-client or multi-brand environment — agency or in-house — and you know how to shift context without losing precision or accountability.
• You are as comfortable pulling audience data and building a media plan as you are reviewing a vendor proposal or presenting performance to a CMO.
• You ask hard questions of agency and vendor partners — not to be difficult, but because accountability to spend is something you take seriously.
• You understand that reporting is not the end of the job — it is the beginning of the next decision, and you know how to turn data into a recommendation.
• You want to build something. You are not looking for a fully-formed team to manage; you want to help design the function and then run it.
• You are comfortable with AI-assisted research, data interpretation, and workflow support as part of a modern media operation.

Delavan Holdings is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.