Skip to main content
National Careers Service

beta How could we improve this service? Your feedback will help.

  1. Home
  2. Explore careers
  3. Advertising account planner

Advertising account planner

Alternative titles for this job include Strategic planner

Advertising account planners develop and plan ad campaigns to make sure adverts reach the right audience.

Average salary (a year)

£19,000 Starter

to

£36,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

39 to 41 a week

You could work

9am to 5pm attending events or appointments

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • specialist courses run by professional bodies

University

To become an advertising account planner, you could do a degree in:

  • advertising and marketing
  • statistics
  • communication and media studies
  • business or management
  • psychology

With your degree you can apply for graduate schemes in advertising companies.

Work experience during university

Employers value work experience so it's important to get as much as you can during your studies.

Your university careers service can help you find work experience, internship and placement opportunities.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

More Information

Apprenticeship

You could start by doing an advertising and media executive advanced apprenticeship.

If you also get some advertising experience, you can apply for jobs as an account planner.

Entry requirements

There are no set entry requirements but it may help you to get in if you have:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

More Information

Work

You might be able to start in a junior position at a small advertising agency in a position like admin assistant.

You can then work your way up as your experience in advertising grows.

Volunteering

Experience will help you understand advertising and allow you to meet new people who may help you find paid work.

You could try:

  • work experience
  • internships
  • temporary jobs

You could contact agencies directly to ask about volunteering opportunities. You could also make contacts on social media channels like LinkedIn.

Other Routes

You could take the advertising Foundation Certificate to get some of the skills you need to get a paid job in advertising.

The course is offered by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and is open to anyone with less than one year of experience in an advertising, marketing or communications role.

More Information

Career tips

Some companies may expect you to start as a trainee advertising account executive or advertising account manager and move into account planning when you have experience.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the APG to find training opportunities and make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in advertising from the APG, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and Discover Creative Careers.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of media production and communication
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • knowledge of English language
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

You could:

  • meet clients to create objectives and work out a strategy
  • conduct research like sales data and focus groups
  • develop an advertising strategy to reach the target audience
  • explain what the client needs to the creative team
  • monitor the success of an ad campaign
  • keep up to date with trends

Working environment

You could work in an office or at a client's business.

You may need to wear smart business clothes.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience you could:

  • become a senior account planner
  • manage a team
  • get a specialist research job
  • work as a freelance planning consultant
  • set up your own agency

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for an advertising account planner right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Are you interested in becoming an advertising account planner?

Search for training courses near you.

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

Related careers

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

You can call 0800 100 900 or use webchat to speak to an adviser.

We're open:

  • 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday
  • 10am to 5pm Saturdays and bank holidays

We're closed on Sundays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.