--- title: 'Associate, Direct Activation at WPP Media' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/associate-direct-activation-wpp-media-toronto-4psey75hkcc7' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-10' --- # Associate, Direct Activation at WPP Media - **Company:** WPP Media - **Location:** Toronto, Canada - **Posted:** 2026-08-28 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/wppmedia/jobs/5373287008 ## Job description ## About WPP Media WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth. WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working. For more information, visit wppmedia.com. Role OVERVIEW: WPP Media is looking for a curious, detail-oriented and collaborative media professional to join our Direct Activation team. As an Associate, Activation, you will play an important role in bringing our clients’ media strategies to life and you will gain hands-on experience across the full media investment lifecycle — from marketplace intelligence and negotiations through campaign activation, optimization, measurement and financial reconciliation. This is a digital (direct) investment role, providing exposure across digital display, CTV/OLV and other emerging media platforms. You will work directly with some of the world's largest media companies and technology platforms while developing the skills, knowledge and relationships needed to build a successful career in media investment. We are looking for someone who is comfortable working with numbers, naturally curious about how media works, highly organized and eager to take ownership. You don't need to know everything — but you should be someone who wants to learn quickly, asks thoughtful questions and takes pride in getting the details right. ## HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT - Support the development and execution of media investment recommendations by gathering marketplace intelligence, requesting proposals and evaluating opportunities. - Work with media partners to understand their offerings, audiences, pricing, capabilities and value propositions. - Participate in vendor meetings and industry discussions to build your understanding of the evolving media landscape. - Translate approved media strategies into accurate and effective media buys. Own campaign activation and stewardship - Maintain media investments, including buy entry, insertion orders and trafficking coordination. - Work closely with Planning and Ad Operations teams to ensure campaigns launch accurately and on time. - Monitor campaign delivery and proactively identify opportunities, discrepancies or issues that may impact performance by maintaining accurate documentation of buy changes - Support ongoing campaign optimization to ensure investments are aligned with client objectives. Use data to make better decisions - Conduct pre-campaign checks and validations to ensure media is set up correctly and can be measured accurately. - Contribute to post-campaign analysis and identify insights that can improve future investments. - Maintain accurate client budgets and investment trackers ## WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE In this role, success means becoming someone the team can rely on to: - Manage campaigns accurately, efficiently and on time. - Take ownership of assigned investments and follow through from activation to reconciliation. - Build strong relationships with vendors and internal partners. - Continuously expand your knowledge across traditional, digital and emerging media. - Motivated by continuous learning, professional development and growth. ## WHAT YOU BRING - A keen interest in developing expertise across both off-line and digital direct media - Comfortable working with budgets, numbers and data, with strong mathematical and analytical skills - College or University education will be asset - Exceptional organizational skills and strong attention to detail. - Excellent time-management skills with the ability to prioritize multiple projects and deadlines. - Naturally curious with a desire to understand how things work and why decisions are made. - Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change. - Comfortable with ambiguity and willing to jump in wherever the team needs support. - Collaborative, inclusive and respectful of different perspectives. - Confident communicating with both internal stakeholders and external media partners. Life at WPP Media & Benefits Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days. WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process. Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy-policy for more information on how we process the information you provide. While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Please read our [Privacy Notice](https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy-policy#:~:text=WPP%20Media%20Privacy%20Notice%20for%20Recruitment) for more information on how we process the information you provide. ## About WPP Media ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: WPP Media is WPP's global media collective that combines AI, data, and creative to deliver intelligent growth for the world's leading brands. - **Entity Type**: Division of Public Company (WPP plc – LSE: WPP, NYSE: WPP) - **Headquarters**: New York, United States - **Founded**: Not publicly available (parent WPP plc founded 1971; WPP Media formed as a unified media collective in recent years) - **CEO**: Brian Lesser (CEO, WPP Media) ## Core Business - **Industry**: Advertising Services, Media Planning & Buying, Marketing Technology - **Target Customers**: B2B and B2C enterprise brands across all sectors; global clients include major Fortune 500 companies - **Mission or Purpose Statement**: "Intelligent growth for the AI era" – helping brands harness data, AI, and media to drive measurable outcomes. ## Products & Services - **Open Media Studio (OMS)**: An end-to-end media delivery platform integrated with WPP Open, enabling scaled creative, production, data, commerce, and personalized media execution. (SaaS/Platform) - **Open Intelligence**: An AI-enabled data solution that unifies fragmented data across ecosystems into predictive marketing intelligence, supporting privacy-first activation. (Data & Analytics Platform) - **Data and Technology Consulting**: Consulting services for data strategy, technology architecture, advanced analytics, audience insight, cloud integration, and platform adoption. (Service) - **Media Management & Delivery**: Expert activation, smart investment, strategic partnerships, and proprietary media solutions powered by AI and advanced analytics for personalized advertising at global scale. (Service) - **Service and Strategy**: Dedicated teams offering deep sector expertise, creative strategy, and business outcomes aligned with client goals. (Service) ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed separately (parent WPP plc market cap approx. £8 billion as of July 2025) - **Key Metric**: $65 billion in managed media annually (from wppmedia.com) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: WPP is publicly traded; works with hundreds of global brands including many Fortune 500 companies. Key technology partners include major cloud and AI providers. - **Growth Signals**: - 40,000+ media experts worldwide - 160 offices across 80+ markets - 1,600+ active job postings (LinkedIn, July 2025) with +8.7% monthly job growth - Strong investment in AI-first capabilities and privacy-forward data unification ## Competitive Advantages - **Scale**: One of the largest media buying organizations globally, managing $65B in media. - **AI Integration**: End-to-end platform (OMS + Open Intelligence) deeply embedded with AI for predictive analytics, automation, and personalization. - **Integrated Ecosystem**: Unique ability to unify media, data, creative, production, and commerce under one roof. - **Global Reach**: 40k+ experts in 80+ markets providing local insights with global execution. - **WPP Network**: Access to 100,000+ experts across WPP's integrated agency network. ## Strategic Focus - **AI-Driven Growth**: Embedding AI across all capabilities to deliver smarter, faster, more measurable outcomes. - **Privacy-First Data Unification**: Building Open Intelligence as a secure, cross-ecosystem data platform that respects consumer privacy. - **Talent Development**: Investing in AI-enabled learning frameworks and internal mobility to future-proof skills. - **Sustainability & Inclusion**: Part of WPP's broader commitment to building better futures for people, planet, clients, and communities. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as open, optimistic, and extraordinary – with emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and challenging the status quo. - **Growth**: AI-enabled learning framework, cross-team mobility across WPP’s global network of 100k+ experts. - **Work Environment**: Hybrid/office-based roles across 160 offices; global opportunities in 80+ markets. - **Perks**: Competitive compensation, performance-based rewards, access to cutting-edge AI tools, and work with leading global brands. - **Team**: Join a collective of 40k+ media experts, data scientists, technologists, and creatives. ## Sources 1. [wppmedia.com](https://www.wppmedia.com/) 2. [WPP Media Company Info](https://www.wppmedia.com/company-info) 3. [WPP Media Careers](https://www.wppmedia.com/careers) 4. [WPP Media – What We Do](https://www.wppmedia.com/what-we-do) 5. [WPP Media LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/wpp-media) 6. 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