---
title: 'Digital Planning Lead at WPP Media'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/digital-planning-lead-wpp-media-johannesburg-n0ha1mv82rpc'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Digital Planning Lead at WPP Media

- **Company:** WPP Media
- **Location:** Johannesburg, South Africa
- **Posted:** 2026-11-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/wppmedia/jobs/5474109008

## 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.

Job Title: Digital Planning Lead Company: WPP Media South Africa Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Reports To: Digital Strategy Lead

## Role Overview

The Head of Digital Planning is responsible for translating brand and performance strategies into integrated, full-funnel digital plans that drive measurable business outcomes. This role sits at the centre of the digital ecosystem, orchestrating investment, channel roles, and timing across brand and performance to ensure a cohesive, effective, and commercially optimised approach.

They are the custodian of:

- Budget allocation
- Channel integration
- Full-funnel design
- Planning principles and governance

Core Role in the Structure

- Not the originator of strategy
- Not the executor of channels
- But the owner of how strategy comes to life in-market

## Key Responsibilities

1. Full-Funnel Planning & Integration

- Develop integrated digital plans spanning: o    Upper funnel (awareness & reach) o    Mid funnel (engagement & consideration) o    Lower funnel (conversion & retention)
- Define the role of each channel within the funnel
- Ensure seamless connection between brand-building and performance activity

1. Investment Strategy & Budget Allocation

- Own digital budget allocation across channels and objectives
- Balance investment between demand creation (brand) and demand capture (performance)
- Continuously optimise investment based on performance and learning

1. Channel Orchestration

- Ensure all channels work together as a system, not in silos
- Define how search, social, display, eCommerce, and content interact
- Align timing, sequencing, and weight of activity across channels

1. Planning Principles & Governance

- Establish and enforce clear planning frameworks and principles
- Standardise ways of working across teams
- Ensure consistency in approach across clients and portfolio

1. Data-Informed Planning

- Use data and insights from both brand and performance teams to inform planning decisions
- Incorporate learnings from test-and-learn programmes into future plans
- Partner with analytics teams to refine planning effectiveness

1. Collaboration Across Leadership Roles

- Work closely with: o    Integrated Head of Strategy (big idea & ATL direction) o    Digital Strategy Lead (brand & social ecosystem) o    Performance Strategy Lead (conversion & optimisation)
- Translate all inputs into a single, unified plan

1. Commercial Accountability

- Ensure plans are aligned to client business outcomes
- Track effectiveness of media investment
- Identify opportunities to drive incremental growth

## Key Skills & Experience

- Strong experience in digital/media planning across full funnel
- Deep understanding of both brand and performance dynamics
- Proven experience managing large budgets and complex portfolios
- Strong commercial and analytical mindset
- Ability to simplify complexity and drive alignment across teams

Success Metrics

- Effectiveness of full-funnel plans (brand + performance outcomes)
- Efficiency of budget allocation and ROI
- Level of integration across channels and teams
- Client satisfaction and business growth

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. [WPP Media Greenhouse Careers](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/wppmedia)

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