Media Strategy & Planning Specialist - Sonic

The Specialist, Media Strategy & Planning supports the planning, activation, and financial stewardship of paid media for the SONIC brand. This role coordinates creative asset delivery and trafficking, maintains accurate planning and budget documentation, supports reporting needs, and helps ensure campaigns launch accurately and on schedule. The Specialist works closely with the Associate Manager and partners across internal media, finance, creative, agency, and vendor teams.

Responsibilities:

Media Strategy & Planning (70%)

• Maintain media planning flowcharts, budget trackers, and supporting documentation in partnership with the Associate Manager, helping ensure information remains accurate and current. 

• Coordinate creative asset intake, delivery, and trafficking across traditional and digital channels, including linear television, radio, OTT, online video, social, and digital audio. 

• Enter and validate campaign taxonomy and messaging inputs within creative grids, traffic sheets, and related planning documents. 

• Track campaign deliverables and deadlines across national, regional, and local media activity, proactively communicating risks or missing information. 

• Gather media spend, campaign details, and other inputs needed for recurring and ad hoc reporting. 

• Assist with identifying and resolving reporting, invoicing, and billing discrepancies, escalating issues to the Associate Manager when appropriate. 

• Support recurring financial and planning deliverables, including the Consolidated Marketing Calendar, cash-flow management, and accruals. 

• Maintain process documentation, weekly status materials, meeting notes, and action-item trackers. 

• Contribute relevant SONIC learnings and best practices to the broader Media Strategy & Planning team.

Agency & Cross-Functional Internal Teams Collaboration (30%)

• Coordinate with media agencies, Biddable team, finance, creative teams, and other partners to support accurate and timely campaign execution. 

• Track invoice status and validate that invoice details align with approved flowcharts and budgets. 

• Coordinate creative asset delivery from internal and external creative partners, confirming that assets meet required specifications and trafficking deadlines. 

• Communicate project status, outstanding needs, and potential execution risks to the Associate Manager and relevant partners. 

• Participate in agency, vendor, and cross-functional meetings, documenting decisions and following up on assigned actions.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, or related field
• Minimum: 0 – 2  years of relevant experience in marketing and/or media
• Preferred: Internship or entry-level experience in paid media planning, campaign activation, creative trafficking,  or advertising operations
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy. 
• Strong organizational and project coordination skills. 
• Ability to manage multiple assignments and meet established deadlines. 
• Clear written and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to collaborate effectively across internal teams, agencies, vendors, and other external partners. 
• Foundational quantitative skills and ability to interpret basic media, budget, and performance data. 
• Working proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. 
• Ability to learn media planning, trafficking, financial, and workflow-management systems. 
• Ability to identify discrepancies, communicate risks, and escalate issues appropriately. 
• Curiosity and willingness to build knowledge across paid media channels. 
• Sound judgment, accountability, and a collaborative working style.

 

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.