Find a local media buyer in Melbourne

The planning and the booking. A freelancer works out which offline channels suit you (print, outdoor and billboards, radio or TV), negotiates the placements and rates, books the media, and lines it up to work alongside your digital. Some also brief or produce the actual ad, the press layout, the radio script, the TV spot, while others stick to media planning and buying. Be clear which you need, because producing the creative is often a separate gig.

For the right business, yes. Local radio, regional press, a well-placed billboard or letterbox drops can still reach people digital misses, especially older audiences and a defined local area. It works best paired with your online presence: someone hears the radio ad, then searches you or sees your Meta ads, and the two reinforce each other. It's rarely the cheapest option, so it suits businesses with a clear local catchment and a bit of budget behind them.

OOH is out-of-home: billboards, bus and tram ads, posters, shopping-centre and street furniture, anything that reaches people while they're out and about. Traditional advertising covers OOH plus print (newspapers and magazines), radio and TV. The common thread is paid offline media, as opposed to digital ads on Google, Meta or TikTok. A traditional advertising gig is about planning and booking that offline space.

Best when they pull in the same direction. Offline media is great at building broad awareness, a billboard or radio spot puts you in front of a lot of local people, while your digital ads catch them later when they search or scroll. A good freelancer plans the offline buy so it amplifies your online presence: same message, same offer, timed together. Run them as one campaign, not two separate efforts, and each makes the other work harder.

Yes. Australian ads have to follow the AANA Code of Ethics, enforced through Ad Standards, plus Australian Consumer Law on misleading or deceptive claims. Some categories carry extra rules, alcohol, gambling, therapeutic goods and food have their own codes. A freelancer who knows the offline space builds compliance in from the start, so you don't book a spot only to have the claim knocked back or a complaint upheld later.

Longer than digital, so plan ahead. Print has copy deadlines weeks before publication, billboard sites are often booked in set cycles (commonly fortnightly), and radio and TV need production plus booking lead time. From brief to a live campaign, allow 3 to 8 weeks depending on the channel. Unlike a digital ad you can switch on this afternoon, offline media rewards booking early to get the sites and slots you actually want.

You can ring a radio station or a billboard company directly, and for a single placement that's fine. Where a freelancer earns their keep is the rates and the mix: they know the going price (rate cards are negotiable, and first-timers often pay full freight), which sites or time slots actually perform, and how to weave it with your digital so it isn't money into a void. For anything beyond one placement, a planner usually saves more than they cost.

It's harder to track than digital, so set the measurement up front. Use a dedicated phone number, a campaign-specific landing page or URL, a unique discount code, or simply ask new customers how they heard about you. Watch for lifts in branded search, direct website traffic and walk-ins while the campaign runs. You won't get the click-by-click data of online ads, but with a tracking mechanism in place you can still see whether it moved the needle.

Two costs to separate: the freelancer's planning and buying fee, and the media itself. In Melbourne, a freelance fee for planning and booking typically runs $800 to $3,000 depending on scope. The media sits on top and varies widely: local radio spots and regional press can start in the hundreds to low thousands, while a prominent billboard or metro TV runs into the thousands or tens of thousands. Creative production is usually separate again, so budget for all three.

Look for someone with real media-buying experience and existing relationships with stations, publishers and outdoor providers, since that's where the better rates come from. Ask for past campaigns and how they measured them, and check they'll plan the offline buy to work with your digital, not in isolation. Make sure they're across the AANA and Ad Standards rules for your category. Verified reviews on Unjumble that mention real results are the cleanest signal.

Post a traditional advertising gig in 60 seconds. Describe the work, set your budget and timeframe, and choose whether it's time-based or outcome-based. Local freelancers send a bid with a quote, you compare their profiles, portfolios and verified reviews, then pick the one that fits. Posting is free, so you only pay for the work.

Every gig runs on a payment schedule you both agree on up front, and every payment is held securely through Stripe. On an outcome-based gig you fund each stage before the work starts and it's released once you sign off. On a time-based gig you're charged for each month as it starts, and it's released to your freelancer once that month's been worked. No chasing invoices, and no paying for work that's not done.