REACHING HIGHER
Under the vision and leadership of seasoned media executive and company founder, Kathy Munson and business strategist and financial manager, Chuck Munson, MBS strives to bring media planners and buyers to the forefront of the advertising community. Together we strategize, analyze and conceptualize the most effective tactics to achieve our clients’ goals. We are passionate about our clients’ success and this enthusiasm extends to our exceptionally talented staff. In an atmosphere that fosters initiative as well as teamwork, planners are encouraged to use each other as resources and to provide leadership in areas where they have special strengths. In addition, clients are invited to access staff directly rather than depend on an imposed hierarchy.
We realize MBS is only as good as its people. We are fortunate to have an award-winning assemblage of consummate media professionals who have achieved top recognition in the field.
Kathy Munson, CEO
After graduating from the University of Iowa with a BA in Communication Studies, Kathy began her career at the Des Moines Register, where she worked in the newspaper’s advertising sales department, writing and editing the paper’s weekly entertainment supplement. From there, she was chosen to work with production staff, sponsors and volunteers at the highly acclaimed Iowa Public Broadcasting network. After marrying and moving to Omaha, Kathy honed her skills in the fast-paced, in-house advertising department for Richman-Gorman Half Price Stores, guiding advertising placements in 12 markets over a seven state region. In 1983, she and her husband, Chuck, moved to Arizona where Kathy found her skills in media research, strategic planning and media buying in high demand. Following two years of working with a full service advertising/public relations agency, studying the marketplace and further augmenting her experience, Kathy saw an opportunity to establish a new standard for media planning and she founded Media Buying Services. By specializing solely in research, media planning and buying, MBS filled a niche, partnering with top independent creative and public relations firms to create “virtual” powerhouse agencies. Inspired by Kathy’s vision and energy, the company has grown enormously. In fact, in just 17 years, annual billings increased to multi-millions of dollars. Today Kathy enjoys the challenges of account acquisition and account services, but continues to lead strategy and research assignments as well as prepare the majority of media planning for the agency. Kathy also is a member of American Women in Radio and Television, a charter member of the Society to Advance Media Professionalism, a board member of FirePal and volunteers at Chrysalis, a shelter for battered women and children. She and her husband and business partner, Chuck, also have a bright and beautiful daughter with whom they love to hike, ski and golf.
Chuck Munson, COO/CFO
Chuck received a BS in finance from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Before joining MBS he held positions with Ruan Leasing and Valmont Industries where his responsibilities included financial analysis, cash management, acquisition/divestiture analysis, pension fund management, insurance planning and human resources.After moving to Arizona he worked for Ramada, Inc. as corporate cash manager. In 1986 he was promoted to the company’s Corporate Development Department handling site acquisition, contracts, zoning and environmental issues for new hotel developments nationwide. In 1990, Mr. Munson joined MBS full time to structure financial relationships with clients, oversee corporate planning and accounting, and to handle cash management and other administrative duties.To ensure accuracy in media invoicing and MBS billings, he initiated a system of checks and balances within the agency to account for every penny of a client’s media budget. In addition to his commitments as business partner, husband and father, he is a past president of Phoenix Camelback Rotary club, serves on the investments committee of the Desert Botanical Gardens and is a current member of Arizona Business Leadership association.
Randy Roberts, Research Director
With a BA in Journalism from the University of South Carolina coupled with various independent studies in marketing research along with over 24 years of on the job experience, Randy Roberts brings to MBS his practical and pragmatic approach to Advertising and Marketing Research.After graduation, Randy began his career at Charlotte Magazine in North Carolina where he worked in advertising sales.After relocating to his home state of Maryland, he continued in the field of advertising sales at WMIX 106.5FM in Baltimore.Having always had the desire to work on the agency side of the business, Randy came onboard with Freed & Associates where he was promoted to Associate Media Director and had the honor of working on eleven entertainment accounts to include Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.Coca-Cola Enterprises came after Mr. Roberts for their in-house media department where he not only placed extensive media budgets throughout the Northeast, but also worked on special event marketing and sports/arena contracts.After moving to Arizona in 1989, Randy worked for the in-house agency of a large automotive/marine group before starting his own small business, which he ran for five years.The Arbitron Company and Tapscan Worldwide lured Randy to Los Angeles for over five years where he became known as the “Tapscan Man”.Calling on advertising agencies and radio stations in 21 Western markets, his greatest success was building the Phoenix market into the number one Tapscan and Scarborough market in the United States, where it remains today.Randy’s desire to reclaim his desert home, returned to Scottsdale and MBS is now the proud recipient of Mr. Roberts’ talents.In his free time, Randy enjoys multiple spectator sports and is an avid world traveler.
Denise Boucher, Senior Media Planner/Buyer
Voted 1998 AWRT “Media Buyer of the Year” by her peers, clients and media reps, Denise is a savvy strategist, astute analyst and keen negotiator. Appreciated for her ability, drive and hard work, her enthusiasm is contagious. Denise joined MBS in 1996, after moving to Phoenix from Louisville, Kentucky. She brought with her a wealth of experience. Denise started her career in San Antonio, Texas where she handled media placement, research, accounting, production and traffic for 126 locations of 50-Off Stores in 50 markets across the country. This led to her move to Louisville, where she was the media planner/buyer for the Indianapolis Regional McDonald’s Restaurant account as well as various health care and retail clients. It was there that she first began to negotiate “value added merchandising” which has become her forte at MBS. Denise constantly looks for ways to anticipate clients’ ongoing needs and identify new media opportunities. For Denise, going above and beyond is not an occasional occurrence; it is a constant commitment that is as natural as breathing. To relax, Denise enjoys walks on the beaches, community volunteering and shopping for bargains.
Laura Gastelum, Senior Media Planner/Buyer
After completing an internship assisting the Director of Public Relations with MAC America and attaining her BS in advertising and marketing at Northern Arizona University, Laura was hired at MBS as an assistant media buyer where she primarily handled all print buying. Laura excelled in this arena, placing millions of dollars of print advertising annually. Because of her exceptional skill, she was promoted and to the delight of our clients, expanded her areas of responsibility to include broadcast planning and buying. Laura loves to bend the “media buying rules” to achieve extraordinary media exposure opportunities. Grounded in strong media fundamentals, she analyzes carefully and negotiates hard for value added exposure. To Laura, putting together a media plan is like putting together a puzzle. It’s both challenging and fun to make “the pieces” fit in order to stretch a client’s budget for the greatest exposure. Moreover, Laura is highly proficient and detail-oriented, executing due diligence in every plan. In her leisure, she enjoys fashion, art and architecture and hopes to do more international travel in the coming years.
Cheri Moreno, Senior Media Planner/Buyer
The hallmark of Cheri’s extensive media planning and buying experience is her ability to build and maintain quality long-term relationships. Cheri joined MBS after 18 years as the Media Director for AdMark Communications. In this position, she was key to establishing working relationships with a well-known Valley homebuilder that spanned nine years, a Chandler-based auto dealership that encompassed more than six years and a pharmacy cooperative with 1,000 locations that continued throughout her eighteen-year engagement. With her extensive background in placing broadcast, print and direct mail in markets throughout the United States, she became a perfect complement to MBS where she now handles target audience and media research, planning, negotiations and placement. Her love of animals is reflected in her involvement with a local no-kill animal shelter, serving as a board member and volunteer for more than seven years. She has also served on the Communications Committee for the Arizona Chapter of the American Cancer Society. Her favorite pastimes are golf, skiing and shopping for antiques with her husband of 17 years.
Heather Johnson, Media Planner/Buyer
Heather Johnson came to Media Buying Services in 2006 after having spent 6 years as a broadcast media buyer for Macy’s West where she negotiated and placed radio and television in multiple markets in the southwest and west coast regions. In addition to buying functions, her experience includes working innovative added value deals and station partnerships, negotiating free bonus buys and website exposure, plus provided post buy analysis and auditing on all of her media purchases. Prior to Macy’s, Heather worked her way from accounting, to traffic and into the media buying world at NKB Media Services in Novato, California. Ms Johnson attended the University of California at Davis studying Dietetics, which lead to her first job as a nutrition/fitness professional at 24 Hour Fitness in Vallejo, CA in the late 1990s. In her free time Heather is a fitness buff, enjoys outdoor activities and is mad about her pet cat, Mango. She holds an A.S. in General Science, plus an Associates degree in Liberal Arts from SolanoCommunity College.
Rona Alviar, Media Planner/Buyer
Rona brings to the agency 12 years of experience as a media buyer for television, radio and cable for both the general and Hispanic markets. She began her media buying career in 1995 with Western International Media, which was acquired by Initiative Media, where she remained until starting a freelance career in 2003. Rona has created and managed buying assignments for 76 markets nationwide. Major clients she has worked with include Disneyland, Vons, Ralph's, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Quizno's, Albertson's, Savon, University of Phoenix, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau, Taco Bell, Qwest, John Deere, Smart and Final and the State of California. She has recently handled media planning and buying for IKEA San Diego, Sprouts Farmers Market and local car dealerships at AM Strategies. Her extensive experience with diverse client categories made Rona well versed in the different and many ways of planning and buying. Rona enjoys life with her husband and two young boys.
Gayle Harris, Media Planner/Buyer
Gayle has over 20 years of media planning and buying experience on both the client and agency side with a special strength in print. She has worked on a diverse range of nationally recognized accounts such as Jim Beam Brands, Proctor & Gamble, Humana Healthcare along with business to business and local companies. Having recently moved from Chicago, Gayle is looking forward to putting her skills to work in the Phoenix market.
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