Associate Creative Director

Job description

Watson Design Group is looking for an accomplished ACD, who will oversee strategic planning and writing for social and digital campaigns primarily in the entertainment sector. The ideal candidate will be comfortable in a leadership position mentoring and managing junior strategists and copywriters.

Reporting to the Director and VP this position will lead on all new business pitches from breaking down RFPs, leading and organizing brainstorms, developing ideas and finally, writing campaign proposals. Once the campaign is active, the ACD determines and outlines the strategic direction of the campaign and maintains the standards of the winning proposal.

• Strong writing credentials, with a proven history of crafting impactful narratives.
• The ability to craft and implement long-term strategy while practicing short-term solutions.
• Thorough and up-to-date understanding of the social/digital landscape.
• Ability to break down a written / verbal brief, manage the team internally to translate creative ideas into a long term strategy.
• Proven track record in writing and delivering pitches with varying audiences and across different verticals.
• Ability to lead in the day to day execution of the campaign, working alongside CDs and Project Managers to organize, plan and strategically guide the direction of the campaign.

ABOUT WATSON DESIGN GROUP

We develop campaigns for clients in the entertainment and brand space across the earned, owned, paid and experiential space, putting creative writing and storytelling at the heart of everything we do.

We look to our creative and design teams to help develop and breathe life into ideas. From the creation of an identity and style to a digital content hub or a 360 interactive platform, Watson creates experiences that carry our client’s stories to audiences across the globe.

The ambition at Watson is to continue to build upon our award-winning campaign work and integrate the expertise of new creative approaches, new ways of thinking and technologies to our business.

ABOUT YOU

You are a skilled storyteller with a deep understanding of what is shaping culture locally and globally.

You have your finger on the pulse of trends in the worlds of film, TV, music, and art while being creatively nimble in a fast-paced social landscape that is constantly evolving. You don’t just have great ideas, but you know exactly what makes them great and how to sell them.

You will have a proven track record of motivating and organizing creative teams in brainstorms, communicating effectively and directly with clients in pitches as well as internal teams and meeting deadlines across multiple projects.

You will inspire an in-house creative team of designers, community managers, analysts, and account teams to translate creative briefs into narratively driven themes and ideas across all audience touch points for our filmmakers and studios.

The ACD ensures that we develop fully executable strategies which link back to the objectives of the client, meet the highest standard of the agency and that the needs of the clients are being not only met, but exceeded from the pitch stage, through to campaign execution.

If this sounds like you take a look at our website and Instagram to get a feel for our work. If you feel inspired and think you are the right fit for the job send us an email telling us a little about yourself and a link to your portfolio so we can get back to you.

THE JOB

Responsibilities:

• Effectively guide the internal team members to the strongest solutions through creative decision-making, guidance, and proactive planning.
• Understand the unique client needs and requirements of every campaign. Developing creative strategy and concepts for social and digital proposals – both written and conceptual ideation. Creative Strategists are responsible for the storytelling of our campaigns to both our audiences and to our clients. This means developing internal storytelling (strategy, positioning, reasoning, presentation) and narrative storytelling.
• Lead all disciplines of the project team in delivering the creative strategy, copywriting, and tactical executions.
• Drive innovation by continually pushing the boundaries of our creative product into new and relevant areas.
• Drive collaboration, setting an example to our team of Art Directors and Designers on project delivery and development with the rest of the team.
• Oversee a team on execution of current client projects that exceed expectations and deliver on client objectives.
• Identify and allocate internal and external resources on a project to project basis.
• Oversee deck building and proposal process from creative POV. Working with art directors to define look and feel.
• Build a team of creative talent. Guide and mentor creative team members to develop their strengths and grow out of their weaknesses.
• Deliver superior quality work that meets business objectives while being distinctive in the industry. Storytelling with channel neutral ideas that break through and command attention.
• Demonstrate hunger, passion, and tenacity with a deep understanding of the digital landscape.

Preferred Skills:

• +5 years experience at a creative agency or studio with experience building and leading creative teams.
• Impressive online portfolio showcasing a variety of work.
• Proven track record of leading small and large creative programs across a wide variety of industry sectors by linking creative strategy to client objectives.
• Ambition to push yourself and your team outside of the traditional lines, being agile, adaptable and able to work around roadblocks.
• Willingness to roll up your sleeves and get into the work.
• Superb presentation and communication skills, bringing charisma and passion to sell ideas to both client contacts and internal stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive under pressure, juggling multiple clients, teams and deadlines.
• Love of business development and the ability to grow the business through new client wins and organic growth of existing clients.
• Organized with strong communication skills in written and oral presentations.
• Active passion for creativity and digital technology.

Watson Design Group, Inc.