Senior Director, Marketing Golf

Who we are

IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media, operating in more than 30 countries. The company manages some of the world’s greatest sports figures and fashion icons; stages hundreds of live events and branded entertainment experiences annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in sports training and league development, as well as marketing, media and licensing for brands, sports organizations and collegiate institutions. IMG is part of the Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG) network.

As the pioneer in golf, IMG was founded by Mark McCormack in 1960 following a gentleman’s agreement handshake between Mark and Arnold Palmer. This was the start of athlete representation as we know it today. Over the years IMG has extended into numerous sports but its roots are firmly set within Golf, and we are proud to have staged over 800 events since 1960. Our current portfolio includes some of the most exciting and prestigious tournaments in golf, including the Solheim Cup, Saudi International, The Open, Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, The Senior Open presented by Rolex, AIG Women’s Open, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Asian Tour International Series in Egypt, Morocco, Singapore and Korea, Chevron Championship, Honda Classic, PNC Championship, HSBC Women’s World Championship, Honda LPGA, Blue Bay LPGA, Buick LPGA, BMW Ladies Championship, HSBC WGC Champions, Swinging Skirts LPGA, Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific and Asian Amateur Championship.

Who we are looking for

We are hiring a driven, experience and passionate Senior Marketing Director to lead all aspects our Golf Division’s consumer, sponsorship and partnership marketing strategy and activity, globally. You’ll be responsible for direct and indirect revenue generating activity across our international portfolio of world-class golf events ensuring we maintain a significant competitive edge in a robust competitor landscape while helping to build brand affinity, attendance, and advocacy of our golf properties. The right candidate will help us grow the prestige, profile, and long-term positioning of each event, as well as support the long-term growth of the Division.

Responsibilities Include But Not Limited To

Brand & Marketing Strategy & Planning

• Working under our regional SVPs of Golf and as part of the wider marketing organisation you will drive and develop brand, consumer and partnership marketing strategies as part of our go-to-market process that establish and grow our live events.
• Working with cross-functional groups (including the analytics team, marketing team, event operations, sponsorship sales, PR, creative, ticketing, legal and finance) to create best-in-class marketing strategies and plans.
• Optimise, evolve, and fully integrate strategic marketing processes including partner objectives and rights integration, creative, content and GTM (go-to-market) processes.
• Provide industry insight and knowledge on wider trends and behaviour.
• Deliver, maintain, and evolve our brands’ strategies, identities and messaging recommending and executing brand enhancements and extensions where necessary.

Marketing Campaigns & Activity

Oversee the day-to-day delivery of all aspects of the marketing strategy and plan – not limited to, but including:

• Create and deliver event marketing strategies relevant to the property and market, including ticket modelling, tactical campaigns, audience segmentation and targets,
• Support the consumer and partnership marketing sales process, including B2B marketing, research creative processes
• Oversee the planning, management and delivery of all creative assets and content required before, during (on-site) and after our events ensuring a creative, efficient, story-telling team which rolls into our overall marketing approach for events, new business, and commercial opportunities.
• Provide support to Comms and PR teams to deliver PR narratives in line with agreed upon brand, partner and consumer objectives.
• Liaise with other internal business units to ensure alignment and efficiency across all departments.
• Manage performance monitoring, optimization and reporting of all marketing activity, and action adjustments where necessary to ensure optimization for maximum performance, reach, and return on investment.
• Work closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure sponsor and partner marketing requirements are fulfilled.
• Oversee existing digital and social platforms and work with internal and external digital resources; identify new platforms and routes to market and integrate consumer-marketing strategy where relevant.
• Oversee and deliver outstanding on-site marketing efforts across owned channel content capture (photography, videography etc) consumer engagement and supporting sponsor activations.
• Deliver robust post-event reports that include management of the post event survey process, analysis of media value, campaign results and development of recommendations for the next cycle.

Financial Management:

• Maintain and optimize the marketing campaign budgets.
• Process any marketing related invoices which have been pre-approved.

Stakeholder Management:

• A core member of the golf team you will help us maintain strong relationships with partners and sponsors. You’ll attend, contribute to, and sometimes lead on these importance stakeholder meetings & relationships, assisting with coordination and delivery of presentations and proposals where required.
• Guide partner and sponsor account management and digital servicing of partners while being the voice of the consumer and marketing throughout.
• Liaise with and represent IMG when engaging with journalists, broadcasters, talent, suppliers, high net-worth individuals, fans, and supporters as required.
• Report and communicate wins, progress, and learnings to key stakeholders internally and externally, helping to continue to build the strong reputation of the golf division.

Business development:

• Identify and nurture key parties who could collaborate with golf to enhance our product and brands as well as identify opportunities to deliver additional revenue streams or NPD both across the IMG and Endeavor network and externally.

Leadership & Team Management:

• Grow and nurture a team of marketing managers, marketing R&R’s and designers), motivating them through tough periods and empowering them to establish themselves as go-to marketing experts in each region.

Key Results Areas

• Increase revenue for Golf portfolio of events with a focus on owned /at risk properties
• Grow the prestige, profile, and long-term positioning of each event in keeping with IMG’s position as a global, trusted and premium golf event management group
• Manage marketing spend within agreed budgets to maximizes stakeholder results
• Grow customer and sponsor retention within and across Events
• Provide tangible thought and action leadership across the Division and geographic regions – help build a learning organization with engage and knowledgeable consumer marketing teams.

You Will Have The Following Strengths

• Extensive experience in hands-on multichannel marketing, with proven success in customer segmentation, pricing and promotions, brand communication, digital media planning and analytics, and social platform and content marketing (organic and paid)
• Extensive experience leading change in a matrixed, geographically distributed organization with proven business results
• Experience in a senior executive level role
• Understanding of the Golf landscape
• Excellent contacts within marketing and PR agencies and media partners
• Brand management experience
• Technical understanding of digital acquisition techniques such as SEM, SEO, CRM, and emerging social targeting tools
• Working knowledge of revenue management and pricing, packaging and channel strategy
• Creative experience – oversight or practical

We’d Love If You Also Have These

• Established and effective leader with strong people management skills and ability to excel in a fast paced environment
• Working knowledge of MS Office software, including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to build long lasting working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to self-direct and motivate and work with minimal supervision
• A strong team player that is flexible dependent on business demand
• Excellent time management skills, ability to work calmly under pressure whilst meeting deadlines
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to multitask and prioritise
• Excellent copywriting skills
• Highly numeric, commercial disposition

Our Values:

• We are fueled by Persistence, adapting and seeking solutions in the face of challenges.
• We support and elevate diverse voices, promoting equity and Inclusion within our company, industries and community.
• We operate with a spirit of Entrepreneurialism, a willingness to take risks and mindset that is built to disrupt.
• We rely on Collaboration across our network to power culture and unite people around the world.
• We hold ourselves to the highest standards of Excellence in every aspect of our work, including how we interact with one another, our clients and our partners.

Working Conditions

• This is a permanent position.
• This role will be based at Chiswick Park, London.
• Working hours are 9:00 – 17:00, Monday to Friday
• Occasional travel and weekend work may be required
• Regular weekend work where you may be required to travel to events in line with the Golf portfolio.
• Outside of event travel there will be a requirement to travel abroad for meetings to capture content and consumer marketing activity.

Equal Opportunities Statement

IMG is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.

IMG