Associate Director, Strategy

Initiative is different to other media agencies.

Initiative unlocks business growth for the world’s most ambitious brands. We believe in the power of media to reshape our industry and orchestrate a brand’s entire consumer experience, by balancing both what unites people and what makes them different. When brands unite people in culture, they build Fame, and when brands connect individuals to their unique journeys, they build customer Flow. Initiative builds Fame & Flow for brands like Nike, Amazon, Merck, LEGO, and T-Mobile.

Media responsibility is at the forefront of everything we do, whether it’s creating media plans that reflect the diversity of our communities, promote brand safety, and foster sustainability. Our agency celebrates diversity in an inclusive environment where all of our 6,000+ strong talent across 90+ markets feel seen, heard, and valued. Our vision is to create not only a better media company, but also a better media industry, and maybe even a better world.

Position Summary

As an Associate Strategy Director, you collaborate with the Director and Head of Strategy on the creation of the strategic direction a brand will take in communications to achieve their business goals. You are responsible for helping to strategize, produce and make sense of the key cultural, consumer and market intelligence required to design the best possible holistic communications frameworks to deliver on that task. Your work should be held up as best practice both within the agency and externally – recognized by winning awards and client scores.

You have a passion for people, brands and ideas and an insatiable curiosity for culture in every sense. You believe that brands can & should mean something in the world and are driven by the desire to understand the changing world and people’s shifting motivations and behaviors.

You are responsible for co-creating strategic campaign recommendations, insightful consumer profiles and innovative media ideas that connect the creative idea to the audience. It is not your responsibility to manage the client relationship, as you will report to the Client Lead to deliver brilliant strategic thinking for the client team. Creative thinking, sound presentation skills & leadership behaviors are critical to success in this role.

You should produce work that drives re-appraisal of the role of communications and what media can do in the world.

You are responsible for ensuring that the Strategy team’s work is strong and sound, and that it has considered all consumer, category and culture trends. You will help them to think about new ways to respond to a brief and encourage them to work – with you – alongside the Analytics, Communications Design and Client teams to deliver better, smarter and more innovative work.

Key Responsibilities

Client

• Assists Director in managing client relationships, particularly serving as a point of contact amongst key client contacts across their Insights teams, Media Managers, and Brand Managers.
• Being considered a valuable contributor during client meetings with the ability to challenge others’ opinions, and the brief when necessary, in the right way
• Can serve as a point of decision for Strategists in lieu of Director being available for lower-hanging asks
• Delivering innovative thinking that inspires leading edge solutions and award-winning, breakthrough connections / media ideas
• Arming the client team with knowledge & expertise to speak confidently about the strategic direction where required

Internal

• Can independently lead internal calls, brainstorms, and walkthroughs.
• Demonstrate a good understanding of consumers & their behaviors, using syndicated and proprietary data for profiling and insights (MRI, Simmons, eTelmar, Netbase, etc) – proficiency with quant and qual data is important to unlocking insight and identifying opportunities.
• Clearly demonstrate how the strategy delivers on the business need and focus on results and measurement
• Engaging communication style, demonstrating a talent for storytelling, and for translating complex concepts into a simple, powerful narrative, as seen by client engagement during their presentations.
• Supports development of media strategies by translating relevant audience inputs to key pillars across phasing that serve as the cornerstones to build the strategy
• Write cohesive communications architectures that deliver on the platform and give guidance to internal teams for how it translates into actionable ideas that guide channel, partner, and tactical choices
• Train, guide & assist the Strategy & Client teams in development, packaging, and selling of ideas
• Positively collaborate with special business units (search, social, analytics teams) and independent creative partners, contributing to their/our client work
• Use qualitative and quantitative communications channel & cultural tool research to develop applicable insights into the consumer connection with the brand
• Contribute to ideation sessions in conjunction with the Communications Design (media planning) team to generate creative & compelling communications ideas

Desired Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in related field or equivalent work experience
• 6+ years in integrated planning role in media, creative, innovation or communications discipline (digital, media or comms planning at an agency or in-house marketing team)
• Ability to think differently: creative & adaptive, entrepreneurial, independently-minded; deeply immersed in cultural understanding and driven by a desire to know more the world / to better understand people’s motivations & behaviors in the shifting landscape

We See You

We embrace diversity, and our responsibility to maintain an inclusive environment is core to our culture and values. We see diversity of people and experiences as fuel for creativity and innovation needed to bring about the best experiences and services. A diverse workforce means we can grow together, be better problem solvers, and bring about long-term, meaningful change where we will achieve above and beyond our business goals. We are better together..

When you join Mediabrands, you join a global community and are valued for who you are – your lived experiences, the contributions you make, and the distinct perspectives you bring. Here, what you think and who you are is just as important as what you do. As we recruit, we are dedicated to looking beyond what a resume can show. If you think you’d be a great addition to the team but don’t have the exact experience or skills, we encourage you to apply and share your unique background with us. We see you at Mediabrands.

Wage and Benefits

We offer a Total Rewards package that includes medical and dental coverage, 401(k) plans, flex spending, life insurance, disability, employee discount program, employee stock purchase program and paid family benefits to support you and your family. To give you the ability to better meet your personal needs, and in support of your physical and emotional well-being, you will receive discretionary time off days and company-wide Appreciation Weeks and Wellness Days.

We also offer a competitive Total Compensation package, including a competitive salary and eligibility for an annual discretionary incentive award or a relevant incentive award.

The salary range for this position is posted below. Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, actual ranges for current/former employees in the subject position, market considerations, budgetary considerations, tenure and standing with the Company (applicable to current employees), as well as the employee’s/applicant’s skill set, level of experience, and qualifications.

Employment Transparency

It is the policy of Mediabrands, division of the Interpublic group, to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, veteran status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

The employer will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. The job description will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity. Essential and other job functions are subject to modification. Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For applicants to jobs in the United States: In compliance with the current Americans with Disabilities Act and state and local laws, if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation to apply for a position with Mediabrands, please email [email protected].

About Mediabrands

IPG Mediabrands is the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). Mediabrands manages approximately $40 billion in marketing investment globally on behalf of its clients and provides strategic services and solutions across its award-winning, full-service agency networks UM and Initiative and through its innovative marketing specialist companies Reprise, Magna, Orion, Rapport, Healix,

Mediabrands Content Studio and the IPG Media Lab. Mediabrands clients include many of the world’s most recognizable and iconic brands from a broad portfolio of industry sectors. The company employs more than 13,000 marketing experts in more than 130 countries representing the full diversity of humanity. For more information, please visit our website: www.ipgmediabrands.com.

Initiative