ApplyDescription
A Creative Strategy Director is a marketing communications strategy leader and the strategic hub for creative expression. This role is an always-on discipline that puts the consumer at the heart of brand communications. The Creative Strategy Director serves as stewards of consumer insights and champions of creativity, providing an invested and consistent connective tissue for each client's brand. They represent the voice of the customer as part of the brand team and throughout planning initiatives, from creative strategy and brief development to communications planning, aiming to elevate work and emotionally connect with customers and prospects through insightful messaging.
The core responsibilities and essential duties of a Creative Strategy Director include:
Understand the Consumer and Client:
- They delve deeply into consumer behavior, motivations, and purchasing decisions to gain a comprehensive understanding of the target audience
- This involves serving as a consistent sounding board for the needs of their target audiences
- They are client-facing team members who work closely with Account Management, Creative and Media teams
Consumer Insight Generation:
- The Creative Strategy Director synthesizes research, market trends and cultural trends to uncover powerful insights about consumer attitudes, behavior, and preferences
- These insights identify emotional triggers or unique perspectives that form the basis of communication strategy and guide creative work
- The Creative Strategy Director helps facilitate both qualitative and quantitative research when needed
Strategic Guidance and Creative Strategy Development:
- They leverage brand foundation work, mine insights and translate them into strategic recommendations for client brand communications, ensuring the brand’s voice, tone and objectives are clear for consistent and authentic campaigns
- They generate actionable Creative Strategy and Briefs, developing these for creative expression and brand communications, and they communicate the target audience’s desires, behaviors, and emotions to spark fresh, innovative ideas
- In partnership with Account Management and Creative Directors, they lead creative briefings and work with Account Management to ensure alignment with client and internal teams
- They act as an ad-hoc brief reviewer and advisor to Account Management when foundational work is not being done
Championing Great Creative and Creative Collaboration:
- They develop actionable creative briefs to guide teams toward strategic creative outcomes across all channels
- They collaborate closely with creatives and channel planners to ensure insights are translated into effective creative concepts and communication strategies
- They work closely with creative directors and serve as a brand consultant during creative development
- They lead Big Ideas brainstorming sessions with Brand Council team members
Evaluating Creative Work and Campaign Integrations:
- They serve as a resource to brand teams as the information intersection of audience definition and creative strategy, helping maintain the strategic application of the brief throughout activation and execution
- The Creative Strategy Director is responsible for evaluating creative campaign recommendations based on the brief/creative strategy and human insights
- They review creative recommendations prior to the internal brand team review and provide consultation
- They provide strategic support for client presentations
- They recommend creative approaches for integrating campaigns into paid, earned, and owned channel plans, bringing the creative strategy to life
Knowledge and Mentorship:
- They work with Business Development to co-author RFPs with creative expression deliverables
- They seek out and study exemplary brands and campaigns, informing and educating teams on best practices
- They mentor junior Creative Strategy team members
Communication Skills
- Demonstrates excellent written, verbal and listening skills
- Communicates in a coherent, personable and professional manner
- Comfortable and adept in representing WW with clients’ senior management
- Demonstrates outstanding presentation skills in formal and informal settings, and is an excellent leader
- Demonstrates team leadership and collaboration with self-assuredness as well as sensitivity
- Maintains a candid professional relationship with others, working closely with Account Management, Creative, and Brand Strategy teams
Additional Responsibilities
- Upholds the Wray Ward brand, culture, values and work ethic
- Passionately embodies the agency brand, culture and values
- Inspires a contagious passion for strategic, creative solutions
- Demonstrates resourcefulness, agility and resilience in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, strategy, business, communications, psychology or sociology
- 5+ years agency experience in strategy, planning, or creative disciplines
This job description serves as an overall summary of responsibilities for the position outlined. Please note it is subject to change with specific expectations associated with the position.
Culture Alignment
At Wray Ward, we firmly believe that internal and client relationships are key to our success. Certain attitudes define how we work and are important in what we seek for our culture and mission. Our key agency attitudes are:WE, NOT ME — We check our egos at the door. As a result, we thrive in a positive, collaborative atmosphere that welcomes diverse professionals and invites everyone to contribute their best.ASK “WHAT IF?” — Always going beyond what is and considering what could be, we create unexpected possibilities that differentiate our brands and accelerate their success.BE FEARLESS — Creativity demands that we hold nothing back.
So we mutually support each other in speaking up, taking risks and courageously contributing audacious, unedited, unconventional ideas.NAIL IT — Everything we do is about results. We not only achieve our clients’ goals, but also continually exceed their expectations. Every person here shares individual responsibility for their own, our agency’s and our clients’ success.Our 39,000-square-foot home promotes collaboration and productivity through inspired meeting areas, offering natural light, vibrant colors, patterns and textures. Homelike elements are found in every corner, from the open-air roof deck to our game room with foosball, ping-pong, Connect Five, classic board games and cornhole. Brightly colored throw pillows on sofas and our town hall meeting space, smart entertainment systems and live plants are scattered throughout. From holiday parties to movie nights, bowling and dodgeball teams to yoga and walking groups, we have a warm and inviting culture. Our office ushers us in, and it welcomes us home.
Our Mission
Day in and day out, we will passionately create the most innovative, engaging and effective work in the home category — we will live it, we will breathe it and we will own it.***Candidates must possess authorization to work in the United States, as it is not the practice of Wray Ward to sponsor individuals for work visas. Wray Ward participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States.At Wray Ward, we strongly believe that a diverse staff and inclusive culture will greatly enrich our work, our business, our industry and our lives.
We are committed to an intentional approach to listening, understanding and talking, and to using our individual and collective talent, voices and influence to drive change.Wray Ward is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.
