WHY YOU WANT TO WORK AT SPARK FOUNDRY

Let’s be honest –in this industry, sometimes we complicate things that should be simple. Here is the bottom line:we want YOU to join us if you are truly passionate about guiding marketers on how to best connect their brands with people. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.At Spark Foundry, we have a unique approach and provide the support tohelp you do this. In fact, our approach is built on creating the space for ideas that lead to smart work, and Spark Foundry is built to celebrate and develop YOUR ideas.

WHO WE ARE

Throughout our rich history, we’ve taken pride in our ongoing legacy of and commitment to constant evolution. It’s in our DNA to evolve.By melding the spirit of a startup and the soul of a powerhouse across our business, we aim to bring modern heat to brands –the kind of heat that arises at the intersection of startup and powerhouse; of data and content; of art and science; of old and new.Energy and innovation fuels our startup spirit, while the unrivaled marketplace clout, exclusive partnerships, and global practice capabilities we have at our disposal as a full-service Publicis Media agency deliver our powerhouse soul for our clients.We hope you’ll take a few moments to learn more about us, and to begin thinking about how we might put “the power of plus” to work for you.To learn more, visit www.sparkfoundryww.com

Role

This role is split across three client accounts, and we are looking for a strong Manager to help lead these growing brands while gaining valuable experience within Financial, FMCG, and Art Supply sectors.

As our budgets steadily increase YoY, we seek innovation, strive to build upon momentum, surpass our client objectives and goals, all with the aim of delivery world class work along the journey.  Joining the team at SPARK FOUNDRY will provide opportunities to produce and deliver outstanding and rewarding product.

In addition our Managers are invaluable to the pulse and success of our agency.  They assist in driving our agency positioning, growth and development. We seek talent that are collaborative, enthusiastic, innovative, experts in client servicing, people management, and are personally motivated in helping shape and evolve the brands we partner with.

This role would benefit an experienced Manager who has the vision and skills to move the brands forward in new directions. You need to have great communication (both written and verbal) and interpersonal skills – our clients like to be challenged but with diplomacy.

You will be responsible for the integration of the inter-agency team and maintaining good, strong relationships with the various activation teams.  In addition you will be help lead the day to day delivery of the campaigns, researching into audiences, management of reporting, and assisting in the development of brand activations.

You should also be able to demonstrate your confidence and understanding of working with high profile brands, and have a track record of developing innovative work.  It’s essential here at SPARK FOUNDRY that you can get your point across and bring your client, team and line manager along with you. 

We also expect our Managers to lead by example and mentor and train junior rising stars at our agency so we are always prepared for the future.

The Team/Department Profile

The SPARK FOUNDRY planning department is the heart of the agency – in terms of its function, its people and its location.  We are diverse in our experience, personalities, nationalities and the clients we look after - and we celebrate that diversity. 

Our clients are professional but also creative and fun and this is reflected in the way we work and relate to each other.  We’re a great team who know that the way to deliver great work is to work together – and we enjoy it.  We are a tight-knit team who socialize together and share in each other’s success.

The Clients

Some of ColArt’s brands have been in existence since Columbus discovered America, however, they are only very recently investing in media to support their brands and SPARK FOUNDRY has been breaking ground with them in this area for over a year.  Content creation has been at the core along with paid digital media support.  We have recently been shortlisted for Best Biddable Integration Campaign for our work on the Snazaroo brand, specifically ‘Snazaroo Snazoween - The Joy of Play’.  The other active media brand in the portfolio is Winsor & Newton which was founded in 1832.  We are currently working through 2017 Halloween campaign that has a balance of content, awareness and acquisition objectives.

ColArt requires a high level of attention to detail and a challenging, confident individual to assist in taking the clients on a journey. You will be required to build strong relationships internally and will develop a deeper understanding of how disciplines work together from a paid, owned and earned perspective across all media channels - fundamentally working together to get the best results for our clients brands. You will be required to have a good understanding of every aspect of Digital in particular Paid Social and Paid and Organic Search and be able to digest, analyse and interpret reports and data to provide your recommendations and assessment to your line manager.

The relationship between SPARK FOUNDRY and McCormick has existed for over 6 years and we have been integral in helping strengthen the business by building a stronger consumer connection with the brand.  This is increasingly important as owned label are gaining more real estate on store shelves while also taking share largely due to cheaper pricing.

One of McCormick’s goals for 2018 will be driving a successful repackaging launch and creating compelling communication of superiority.  As always we will need to continue to maximize seasonality by winning Christmas and boosting summer.  We have moderate budgets that allow us to challenge the marketplace and ourselves to deliver cut through ideas and build the McCormick brand.

McCormick requires a deep understanding of cross channel disciplines, especially in the area of content and influencer marketing which occupies a large and exciting place in their communication mix.  In common with other clients you will be required to build strong relationships internally across the different internal disciplines.  You will assist in driving strategy development and content approach by using all insights and research to develop an overarching strategy & content framework. Including priority touchpoints and Content themes to be deployed in 2018.

SPARK FOUNDRY have had the Avon global business since 2007.  Our focus for the past few years in the UK has been towards offline media strategy and planning.  Avon operates in an extremely competitive space where they are focused on providing high quality products at a discount versus the competition.  Their exciting 2018 campaign theme will be around Smarter Beauty which we are currently developing alongside JWT and M6.

On these brands at SPARK FOUNDRY you will have the opportunity to deliver work that you will be both proud of and excited by.

Responsibilities & Requirements

• Accountability: Hold yourself and others to a very high standard of professionalism and product.
• Ambition: Vision and skills to move the brands forward in new directions.
• Collaboration: People management skills and a positive attitude are essential here at SPARK FOUNDRY. You will be responsible for the integration of the inter-agency team and maintaining strong relationships with clients and activation teams to achieve the common goal of delivering world class work. 
• Communication: You need to have great communication (both written and verbal) and interpersonal skills – our clients like to be challenged, but with diplomacy.
• Confidence: Lead discussion with passion, enthusiasm and be the forward face of the agency.
• Creativity/Innovation: You will be expected to develop innovative solutions within a cross-agency group that challenge our clients to think differently and makes their brands category leaders. 
• Devil is in the detail: Stickler for detail and demanding the same of all teams across all disciplines within the agency. 
• Discovery: Confidently interpret and analyse multiple data streams from client campaigns and internal business to draw insights that influence our approach and strategy resulting in unparalleled solutions.
• Experience: You will need to have a firm foundation in both traditional and digital media including brand and performance media along with robust and broad knowledge of the industry and our agency positioning.
• Growth: You will also be expected to play a role in the business development of the account and the agency – you will be involved in the maintenance of internal forecasts, stretch planning and identification of organic growth opportunities as well as participating in new business projects.
• Immersion: Nobody should know your clients business better than you – be their trusted eyes and ears.
• Leadership: Assisting the stewarding of UK planning team on and Citibank, Colart, and McCormick reporting to Associate Directors and a Business Director while being supported by a Senior Executive.
• Nurture: Provide motivation and education to help your direct report achieve their full potential and provoke their professional growth.
• Proactive: Don’t just wait for a brief to come in. Be aware of what's going on inside and outside of the agency/industry and how that could benefit clients.