MKTG S+E is a global integrated agency that harnesses the power of sports and entertainment to impact human behavior through meaningful marketing solutions and experiences. Our key differentiator is “knowing people better than anyone else” and using deep consumer insights to establish powerful connections between sports properties and brands.

Across strategy, measurement, content, hospitality, and events, we connect the sports and entertainment industry and companies around the world to deliver meaningful marketing solutions and experiences that are truly differentiated. The experiences that we create engage customers, build memorable brands and deliver value. MKTG S+E is a part of the broader dentsu Sports International network.

By joining MKTG Sports + Entertainment, you’ll join a team of innovative, creative and caring people. We know that our agency’s success relies on the achievements of our team members – who we genuinely care about and value. MKTG S+E is led by our core values which focus on collaboration, community, inspiring change, pursuing excellence and celebrating bravery – all of which are foundational to our culture and how we treat each other and our clients. This is an opportunity to produce career-defining work. Along the way, you’ll team up with inspiring colleagues and encounter a richness of clients, cultures, and experiences. We offer exciting challenges, memorable experiences, and opportunities to shape your future.

As Director of Strategy, you will be leading MKTG’s agile Strategy Team; acting as a strategic advisor across our Tier-1 clients; developing unique and creative market-leading approaches to achieve their brand & business objectives via sponsorship.

A big-picture thinker, you will lead multiple projects concurrently, working on nuanced challenges for both our retainer & project-based clients—succinctly framing up the issues to be solved for and mapping the process to tackle it. Your challenge will be to articulate a clear point of view to ambiguous projects, confidently guiding and inspiring c-suite client decision makers, interdisciplinary agency partners (e.g. media/creative), and internal teams alike with innovative solutions.

You have a passion for the “passions of consumers” —whether that’s in sports, music, egaming, arts, social influencers, philanthropy or events. Driven by curiosity about people and culture, you know how to blend art and science to understand an audience—using research, analytics and sound judgment to uncover true insights about consumers and their interests—ultimately informing a compelling strategic thread that will tie a client’s sponsorships, communications, social media and activations together in a creative articulation that will fuel engagement. You are equally comfortable commissioning and digging through research, observing how audiences behave in-person and online, or facilitating ideation workshops with key client stakeholders. Turning the resulting insights into a clear and actionable strategic recommendation, through your honed story-telling and presentation skills.

Externally, you will build strong long-term relationships and become the go-to advisor for senior clients. Internally, you will help define MKTG’s strategic practices, spearheading thought leadership in the industry, and mentoring team members to grow the team’s capabilities.

Responsibilities:

70%  – Strategic Consulting

1. Translate applicable key insights into clear Client-specific strategies
   • Define opportunities, insights, and relevant frameworks that drive strategic recommendations and creative solutions for clients
   • Uncover Company, Competitive, Cultural, Consumer, and Category insights as they relate to the client’s business, objectives, target audience, and sponsorship properties
2. Leverage persuasion, story-telling and strong presentation skills to bring innovative visions to life
   • Distill complex information into simple yet ‘easy to consume’ stories; delivering them in an engaging and inspirational manner
   • Build presentations that effectively articulate recommendations, providing a strong and informed point of view on how Clients should behave and capture opportunities for growth
3. Drive Thought Leadership opportunities to differentiate MKTG in the marketplace
   • Design/commission primary (proprietary) research, in addition to secondary and syndicated research mining and analysis
   • Recommend sponsorship measurement and KPI frameworks
   • Monitor and interpret cultural and social trends
4. Lead agency creative ideation process to uncover client specific narratives
   • Act as a bridge between the agency’s Consulting and Brand Activations teams — preparing creative briefs, leading brainstorms, developing creative territories, and defining the tactics that will help bring a sponsorship to life
   • Comprehensively understand how sponsorship strategies & concepts can be creatively amplified via both traditional and digital/social communication channels
   • Moderate multi-layered client working sessions & stakeholder interviews to uncover ownable and innovative strategic territories

30% – Agency Operations

1. Lead and coach a team of Associate Strategic Planners as assigned
2. Shape internal processes & generate frameworks for efficient and effective strategy development
3. Support MKTG’s business development process—playing a critical role in prospecting, responding to RFPs, establishing proposals, pitching, and onboarding new clients

• 8+ years of relevant strategy experience, preferably in an agency setting, in increasingly senior roles
• Bachelor’s Degree in ideally marketing, anthropology, sociology, psychology or other social science
• Experience working across a range of relevant industries/sectors
• Experience leading and managing a team of strategists whose work you will help guide and refine
• Experience building strong partnerships with internal colleagues and clients alike to create and align on creative strategies that meet a range of different business, marketing and communications objectives.
• Experience guiding cross-functional, inter-agency teams and across diverse opportunities and channels
• Experience partnering with and persuading senior client leadership
• Understanding of traditional, as well as modern primary research methods
• Understanding of all major audience facing channels, both traditional and digital, across paid, owned, and earned.
• Understanding of the latest industry and pop culture trends, breakthrough creative campaigns, and emerging technologies
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience in sponsorship, events, sports, arts, or lifestyle considered an asset

This job description is intended to provide a thorough overview of the role and responsibilities of this position. It is not an exhaustive list of all activities. We recognize that roles will invariably change or alter as required by the business and that other responsibilities may be assigned that are not reflected in the description at this time.

We’re proud to be different and that starts with our people. To us, representation means more than just diversity, it means true equity. We won’t define people by their race, gender, sexual-orientation, age or disability. Individuality is what makes us great, we want everyone to bring their full self to work and create something amazing. We are constantly evaluating our practices and policies, creating and sustaining pathways to promotion, and intentional in how we create and distribute resources, giving people what they need to grow. That’s what we care about. So, whether you’re joining us, or looking to move to a different part of the business, we work hard to make sure we create opportunities for everyone. We offer team member support through flexible working arrangements and schedules that promote work/life balance along with progressive parental and caregiver programs as well as opportunities to give back to the community as part of our global social responsibility efforts.

If you have any reasonable adjustment needs arising from a disability or medical condition to fully participate in the recruitment process, please discuss this with our recruitment teams.

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