Audience Strategist

360 Live Media is looking for an Audience Strategist to join our team in Washington, D.C. The Audience Strategist is the clear owner of the audience, responsible for deeply understanding who our clients are trying to reach and ensuring that insight shapes both marketing strategy and event design from the very beginning.

This role sits at the intersection of marketing and event strategy. You will lead the work that uncovers audience behavior, motivations, and needs, then translate those insights into actionable strategies that influence messaging, positioning, and the audience experience. You will collaborate closely with internal teams across event strategy and marketing, guiding decisions through an audience-first lens.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable analyzing data and leading conversations, bringing both analytical rigor and human empathy to the work. You are naturally curious, ask better questions than most, and are driven to understand not just what audiences do, but why.

360 Live Media is a full-service events agency. We bring together the well-established event services of Smithbucklin and the innovative strategies of 360 Live Media to deliver total event management for any type of industry convening. From smart strategy to flawless execution, our integrated service delivery model elevates the experience for event organizers looking to modernize their approach, optimize their impact, and grow the show. 360 Live Media is a Smithbucklin company with offices in Chicago and Washington, DC. This position is located in our DC office.

We are proud to work with many of the largest and fastest growing events in the world, including 30 of the top 250 trade shows and 17 of the Fastest/Next 50 events. While a majority of our engagements center around association events, we also support corporate clients with key marketing and event services. What’s more, we frequently provide organizational strategy, branding, marketing, and sales services beyond events and in support of broader growth initiatives. Whether association or corporate, event, credential, or membership, our focus remains on helping clients accomplish their mission, whatever that may be.

What You Will Do

The Audience Strategist helps clients better understand the people they are trying to reach and translates those insights into smarter marketing and event strategies. By combining research, data analysis, audience interviews, and market insights, this role uncovers what audiences need, value, and respond to. The Audience Strategist then works across marketing and event strategy teams to shape messaging, positioning, content, and experience design through an audience-first lens. This role serves as a bridge between insight and execution, helping clients create experiences that attract the right audiences and deliver greater impact. The Audience Strategist reports to the Head of Event Strategy and Design and is responsible for conducting the research, developing the deliverables, and leading the presentations.

Audience Insight & Research

• Lead audience research efforts across assigned clients, combining quantitative data analysis with qualitative insights from interviews, surveys, and focus groups.
• Analyze audience trends over time, including growth, retention, engagement patterns, and competitive dynamics.
• Define and assess total addressable audience, key segments, and opportunities for expansion or deeper engagement.
• Research and understand macro forces, market dynamics, and the competitive landscape to understand audience needs, gaps, and barriers.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews and facilitate audience-focused workshops to uncover needs, motivations, and barriers to participation.
• Synthesize findings into clear, actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making.

Strategy Development

• Translate audience insights into strategic recommendations that shape both marketing messaging and event design.
• Define audience segments, value propositions, and positioning strategies for events and experiences.
• Partner with event strategists to ensure audience needs are reflected in content, format, and overall experience design.
• Partner with marketing teams to guide messaging, campaign strategy, and channel approach based on audience behavior and preferences.
• Contribute to the development of new business proposals, Strategic Event Frameworks™, and other client deliverables, ensuring a clear through line from audience insight to execution.

Client Leadership

• Lead portions of client engagements, including presenting research findings, facilitating discussions, and delivering strategic recommendations.
• Serve as a trusted voice on audience strategy in client conversations, helping clients reframe decisions through an audience-first perspective.
• Participate in and lead client workshops, interviews, and working sessions.

Execution Support & Collaboration

• Support the activation of strategies by collaborating with internal teams across marketing, event strategy, and design.
• Provide guidance and input on campaign messaging, content direction, and audience targeting.
• Attend client events to observe and assess the audience experience, gathering insights to inform future strategy.
• Contribute to ongoing optimization by evaluating performance and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Internal Integration

• Act as a bridge between marketing and event strategy teams, ensuring alignment around audience priorities.
• Influence cross-functional work by embedding audience insight into decision-making across projects.
• Stay current on industry trends, audience behavior, and best practices in both marketing and experience design.

How You Work

• Deep curiosity about audiences and what drives behavior and decision-making
• High level of empathy and ability to understand different audience perspectives
• Strong research and analytical skills, including both quantitative and qualitative methods
• Ability to interpret data and identify meaningful patterns, trends, and insights
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative, and evolving environment
• Confidence in presenting ideas and engaging in client-facing conversations

Basic Qualifications

• 2-3 years of experience in marketing, research, event strategy, or a related field
• Demonstrated ability to conduct research, analyze data, and translate findings into strategic recommendations
• Experience contributing to marketing campaigns and audience targeting
• Familiarity with digital marketing channels (email, social, web)
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office or similar tools
• Proficiency with HubSpot, MailChimp, or other email platforms 
• Experience building AI assistants, and demonstrated proficiency with AI prompting
• Experience with survey platforms and social listening tools
• Excellent writing and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives
• Experience conducting interviews, facilitating discussions, or gathering audience insights directly

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting or participating in audience interviews, focus groups, workshops, or research initiatives
• Ability to synthesize research findings into clear insights and recommendations
• Experience contributing to presentations, reports, or client-facing deliverables
• Exposure to marketing strategy, audience engagement, event strategy, or experience design initiatives
• Experience working in a collaborative, fast-paced, or client-service-oriented environment
• Familiarity with survey tools, audience analytics, or social listening platforms
• Internship or experience in an agency or client services environment
• Exposure to marketing platforms (e.g., email marketing tools, CMS, or social scheduling tools)
• Interest in events, associations, or B2B marketing

Where Do You Fit?  

Working at 360 Live Media and Smithbucklin will offer you countless opportunities to develop transferrable skills, acquire meaningful knowledge, and gain rich experiences at an accelerated pace. By working collaboratively with smart, ambitious, multi-talented, genuine, and hardworking colleagues, you will build deep and enduring relationships that will serve you well throughout your career. In addition, as a 100 percent employee-owned company, Smithbucklin offers all of our people – regardless of position or compensation – an equal chance to experience the fulfillment and reap the benefits of ownership. As owners, our employees control the destiny of Smithbucklin and are unified in the goal of building a great, enduring company. 

Smithbucklin is a hybrid work environment with in-office days established as Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Employees will work a standard 40-hour week, with the possibility of additional hours based on project deadlines.

Smithbucklin considers several factors when determining compensation, including a candidate's recent coursework, training, experience, and certifications, among other considerations. The expected pay for this role is $78,000-$82,000. 

Equal Employment Opportunity

At Smithbucklin, Equal Employment Opportunity is our commitment and goal. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status designated by federal, state, or local law. Applicants are encouraged to confidentially self-identify when applying. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a reference and background investigation based on position.