Brand Management - Brand Manager

Job Description

Who We Are

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is the leading entertainment and sports agency, with global expertise in filmed and live entertainment, digital media, publishing, sponsorship sales and endorsements, licensing, media finance, consumer investing, fashion, trademark licensing, and philanthropy. Distinguished by its culture of collaboration and exceptional client service, CAA’s diverse workforce identifies, innovates, and amplifies opportunities for the people and organizations that shape culture and inspire the world. The trailblazer of the agency business, CAA was the first to build a sports business, create an investment bank, launch a venture fund, found technology start-up companies, establish a philanthropic arm, build a business in China, and form a brand marketing services division, among other innovations.

The Department

CAA Brand Management is a division of CAA. We support iconic talent and brands with their expansion into new consumer product categories, experiences, and territories. We do this by partnering our clients with great manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and operators, through licensing, strategic partnerships, and joint ventures. Operating in 20 countries worldwide, we work as part of our clients’ teams to build revenue generating and storytelling brand extension programs across all categories and channels of distribution.

The Role

The Brand Manager is instrumental in the growth, long term relationship and smooth operation of one or more of our clients’ licensing programs. Individuals in this role work on teams that lead and oversee relationships with the client, relevant stakeholders within the clients’ business, third party licensees, and cross-functional and often cross-regional CAA Brand Management teams.

The Responsibilities:

Manage client relationships

• Serve as a key point of contact and relationship manager for assigned client(s).

• Set up and lead appropriate regular touchpoints with the client and their team to ensure timely and effective communication flow including meeting agendas, notes/next steps, and trackers.

• Work with client and CAA teams to determine key program objectives, strategies and priority categories.

• Act as the voice of the client for initial assessments of potential deals to ensure that proposals brought forward to the client meet objectives.

• Closely monitor client satisfaction and sentiment to strengthen the relationship and proactively manage any issues.

• Work with client and internal teams to provide client with appropriate financial tracking, analysis, and reporting.

Manage licensee relationships

• Serve as a key point of contact and relationship manager for licensees and brand partners.

• Assist with and at times lead development and organization of essential business development tools for licensees (i.e., product catalogs, line sheets, event development and production, and others, etc.) with the CAA Brand Management client team.

• Partner closely with each licensee to understand respective business models and product development cycles to drive retail profitability.

• Act as liaison to facilitate transactions between licensee and retailer or licensor.

• Work with finance and licensees to secure and analyze sales forecasts.

Drive brand development

• Help define and drive strategically aligned opportunities for clients with the sales teams to extend the brand into new categories and ventures. This can include supporting the negotiation and finalization of new licensing agreements and identifying and securing growth and expansion opportunities for our clients.

• Aid in delivering on growth, expansion and long term profitability of the existing business.

• Assist in negotiating new licensing agreements; participate in sales and marketing presentations, as necessary.

• Proactively align and drive program building activity across all CAA Brand Management client team members from Creative, Business Development, Finance and Legal to ensure successful execution of the strategy.

• Focus on taking brands into relevant, innovative categories through thought leadership, commercial initiative and the development of co-branded and mono-branded licenses and brand extensions.

• Strategic development to secure retail placements and Direct-to-Retail opportunities through working closely with Creative to develop brand materials specific to retailers or projects.

Facilitate effective licensing operations

• Participate in brand strategy and budget setting discussions internally and with the client.

• Analyze consumer trends and information and help identify product categories to enter as future sources of growth.

• Assist in overseeing the direction, implementation, execution, and continuous improvement of the licensing processes.

• Support the CAA Brand Management client team with feedback and guidance on requirements that ensure all partnerships and deals align with the client’s brand DNA, guidelines and principles.

• Guide the client in the adoption of industry best practice process, templates and partners to drive efficient long-term growth of the licensing program.

• Create and maintain reporting mechanisms for all client management activities.

• Effectively use automated systems and software to aid in program management.

• Oversee product development, working with internal and external teams to ensure an organized and efficient process that meets business needs.

Retail Management

• Manage Direct-to-Retail partnerships.

• Coordinate interdepartmental meetings to review performance, share updates, successes and learnings, and find opportunities to collaborate. 

• Work with client and retailer teams to create plans to support launches and execute against those plans.

• Coordinate creative kick-off meetings to align all parties, ensure brand assets are supplied in a timely manner, and manage PD approval timelines.

• Cross-category alignment between retailer buying departments to launch product collections that meet the needs of brand owners and retailer’s expectations.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 3 years in a results-orientated licensing leadership role.

• Experience working on high caliber IP’s.

• Ability to work effectively within a complex matrix organization and drive results from a team that may not report directly to you.

• Demonstrable ability to build and maintain strong relationships with key partners across categories and regions.

• Professional, personable, adaptable, creative, timely, hard-working, with a high level of integrity, a self-starter work ethic and enjoyment of fast and dynamic pace.

• Mature time management and prioritization capabilities.

• Confident presentation skills at any level with strong business acumen.

• Financial (budget) management, analysis, and reporting capabilities; ability to read, analyze, and report on licensee sales, royalties, and forecasts/budgets.

• Demonstratable multi-tasking organization skills - when juggling tasks and managing priorities across a growing account base and “moving ball forward” across different support functions (PD, legal, finance, creative).

• Focused attention to detail skills.

• Strong sales skills with quantitative, analytical, and business justification ability.

• Ability to engage, inspire, and galvanize the organization around a client’s visions, position, and strategies.

Location

This role will be based out of the New York office.

Compensation: The annual base salary for this position is in the range of $65,000-$78,000. This position also is eligible for benefits and discretionary bonus. Ultimately, wages may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, time in role, business sector, and geographic location, among other criteria. Please talk with a CAA Recruiter to learn more.

Creative Artists Agency, LLC (the “Company”) is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate on the basis of race (inclusive of traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, creed, gender or sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, family and medical care leave status, military or veteran status, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, political affiliation, an employee’s or their dependent’s reproductive health decision making (e.g., the decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service), or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

The Company also complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local laws with regard to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.

CAA does not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters unless they were contractually engaged by CAA to provide candidates for a specified opening. Any such employment agency, person or entity that submits an unsolicited resume does so with the acknowledgement and agreement that CAA will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.