Brand Strategy Director

Edelman is a voice synonymous with trust, reimagining a future where the currency of communication is action. Our culture thrives on three promises: boldness is possibility, empathy is progress, and curiosity is momentum. 

At Edelman, we understand diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) transform our colleagues, our company, our clients, and our communities. We are in relentless pursuit of an equitable and inspiring workplace that is respectful of all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust, collaboration and belonging.

Brand Strategy Director for LATAM

Edelman LATAM is looking for a standout Brand Strategy Director to join our award-winning agency, to help us create the kind of work that builds trust and inspires action for some of the world’s biggest and most exciting brands. At Edelman, it is not enough to be culturally relevant – our work demands we create opportunities to shape and change culture. We are a new kind of agency, blurring the lines among mediums to create smart, innovative, and powerful work that earns attention from media and consumers.  

We’re looking for a curious mind with a creative eye. A thorough researcher with a keen ability to uncover inspiring insights. A compelling storyteller, from initial insight to final decks, we need someone who can craft a strategy into a smart, persuasive story that inspires creative teams and excites clients. So, if you are a dynamic strategist specialized in brand building, have an entrepreneurial spirit, and are excited about evolving the role of strategy across communications, this role is for you. You will be challenged to push convention and your own creativity to find the most innovative ways to drive consumer behavior.

You will be joining a passionate team who are masters of their craft and passionate about the work. We work fast-paced and across many different categories and verticals, often juggling multiple projects at the same time, so you should be someone that has broad knowledge but the ability to go deep, and are ready to switch your brain from one project to the next. We like to nerd out and get our hands dirty, and expect you to bring your full strategic arsenal to do the same. 

Qualifications: 

Brand Strategy Craft

You know how agencies do brand strategy. You are familiar with the processes and tools that take clients from problem to solution to strategy to execution.

• 7+ years of experience in Brand Planning, Creative Strategy, Strategic Consulting, or other relevant capacity. 
• Ability to navigate the intersection of culture, brands, and audiences from new angles to arrive at deeper insights, more provocative marketing strategies and breakthrough brand-building platforms. 
• A resourceful researcher with analytical skills, eager to dive into the data for a wide range of clients, categories and audiences. Familiarity with GWI and eMarketer is preferred.
• A strong strategic thinker, with a keen ability to see patterns in the chaos, providing strong and inspiring insights and actionable recommendations.
• Passion for consumer brands, the role they play in people’s lives and how companies can elevate and should evolve in the ever-changing media landscape. 
• Solid grasp of brand strategy and marketing communications within client organizations, including the ability to counsel clients through strong, thought-provoking partnership.
• Proficient at developing powerful narratives that deliver on insights, inspire stakeholders, and influence strategic focus internally and externally.
• Has played a significant role in successfully winning new business and helping to drive organic growth on existing client business.

Creative Stewardship  

You are creative and understand creativity. You have worked with creatives, and many of them want to work with you again. You know how brands come to life creatively in 2021, especially in earned media.  

• Proven track record of providing compelling insights that drive high-performance creative. 
  • Must have concrete examples of content and campaign strategies, creative briefs, new business pitches, audience definition/segmentation, customer journeys, master narratives, messaging and tactics, and/or brand direction guidelines. 
• A curious, creative and flexible planner, with a discerning eye for what makes a great marketing or earned media campaign across verticals.
• A deep understanding of how brands show up in the world, and what it takes to drive people to action, ultimately generating cultural attention and inspiring action.
• Experiencing giving, receiving, and responding to creative feedback.
• Deep understanding of the role that earned media and social media play in consumers lives and the overall communications marketing mix.
• An expert storyteller, from inception to delivery, with superior written communication and presentation skills. 

Leadership/Management 

You know that leadership and management are different. You have done both.  

• A skilled organizer of information, developing interesting ways to interpret and articulate client challenges and strategic opportunities.
• A diligent, organized and nimble project driver, able to adapt to new assignments and deadlines.
• Passion for sharing innovation, industry/sector trends as well as shifting cultural norms and consumer expectations.
• Leading brand positioning and master narrative development projects, including client workshops.

Communication & Collaboration 

You are good with words and people.  

• A growth mindset, willing to learn, change and adapt to new clients, new workstyles, and an appetite for constructive feedback.  
• Inspiring presentation skills and the ability to thoughtfully articulate complex solutions in a straightforward and lucid manner to a variety of internal and external audiences, up to the C-level.
• A true collaborator, able to work across creative, account, subject matter experts and client constituents, and alongside fellow strategists at all levels.
• Demonstration of cultural competence and ability to counsel, advise and continually evolve DEI initiatives and best practices within brands and culture.
• A do-er over a delegator. There will be instances where this person oversees projects and teams, but for many assignments, this person will be driving the work.

Responsibilities: 

• Conduct modern cultural “anthropology” where you unearth both timely and timeless truths to ensure our campaigns resonate 
• Conduct and understand competitive positioning research to help identify available white/open space and develop sound business strategies 
• Develop audience insights through in-depth research leveraging 3rd party data, secondary tools (MRI, GWI) and collaborating on primary research (including audience segmentation/persona development) 
• Craft the creative brief for integrated and digital campaigns – collaborate and work in partnership with creative teams to get the insights and positioning right from the start 
• Provide inspiring company/product positioning articulations 
• Leading brand positioning and master narrative development projects, including client workshops
• Define compelling key messaging and storytelling tracks to ensure positioning comes to life effectively 
• Collaborate with creative teams to ensure ideas will resonate with desired target audiences. 
• Work in partnership with the connections planning team to map out the customer journey, go-to-market and content/messaging strategy 
• Partner with the measurement and analytics team to determine measures of success  
• Lead, mentor and cross train junior strategy and planning staff to create the next generation of creative brand strategists 
• Providing ongoing strategic oversight and input for existing clients
• Driving the planning process for new business opportunities and pitching to prospective clients
• Staying up-to-date on industry and cultural news
• Help clients see human problems behind their business challenges, and set the path for how communications can solve the challenge(s) and drive brand growth. 
• Create a strategy and creative brief that not only solves the business challenge but leads to ideas that capture media and consumers attention. In the process you are in charge of guiding research teams and junior support and turning observations and data into actionable strategy. 
• Consult and keep the work on brief and up to standards, as the creative and other teams build out the creative work, ensuring things like measurement and channel plans ladder back to the strategy. 
• Understand and decipher campaign results, and find ways to optimize and continue to build campaigns and equity even after launch. 
• Guide client in yearly planning and goal setting, working with a team to deliver a strategic framework, narrative, and beyond to set the year up for success. 
• Collaborate with agency team members from creative, account, production, technology, PR, strategy, planning and analytics to produce smart, powerful work. 

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.