Associate Director, Brand Experience Strategy

dentsu; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 114,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Vision Insurance

Dental Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

401k

Flexible Paid Time Off

At least 15 paid holidays

Paid sick leave

Parental leave

Job summary

Executive-level Brand Strategy opportunity at Dentsu Creative in New York. You will lead day-to-day strategy for assigned accounts, turning insights into go-to-market programs across spirits, beverage, and retail spaces.

The role emphasizes proactive leadership, collaboration, and the ability to translate data into compelling brand narratives. Ideal candidates have 6+ years in integrated brand strategy, plus experience in experiential or retail strategy, and comfort with AI tools to speed

Qualifications

• 6+ years developing integrated brand strategies, with at least 2 years in experiential, events, shopper or retail-strategy (or equivalent)
• Experience in the spirits/alcoholic beverage category preferred; experience in other beverage or CPG categories will also be considered
• Acts as a catalyst to creative, media, data, account and other brand teams in finding new ways to add value to brand experiences and identifying future opportunities
• Demonstrates the maturity and leadership to be a key player on a collaborative, multi-disciplinary cross-agency team
• Demonstrates proficiency in using and translating all types of data into insights that drive creative thinking and client growth
• Proactively seeks out opportunities to make the work better in a collaborative way
• Has a passion for solving problems and is comfortable using AI as a tool to work faster and sharpen thinking
• Builds strong relationships with middle-level marketing clients and earns their trust and respect
• Mentors and develops strategists, and demonstrates and fosters a collaborative work environment in which ideas flourish

Responsibilities

• Help turn brand experience visions it into actionable strategies, points of view, experiential programs, and go-to-market plans for assigned brands
• Sharpen strategic thinking by bringing forward evidence-based ideas for client conversations
• Lead day-to-day strategy on assigned accounts, projects, and deliverables with minimal oversight
• Can turn research, data, and observation into clear points of view on where and how brands should show up
• Represent the strategy voice alongside the whole strategy team in internal and client reviews

Skills

Integrated brand strategies

Experiential/retail strategy

Data-driven insights

Collaboration across teams

Proactive leadership

Creative thinking

AI in workflow

Client relationship management

Job description

Job Description:

About Dentsu Creative

Business-Driven and Creatively Obsessed. We are dedicated to helping our clients achieve growth. We understand the challenge of standing out in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We recognize that experiences are becoming indistinguishable across industries, and new technologies can both enable creativity and risk commoditization. In this context, the need for a distinct competitive edge is crucial. We believe that embracing creativity is key for sustainable business growth. However, the conventional definition of creativity will not suffice. Our view on creativity goes beyond norms; it’s not just how we execute, but a mindset that permeates our organization and our clients’ businesses.

We call it Transformative Creativity. It’s outcome-focused creativity unleashed to solve business problems. This unique brand of creativity sets us apart and drives our clients to success.

About Our Strategists

We’re Proactive Leaders. Great strategists are proactive and take the initiative to lead teams and clients with new ideas and provocative thoughts. We get ahead of the ask, anticipating the next step and setting the agenda with the energy and optimism it takes to ensure that our work is fresh, our clients feel our partnership, and the team stays ahead of the curve and delivers exceptional ideas.

We Challenge the Status Quo. Our strategists take pride in challenging the status quo, always seeking fresh angles and leading with innovative ideas. We push past right, to find what is interesting. We challenge assumptions. We generate the energy and enthusiasm needed to help our teams and clients find the next level in an ever-evolving world, embodying a challenger mindset.

We’re Makers and Doers. At every level, from CSO to junior planner, our strategists are makers who take pride in creating things, not just managing projects. We hold ourselves to a high standard of creation, putting hands on keyboards and turning ideas into tangible outputs, fostering a culture of hands-on involvement and tangible creativity that make ideas in our heads a reality in the world.

We Cherish a Growth Mindset. We value and fuel a growth mindset, encouraging our strategists to be their best and embrace feedback that challenges their thinking and actions. Our culture is hard on the work but kind to our people, recognizing that personal growth is key to our agency’s success.

We’re Radical Collaborators. We are radically collaborative, working fluidly across teams and skill sets with the outcome in mind, not personal egos. Our strategists know that together we are stronger, actively seeking others’ input to solve problems and elevate the work, fostering a culture of collective excellence.

Role Overview

As Associate Director, Brand Experience Strategy, you will report to the VP, Brand Experience Strategy. You will join a team of smart, creative strategists shaping how spirits, alcohol, and non-alcohol brands come to life across retail, restaurant and bar, entertainment, digital, social, experiential and trade. You lead day-to-day strategy on assigned accounts, keep pulse on leading market and consumer trends, turn insight into go-to-market plans, and partner closely with Account, Creative and Analytics teams to make sure great strategy becomes great work in market.

• Help turn brand experience visions it into actionable strategies, points of view, experiential programs, and go-to-market plans for assigned brands

• Sharpen strategic thinking by bringing forward evidence-based ideas for client conversations

• Lead day-to-day strategy on assigned accounts, projects, and deliverables with minimal oversight

• Can turn research, data, and observation into clear points of view on where and how brands should show up

• Represent the strategy voice alongside the whole strategy team in internal and client reviews

Qualifications

• 6+ years developing integrated brand strategies, with at least 2 years in experiential, events, shopper or retail-strategy (or equivalent)

• Experience in the spirits/alcoholic beverage category preferred; experience in other beverage or CPG categories will also be considered

• Acts as a catalyst to creative, media, data, account and other brand teams in finding new ways to add value to brand experiences and identifying future opportunities

• Demonstrates the maturity and leadership to be a key player on a collaborative, multi-disciplinary cross-agency team

• Demonstrates proficiency in using and translating all types of data into insights that drive creative thinking and client growth

• Proactively seeks out opportunities to make the work better in a collaborative way

• Has a passion for solving problems and is comfortable using AI as a tool to work faster and sharpen thinking

• Builds strong relationships with middle-level marketing clients and earns their trust and respect

• Mentors and develops strategists, and demonstrates and fosters a collaborative work environment in which ideas flourish

Joining Our Creative Community

We aspire to be the most integrated network in the world for a lot of reasons. A big one is to make sure people always have your back. We don’t want talent to be islands at Dentsu Creative. We want this to be the place where you can do the work of your life while having a life. This means offering an inclusive culture that embraces individual ways of working - a culture that values compensating employees for their contributions in a multitude of ways. For everything we ask of our people to do right by our clients and creative standards, we commit to giving back equally in investing in your unique career aspirations and learning and development needs. Seeing and celebrating our people is where we find joy. When you are a part of our creative network, you get an all-access pass to our global playground. There’s a purposeful, flexible infrastructure for you to jump toward initiatives that excite you in partnership with specialists in entertainment, experience, data, earned attention and more. Your voice and unique lived experience are beyond valued. We want you to be loud, raise your hand and leave your imprint on how we continue building our creative culture while shaping what the very future of creativity can be. So, why not choose your own adventure? Let us be your springboard.

Additional Information

At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we’re connected. Our way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Employees who live within a commutable distance of one of our hub offices, currently located in Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City, are required and expected to work from the office three days per week (two days per week for employees based in Los Angeles). Dentsu may designate other Hub offices at any time. Those who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect our employees to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office.

The annual salary range for this position is $114,425 - $130,000. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefits available with this position include:

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance,

• Life insurance,

• Short-term and long-term disability insurance,

• 401k,

• Flexible paid time off,

• At least 15 paid holidays per year,

• Paid sick and safe leave, and

• Paid parental leave.

Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For further details regarding Dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com.

Location:

New York

Brand:

Dentsu Creative

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent

Dentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color, national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Dentsu is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to, among others, individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to search and apply for a career opportunity with us, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] by contacting us to let us know the nature of your accommodation request and your contact information. We are here to support you.