Director, Brand at KQED

Creative Boom Ltd.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

KQED seeks a Director, Brand to own brand strategy end to end. Hybrid role in San Francisco, leading a multi-year brand renewal, a major campaign, and the Creative team. You will drive governance of the brand identity and ensure consistency across TV, radio, web, social and events.

You will build the brand team, manage agencies, and work with Product, Editorial and Membership to align on strategy, messaging and audience insights.

Qualifications

• 7 to 10 years in brand strategy or brand management, in-house or agency side

Responsibilities

• Lead brand strategy, narrative and architecture for a long-term renewal.
• Oversee brand campaigns from brief to launch and manage agencies.
• Lead in-house Creative team and ensure consistent brand application across channels.
• Collaborate with Product, Editorial and Membership to express the brand across departments.

Skills

Brand strategy

Campaign leadership

Agency management

Creative leadership

Research usage

Executive communication

Brand governance

Job description

The role

KQED, a Northern California public media non-profit with more than 70 years behind it, is hiring a Director, Brand to own its brand strategy end to end. With audience habits shifting and competition for attention growing, building deeper connections with new and younger audiences is an organisational priority, and brand sits at the centre of that. The post leads a brand renewal, launches KQED's first major brand campaign in over a decade and builds the architecture that carries the brand forward. It also oversees sub-brands across KQED's content properties and experiences and manages the KQED Creative team. It sits in the Audience department and is a temporary role until 31 December 2029, working hybrid between KQED's San Francisco headquarters and home.

Brand strategy and campaign

• Take charge of KQED's brand strategy, including the narrative, identity and architecture meant to steer it over the coming decade
• Run the brand renewal from strategy to rollout: positioning, messaging, governance of the visual identity and a plan that works across departments
• Win support for the brand across the organisation and report on strategy and progress to staff
• Look after the brand architecture and the sub-brands attached to KQED's shows, content and experiences
• Build the brand team: hire a Brand Manager, see the current brand consultant through the handover and manage the agencies working on the renewal and campaign
• Own a multi-year brand campaign from the brief through creative, production and launch
• Plan media and measurement with the Director of Media/Marketing so brand and performance campaigns support each other
• Use research with the insights team, such as focus groups, audience studies and brand lift measurement, to guide decisions

Creative

• Lead the in-house Creative team, which serves departments across KQED, and set its standards for craft and strategic thinking
• See that the renewed brand is applied consistently on TV, radio, web, social, events and elsewhere
• Turn briefs into clear creative direction and put systems in place that help the team work well
• Encourage new formats and approaches so the brand stays current

Cross-functional leadership

• Partner with teams such as Product, Editorial and Membership on how they express the brand
• Lead the cross-departmental work on the renewal and campaign, including steering committees, working groups and organisation-wide communications

About you

• 7 to 10 years in brand strategy or brand management, in-house or agency side, including building or reshaping brands
• A record of leading large integrated campaigns from brief to delivery, including agency management and production
• Experience running several agency relationships at once, covering briefs, budgets, timelines and quality
• Experience working with or managing creative teams, and good judgement about creative work
• Expert in brand strategy and able to articulate it: positioning, narrative, messaging frameworks and governance
• A community-minded approach to brand that invites audiences in
• Able to bring different functions into agreement, including on brand architecture and governance
• Experience using research to shape strategy, including focus groups, audience data and brand lift studies
• Strong at presenting brand ideas to executives and wider audiences

Desired

• A feel for KQED's mission, and for applying commercial rigour in a non-profit
• A feel for the Bay Area and its communities, and for looking after a brand with 70 years of history there
• Product marketing experience
• Experience at a for-profit media, entertainment or experiences company

The details

• Salary: $125,547 – $165,000
• Contract: temporary role until 31 December 2029
• Location: San Francisco; hybrid