Senior Brand Strategist

twentysix; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 93,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

AKQA Copenhagen studio is seeking a senior brand strategist to shape brand futures, lead activation concepts, and translate research into compelling, measurable brand and campaign work. You will drive strategy across brand, campaign, and experience with senior stakeholders and creative partners in a hybrid, in-office setting.

You’ll dissect market shifts, craft differentiated positions, and own the narrative from foundational work to activation.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years in brand, marketing, or creative strategy.
• Agency background preferred; consultancy or client-side experience valued.
• Proven ability to translate market shifts into strategic brand ideas.
• Strong evidence-based reasoning and communication.
• Fluency in brand architecture, positioning, and performance measurement.
• Curiosity about culture, technology, and behaviour.

Responsibilities

• Define brand futures: Lead brand platforms, positioning, and narrative frameworks; uncover differentiated positions; show how brands can shape culture, not just respond to it.
• Develop activation strategy: Turn insight into sharp creative concepts; define audience insights and communication territories; craft briefs that inspire breakthrough creative work and campaigns.
• Collaborate on creative: Partner with creative teams to develop ideas rooted in strategy; ensure work ladders back to brand strategy while pushing creative boundaries.
• Build the case: Ground strategies in research and evidence; translate them into measurable business value; craft narratives that build client confidence.
• Lead in the room: Present recommendations to senior stakeholders; facilitate workshops; be a trusted strategic voice with clients and creative partners.
• Collaborate across disciplines: Work with creatives, designers, technologists, and experience strategists; contribute to new business and pitches across categories.

Skills

Brand strategy

Market analysis

Creative storytelling

Stakeholder presentation

Workshop facilitation

Cross-functional collaboration

Brand architecture

Job description

At AKQA (part of WPP), we help ambitious companies navigate shifting markets and culture, define better futures, and build brands that pioneer, not just compete. We work at the intersection of technology, storytelling, and design, turning brand into strategic advantage.

We're looking for a senior brand strategist who can combine strategic rigour with creative imagination to join our Copenhagen studio. Someone who can dissect market and cultural shifts, identify compelling positions, and translate them into creative brand ideas that resonate and perform.

The role

As a brand strategist, you’ll operate across brand, campaign, and experience, leading the translation of client challenges into strategies that are both rigorous and creatively compelling. You’ll own strategic direction from foundational brand work through to creative activation, championing value-driven thinking.

What you’ll do

• Define brand futures: Lead brand platforms, positioning, and narrative frameworks; uncover differentiated positions; show how brands can shape culture, not just respond to it.

• Develop activation strategy: Turn insight into sharp creative concepts; define audience insights and communication territories; craft briefs that inspire breakthrough creative work and campaigns.

• Collaborate on creative: Partner with creative teams to develop ideas rooted in strategy; ensure work ladders back to brand strategy while pushing creative boundaries.

• Build the case: Ground strategies in research and evidence; translate them into measurable business value; craft narratives that build client confidence.

• Lead in the room: Present recommendations to senior stakeholders; facilitate workshops; be a trusted strategic voice with clients and creative partners.

• Collaborate across disciplines: Work with creatives, designers, technologists, and experience strategists; contribute to new business and pitches across categories.

Who you probably are

• 5-7+ years in brand, marketing, or creative strategy, with experience across both brand-building and campaign activation

• Agency background preferred; consultancy or client-side brand experience also valued

• Past work showing both strategic depth and creative ambition

• Skilled at dissecting complexity and building evidence-based, precisely communicated arguments

• Fluent in brand architecture, positioning, and performance measurement

• Creatively curious and drawn to innovation thinking, able to translate insight into concepts that are simple, memorable, and ownable

• Someone who sees brand as a business value driver, questions assumptions, and stays genuinely curious about culture, technology, and behaviour

Explore our extensive range of benefits here.

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we've adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company - powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.