VP Strategy Director

McCann; New York (NY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

McCann XBC seeks a Brand Strategy Director with deep expertise in social-first brand building for luxury and affluent audiences. This senior role leads brand and cultural strategy across Mastercard initiatives, translating social behavior into strategic opportunities.

The ideal candidate drives integrated campaigns, guides creative development, and delivers measurable business impact with senior clients in New York City.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in brand strategy and social strategy within an agency, consultancy or luxury brand.
• Proven experience leading strategy for luxury, affluent, or premium-positioned brands.
• Strong understanding of social platforms, creator ecosystems, and evolving digital culture.
• Demonstrated ability to connect brand storytelling with measurable business outcomes.
• Experience managing senior-level client relationships and presenting to executive stakeholders.
• Strong portfolio of strategic thinking across integrated campaigns, brand platforms, and social initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of integrated brand strategies towards affluent and luxury-focused audiences.
• Create strategic frameworks, audience architectures, messaging platforms, and go-to-market strategies.
• Translate business objectives into culturally relevant and commercially effective brand initiatives.
• Develop social-first strategic frameworks across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more.
• Lead senior-level client workshops, brand audits and insight presentations.
• Partner with creative, media, PR, influencer, and production teams to ensure alignment.

Skills

Brand strategy

Social strategy

Executive communication

Leadership

Affluent luxury

Strategic thinking

Job description

Agency

McCann

Job Function

Strategy and Planning

Job Subfunction

Strategy

Job Description

VP, Brand Strategy Director

Location: New York City

Department: XBC Strategy

Reports To: Liron Reznik, EVP, Head of Strategy NA, McCann XBC

About The Role

McCann XBC - the agency unit dedicated to serving the Mastercard account - is seeking a Brand Strategy Director with deep expertise in modern-day social-first brand building and a strong track record working with luxury, premium, and affluent audiences and brands. This role sits at the intersection of brand strategy, cultural intelligence, social storytelling, and business growth.

The ideal candidate understands the inner workings of growing a brand in an affluent audience space, and how luxury brands must evolve in a socially driven landscape. They are equally comfortable shaping long-term brand strategy efforts, leading integrated campaigns, guiding creative development, and translating social behavior into actionable strategic opportunities.

This person will serve as a senior strategic lead across key client initiatives, helping build cultural relevance, emotional resonance, and measurable business impact across social ecosystems for Mastercard.

Key Responsibilities

Brand & Business Strategy

• Lead development of integrated brand strategies towards affluent and luxury-focused audiences that are a key target group for Mastercard to perform well with. Develop a strong understanding of affluent passion areas and opportunities within across travel, wellness, music, sports and other premium lifestyle categories.
• Create clear strategic frameworks, audience architectures, messaging platforms, and go-to-market strategies.
• Translate business objectives into culturally relevant and commercially effective brand initiatives.
• Identify whitespace opportunities, emerging consumer behaviors, and evolving luxury trends.

Social & Cultural Strategy

• Develop social-first strategic frameworks that align the Mastercard brand with platform behavior and audience expectations.
• Lead social ecosystem planning across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, emerging platforms, and private/community-driven channels.
• Shape creator, influencer, partnership, and community strategies that feel premium, authentic, and brand-right.
• Guide content strategies that balance aspiration, exclusivity, storytelling, and engagement.
• Apply social listening, trend analysis, and cultural intelligence to strategic recommendations.

Client Leadership

• Serve as a senior strategic advisor to executive-level clients and marketing leadership teams.
• Lead strategic workshops, brand audits and insight presentations.
• Build trusted client relationships through thoughtful leadership, clear communication, and proactive problem solving.
• Present strategic recommendations with executive presence and persuasive storytelling.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with creative, business leadership, media, PR, influencer, experiential, and production teams to ensure strategic alignment.
• Inspire creative teams through compelling briefs, cultural insights, and clear strategic direction.
• Support agency thought leadership.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• 8+ years of experience in brand strategy and social strategy within an agency, consultancy or luxury brand.
• Proven experience leading strategy for luxury, affluent, or premium-positioned brands.
• Strong understanding of social platforms, creator ecosystems, and evolving digital culture.
• Demonstrated ability to connect brand storytelling with measurable business outcomes.
• Experience managing senior-level client relationships and presenting to executive stakeholders.
• Strong portfolio of strategic thinking across integrated campaigns, brand platforms, and social initiatives.

Preferred Background

• Experience in luxury retail, travel or other premium lifestyle sectors.
• Familiarity with affluent audience segmentation, luxury consumer behavior, and cultural trend forecasting.
• Experience with social listening and analytics platforms.
• Understanding of paid social, performance metrics, and integrated media strategy.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and brand vision
• Deep social and cultural fluency
• Executive communication and storytelling
• Affluent / Luxury consumer understanding
• Creative collaboration
• Insight development and synthesis
• Leadership and team contributor
• Curiosity, taste, and trend awareness
• Ability to balance data with intuition

What Success Looks Like

• Builds breakthrough strategic platforms that elevate Mastercard’s premium credentials, culturally and commercially.
• Helps clients navigate the evolving role of social in affluent / luxury brand building.
• Inspires high-performing creative and strategy teams.
• Creates measurable impact across brand metrics, engagement, and business growth.
• Becomes a trusted voice in affluent / luxury and social-led strategy.

170K - 200K

Office Attendance Policy

Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager. Our objective is to increase this requirement over time, and many of our agencies as well as Omnicom’s corporate group already require five days of in-office attendance.

Recruitment Privacy Notice

Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: https://www.omc.com/privacy-notice

For US Job Seekers

It is the policy of Omnicom and any of its affiliates to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. EOE/AA/M/D/V/F.

170K - 200K