Freelance, VP, Media Strategy

Business Overview 

If you are looking for a people-first organization that can offer you the career you crave, UM is your home. We are the destination of choice for the world’s best talent, where every individual is empowered to unleash their limitless potential and do the best work of their careers.  

We are always searching for passionate team members who love media and live and breathe our core values of Curiosity, Courage, and Community. We seek out those who aren’t afraid to ask the tough questions, are excited to explore the nuances, and are hungry for personal growth and continuous learning. People who thrive at UM are collaborators by nature who pursue diverse perspectives because they understand that true innovation is driven by inclusivity. As a people-first agency, we provide the information, tools and technology, career development, and empowerment our people need to realize their potential and achieve their career ambitions.   

A global media network within the IPG Mediabrands family, UM operates in over 100 countries, with 3,000+ people innovating on a roster of powerful brands and our client campaigns have been recognized by the industry’s most competitive global showcases like Cannes Lions, Festival of Media Global, and WARC.   

As a result of our people-first commitment, UM has been celebrated as a FORTUNE Best Workplace in Advertising & Marketing in the US, a Campaign Best Place to Work in EMEA, a Campaign Asia Diverse & Inclusive Workplace in APAC, a top 3 agency in LATAM by The Effies, and ranked the number one agency in both Canada and MENAT by RECMA. 

Position Summary

We seek an experienced communications strategist for a temporary, 16 week contract who will be charged with architecting powerful end-to-end experiences on the iconic American Express brand.

This individual will collaborate with multiple stakeholders—including connections clients, partner agencies and internal teams (planning, business analytics, investment and content studios)—to develop fully integrated, purposeful interactions between their brands and high value audiences that deliver meaningful value exchange, foster long term relationships, and drive brand consideration.

The ideal candidate will take pride in, and excel at, outsmarting any challenge.  Like any effective strategist, they will be a beacon of clarity and simplicity wherever and whenever complexity threatens.

Responsibilities

Identifying Insights

• Maintain understanding of each brand’s business, high value audiences, and category
• Be relentlessly people-first while listening for, identifying, and articulating insights within culture, community and commerce
• Analyze, synthesize and apply research into plans 

Strategy and Idea Development

• Lead development of strategic planning approach
• Craft communications overviews that distill strategy using an end-to-end sensibility across OESP touchpoints
• Including challenge, insights, audience goals, barriers, drivers, comms tasks, moments and roles of channels
• Collaborate in the creation, selling and execution of activation ideas
• Design and facilitate/participate in ideation sessions with integrated team
• Craft expression and execution of the idea in collaboration with Studio, planning team, investment, and media partners
• Assist in both crafting RFPs that reflect created ideas, and evaluating/shaping partner submissions
• Partner with planning and investment teams to effectively pull-through strategy into plan’s ideas and tactics

Persuasive Storytelling

• Package insights, strategy, and activation ideas for simplicity and clarity
• Apply compelling selling approaches

Collaboration 

• Develop effective and inspiring working relationships within agency team and with senior AMEX clients
• Drive thought leadership within the team
• Collaborate across AMEX partner agencies via an Integrated Agency Team model

 Leadership

• Reflect UM values of courage, candor, curiosity, commitment, community and caring
• Work to maintain a can-do, achieve-anything attitude across the integrated team

Required Skills & Experience

• Enthusiastic consumer of, and curiosity about, pop culture and the ever-changing media landscape
• Proven multi-cultural experience or sensibility
• Demonstrated creativity with a strong desire to create and execute bold, edgy ideas
• Consumer-first mentality
• Independent, efficient and prospers in fast paced environment
• Excellent strategic thinking, with ability to simplify the complex and focus on those essentials that matters most
• Persuasive with outstanding written and oral communication skills
• Outstanding client relationship skills, including experience interacting and presenting to senior-level clients
• Experience working across multiple agencies and disciplines to achieve holistic communications planning
• Comfortable with pulling, analyzing and applying data to support their recommendations
• Fully conversant with all major desktop research tools and qualitative research techniques
• Experience and comfort facilitating ideation sessions

We See You  

At IPG Mediabrands, we are unified behind a commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging. Together, we shine through a set of shared values and behaviors. We take pride in our responsibility to our clients, communities, and to each other. We embrace differences and recognize the unique value that each of us brings to our community.  

We encourage you to apply, as unique backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences are welcomed.   

We See You at IPG Mediabrands. 

Wage and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $90-100/hour.   

Employment Transparency

It is the policy of Mediabrands, division of the Interpublic group, to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, veteran status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. 

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

The employer will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. The job description will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity. Essential and other job functions are subject to modification. Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  

For applicants to jobs in the United States: In compliance with the current Americans with Disabilities Act and state and local laws, if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation to apply for a position with Mediabrands, please email [email protected].

About IPG Mediabrands 

IPG Mediabrands is the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). IPG Mediabrands manages over $47 billion in marketing investment globally on behalf of its clients across its full-service agency networks UM, Initiative and Mediahub and through its award-winning specialty business units Healix, Kinesso, MAGNA, Mediabrands Content Studio, Orion Holdings, Rapport, and the IPG Media Lab. IPG Mediabrands clients include many of the world’s most recognizable and iconic brands from a broad portfolio of industry sectors including automotive, personal finance, consumer product goods (CPG), pharma, health and wellness, entertainment, financial services, energy, toys and gaming, direct to consumer and e-commerce, retail, hospitality, food and beverage, fashion and beauty. The company employs more than 18,000 diverse marketing communication professionals in more than 130 countries. Learn more at www.ipgmediabrands.com.