Account Director, Experiential

The Account Director, Experiential in Chicago, IL will ensure our clients receive superior service while motivating a team of professionals to achieve sustainable results. Our ideal candidate is a demonstrated leader that understands how to drive strategy across the holistic consumer journey but focusing in the event marketing landscape (e.g. events, mobile tours, grassroots, field marketing, large productions, etc.), ultimately to drive conversion. This leader will be responsible for engagement across a large client and should have a proven success rate of increasing growth and profitability across multiple accounts, while leading a team of several individuals and varying talents.

The best candidate for the Account Director - Experiential position must have direct experience in the experiential marketing industry, but also knowledge of delivering digital, mobile and social elements within this landscape. They will also help to deliver the value of our creative work, measurement of programs and drive business results through analytics. Our desired candidate is a trusted and highly collaborative thought leader that can work cross-functionally in a large network organization with a variety of people and work styles.

Responsibilities

Account Management

• Manage activity with account team
• Provide strategic leadership for brand clients to the respective verticals and channels
• Partners with Strategy & Creative team to ensure all needs are delivered correctly
• Become an expert in our client’s competitive landscape, providing POV for the client on best in class, and additional learnings
• Ensure briefs are received from clients that clearly deliver timing, expectations and budgets
• Align expectations and monitor team’s workflow
• Provide critical day-to-day supervision
• Identify and suggest Training/Development needs
• Provide ongoing performance feedback and empower team members
• Manage the collective experiential process
• From brief, to strategy, to creative, to production to activation and everything in between
• Manage the creative process
• In conjunction with the strategy team, brief the creative team either personally or through close oversight of account managers, reviewing deliverables and comp materials
• Work with team in the development of concepts and supporting tactics
• Responsible for developing scopes of work with clients
• Lead development of proposal/deck presentations
• High-level thinking
• Work with managers to maintain high standards and push forward key insights and ideas
• Identify opportunities for incremental business
• Consistently provide added-value ideas

Client Service

• Provide support to Leadership on effectively managing high-level clients
• Build relationships up through our client organization at senior levels
• Work with Leadership to contribute ideas effectively for client business plans

Production

• Strong understanding of producing various size events, types of materials, fabrication of elements, cost perimeters and production timelines
• Work across several vendors in conjunction with the Production team to deliver the best work, but drive efficiencies within client budgets

Finance Management

• Manage revenue and forecast projections
• Manage resources to ensure client profitability
• Work with Leadership for overall staffing/resource allocation
• Manage client billing and financial status reports at a higher level

Strategic Thought Leadership

• Work with Leadership to guide upfront planning process
• Partner with strategic planning and creative teams for concept development
• Work with Leadership to develop measurement criteria for all projects, holding appropriate team accountable for results

And All Along the Way

• Always conduct oneself in a professional manner, focused on the success of the team and agency
• As a manager and rising agency leader, a clear and consistent management style will ultimately help your team below as well as above
• Maintain control and steer all conversations toward successful resolution of issues
• Include your manager to help mentor cross-functionally, as you have visibility to the wider team

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Communication, Marketing, Advertising or similar
• Enthusiasm for the promotions/experiential/advertising/retail marketing fields
• 12+ years of experiential/event marketing within a client or agency environment
• Experience in the airline and hospitality industries a plus
• Excellent management skills, with the proven experience to lead a team and client with confidence and magnetic, intelligent, strategic leadership
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Team player who is positive and upbeat with high potential for coaching and mentoring