AVP Brand Communications

Korn Ferry has partnered with our client on their search for AVP Brand Communications

Purpose of the Position

The AVP, Brand Communications will report directly to the Chief Marketing Officer and will be accountable for the entire PR and Communication Plans across all company brands. This individual will be responsible for the development, implementation, and measurement of all brands’ PR & Communications Strategy across all media channels and will ensure that the brand, product messaging, and content across all touchpoints are consistent, coherent, and relevant. The AVP, Brand Communications will work closely with cross-functional teams and oversee the development of industry-leading earned media strategies and innovative brand campaigns.

The AVP, Brand Communications will also develop the Integrated Marketing Communications narrative/storytelling linked to PR, Social, Influencer, Paid Media, events, and Experiential Marketing to drive awareness, engagement, and interest in each Brand to deliver YOY business results. The AVP will also create and ensure operational excellence across all platforms including, but not limited to communications strategy, calendar, KPIs, and measurement that algin with overall business objectives and shared with key stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Essential Tasks, Duties, & Responsibilities

• Accountable for the development, implementation, measurement, and optimization of all Brands’ communications & PR strategy, goals, and tactics.
• Drive the Community Activation strategy of Earned Channels, including driving connection and synergy with paid activations and e-comm to maximize earned coverage.
• Create and review media materials and social media materials, including press releases, media strategies, thought-leadership materials, social messaging, and materials; narrative/message documents; oversee events and editorial calendars; organic and paid social.
• Own Earned Analytics & Reporting – incl. influencer campaign KPI tracking.
• Responsible for Earned Media with full ownership of distribution and budget management.
• Stay current on audiences, cultural trends, social media behaviors, and platform best practices.
• Act as the Point of Contact for Issues & Crisis Management.
• Act as the Point of Contact for PR Agency & local market needs.
• Implement best-in-class event strategy and provide guidance to business.
• Perform other duties as needed and directed by management.

Portfolio/Brand Communications

• Own and lead agency relations, RFPs, SOWs adherence, etc.
• Lead the iteration, execution, and maintenance of portfolio-integrated communications strategy.
• Lead Issue Management for all the brands’ touch points including customer service, legal, R&D, social, eCommerce, and sales.
• Assess, lead, and optimize all communications agency partners - consumer, corporate, and influencers - establish clear and consistent goals and measurement framework.
• Lead each brands’ strategies for earned and paid creator partnerships, ensuring an optimized approach to building an elevated earned media brand presence.
• Ideate and innovate 360 campaign planning with integrated marketing teams to reinforce and strengthen consistent brand image for all Brands.
• Oversee execution of all corporate and brand strategic initiatives, experiences, and partnerships.
• Maximize portfolio brand awareness-building opportunities and drive EMV through product pitching and placement.

Influencer/Social

• Build and strengthen each Brands’ presence amongst the influencer community.
• Drive a scaled community-building approach.
• Own powerhouse influencer relations internally and unlock earned support.
• Develop effective paid influencer strategies that build long-term relations with influencers that in turn unlock earned support.
• Inspire and encourage dream-big thinking with an “earned” mindset.
• Provide a vision and strategy for total brand Influencer & social efforts.
• Manage platform relationships and cross-share key learnings & best practices for Social & paid Influencers.
• Create and implement guidelines and processes for Brand teams to guide influencer/creator selections, paid media, and content.
• Manage and inspire the team, providing creative direction, vision & insights to help shape bigger ideas to support the Brand.
• Maintain pulse on Influencer and Social culture to constantly create innovative and disruptive campaigns.
• Lead the development and launch of key digital/social influencer engagements, from "always on" programs (e.g., box mailings) to launch campaigns (e.g., paid collaborations/partnerships).
• Lead social content strategy and development of native assets with a focus on video, collaborate closely with Creative Studio to ensure alignment with each individual brand’s look and feel.
• Stay abreast and provide updates for leadership on competitive activity, social & influencer trends, and industry best practices.
• Establish and maintain close cross-functional working relationships with internal stakeholders and teams to drive consistent campaign messaging and growth.

Measurement

• Drive a data-led communications approach across all channels.
• Oversee analytics, reporting, and building of dashboards or ways of monitoring to share results on the business.
• Create informative and trackable analytics, reporting mechanism, or other methods to measure business success.
• Deliver monthly business insights, trends, reporting, and action roadmap to leadership and cross-functional partners.

The Candidate

Experience and Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, communications, or equivalent combination of education and experience; master’s degree in business marketing or similar is preferred
• 10 years’ experience working in public relations and communications in the business to consumer sectors is required.
• Proven track record of developing and executing successful public relations campaigns at both local and national levels.
• Experience in acting as a company spokesperson; comfortable and skilled in both broadcast and print media interviews.
• Current and in-depth experience with relevant social media channels and influencer programs.
• Motivated by big-picture thinking and unlocking buzz for brands with earned, owned, and paid support.
• Ability to connect the dots and motivate cross-functional teams to execute effective and engaging campaigns for multiple high-growth products.
• Prior experience with and thorough understanding of creating integrated content across all marketing channels including digital, social media, paid media, and mobile; understand both offline and print.
• Strong creative vision with an understanding of business objectives.
• Ad copywriting skills to communicate ideas to consumers.
• High familiarity and expertise with best SEO practices.
• Ability to think about a brand’s 360° approach from customer acquisition through retention.
• Experience in assessing, partnering, and managing agency partners.
• Strong leadership with capabilities of coaching, mentoring and nurturing a team.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization with strong storytelling and presentation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, organizational, multi-tasking, attentionto detail, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite,with an emphasisin Outlook and Excel.
• Ability to independently organize and prioritize workload to meet deadlines.
• A big picture thinker with the ability to bring those ideas to fruition.
• Demonstrate a high sense of urgency and shows clear bias for action.

Note: The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, but are not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.