Client Experience Lead

ROLE OVERVIEW

ROLE OVERVIEW About Sundial Media & Technology Group (SMTG) Sundial Media & Technology Group (SMTG) is a human connections platform — the signal powered by culture, scaled by technology, and built for community. SMTG connects, elevates, and empowers the most influential consumer segment in the market: HER, the Chief Influence Officer. With over 100 years of community knowledge and insights, SMTG is redefining the media model into a next-generation platform. Powered by proprietary intelligence and AI technology, it activates an ecosystem that scales HER influence and economic power. Its portfolio includes some of the most iconic, purpose-driven brands and experiences shaping culture today—ESSENCE (Girls United, ESSENCE Studios, ESSENCE Festival of Culture®), Refinery29, AFROPUNK, Beautycon™ (including NaturallyCurly), the Global Black Economic Forum, the Academy for Advancing Excellence, and the New Voices Fund. Through storytelling, products, and platforms, SMTG delivers the tools and technology to shape the future of media, commerce, and community—on HER terms.

The Client Experience Lead — Experiential & Activations is a player-coach role responsible for delivering exceptional client outcomes across experiential, branded, and integrated activations. This role owns both execution and client value realization, serving as the bridge between clients, internal teams, and partners — while actively contributing to client growth, retention, and strategic partnership development.

The Client Experience Lead ensures sponsors and partners receive a world-class experience from onboarding through post-event recap, translating client goals into activation strategies that exceed expectations and drive measurable results.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Client Ownership & Relationship Management

•     Serve as the primary point of contact and owner of the client experience, ensuring sponsors feel supported, informed, and valued at every touchpoint throughout the Festival lifecycle.

•     Define success metrics and KPIs in partnership with each client; establish shared expectations for activation outcomes and ROI.

•     Lead regular client check-ins and status communications to surface needs, address concerns, and maintain trust.

•     Monitor client health proactively — identify risks, flag escalations early, and turn challenges into opportunities to deepen the relationship.

•     Build long-term strategic partnerships that position Essence as the premier platform for brand activation.

2. Activation Leadership & Onsite Execution

•     Lead end-to-end experiential execution for assigned sponsor activations across all Festival venues, including the Convention Center and Superdome.

•     Coordinate all on ground Client Experience managers and coordinators, leading team to exceed client success metrics

•     Manage and coordinate all operational elements of each activation, including but not limited to:

◦     Site visits & venue walkthroughs

◦     Booth/activation concept development & CAD against venue specifications

◦     Security plans, Fire Marshall compliance, and crowd control protocols

◦     Hospitality holds, parking allocation, storage, and credentials

◦     COI and third-party vendor forms

◦     Fulfillment vendor tracking and order management

◦     Day-of operations and real-time activation management

•     Oversee live stage integrations for designated sponsors; coordinate with stage managers and production teams to ensure sponsor moments are executed on schedule.

•     Ensure all commercial content (interstitials, Superdome moments) is uploaded, functional, and delivered to the appropriate teams in advance.

•     Travel onsite to New Orleans to personally activate and oversee client programs during the Festival (July 3–5, 2026).

3. Strategic Planning & Client Insights

•     Translate client business goals into activation strategies that drive brand impact, audience engagement, and partnership value.

•     Collaborate with Creative and Insights teams to develop programs that align with sponsor objectives and Essence brand standards.

•     Leverage post-event data, attendee feedback, and activation performance metrics to inform strategy for future programming (e.g., 2027 Event kickoff planning).

•     Contribute to sponsor onboarding documentation, activation playbooks, and best practices that elevate the client experience across the portfolio.

4. Sponsor Hub Management & Stakeholder Communications

•     Maintain and update the Sponsor Hub on a consistent basis, ensuring sponsors have real-time access to:

◦     Key PR announcement dates and event creative assets

◦     Confirmed partner list with category exclusivities

◦     Activation and order forms per venue

◦     Programming overviews and technical specifications by experience

•     Manage All Call sessions (multi-sponsor online meeting series), coordinating across the following phases:

◦     Phase I: Campus Review, Safety Guidelines & Security, Activation Regulations, Exhibitor Services

◦     Phase II: Security Review, Credentials, and Talent Movement

◦     Phase III: Content Capture Guidelines, Commercial Guidelines, Programming Overview & Technical Specifications

•     Partner with internal stakeholders to develop and distribute All Call decks; upload finalized versions to the Sponsor Hub post-meeting.

•     Provide real-time updates to Activations and relevant departments regarding sponsor participation changes, deliverable revisions, or program modifications.

5. Cross-Functional Leadership in Support of Client Experience

•     Coordinate seamlessly across Sales, Creative, Operations, and Insights teams to ensure a unified and consistent client experience.

•     Collaborate with the VP of Sales Activation on day-to-day operations and strategic escalations.

•     Partner with the Experiential Operations team and production departments to align execution plans with venue capabilities and timelines.

•     Work with the photo and video teams to oversee the Sponsor Photo Plan and coordinate photo delivery for client recaps.

6. Governance, SLAs & Escalation Management

•     Enforce SLAs, activation timelines, and approval processes to ensure all deliverables are met on schedule.

•     Maintain organized, audit-ready documentation for all sponsor agreements, vendor contracts, and activation protocols.

•     Identify and escalate issues in real time during the Festival period; maintain a solutions-first posture with clients and internal teams.

•     Ensure all scope changes are documented and formally approved; verbal or informal directives do not constitute binding amendments.

7. Reporting & Performance Insights

•     Deliver daily flash reports during the Festival (July 3–5, 2026) capturing highlights, sponsor performance, attendee engagement, issues resolved, and photo documentation.

•     Submit a comprehensive post-event recap report by July 17, 2026, including highlights, best practices, recommendations, and learnings.

•     Complete internal recap meetings, submit role process flows and templates (as applicable), and deliver a Services Assessment (what worked well, areas for improvement, observations) by July 31, 2026.

KEY DELIVERABLES

Deliverable

Description

Activation Plans

End-to-end activation blueprints per sponsor, inclusive of venue logistics, compliance, and stakeholder sign-offs

Client Onboarding Docs

Customized onboarding packages that orient sponsors to Festival protocols, timelines, key contacts, and Sponsor Hub resources

Daily Flash Reports

Real-time event summaries covering sponsor highlights, issues resolved, attendee engagement, and visual documentation (July 2–7)

Post-Event Recap Report

Comprehensive recap including highlights, performance against KPIs, best practices, and strategic recommendations (due July 17, 2026)

Services Assessment

Internal assessment of execution quality, process improvements, and lessons learned; submitted with process flows and templates (due July 31, 2026)