Job Description
Candidates for this role can be located in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York and Atlanta, but will be expected to be part of the local Edelman office in those regions once office life resumes.Edelman is looking for an Executive Creative Director to help us make remarkable and connected stories that the world wants to talk about. Stories that audiences can help shape, participate in and carry into culture.
Our goal? To create work that becomes part of people’s lives, to drive value for our clients and, in the best of cases, to impact the world. The kind of work you’d be proud to share on LinkedIn, Instagram and, most especially – with your mom. Not just because it contributes to hitting campaign KPIs and drives business growth, but because it’s an undeniably killer idea that can’t be ignored and can be experienced in all shapes and sizes of an entirely reimagined content ecosystem.
In this role you will leverage data, design and digital craft to earn trust and familiarity between clients and their audiences. These experiences happen in a variety of places ranging from digital platforms (ie, websites, bots and mobile apps), to out of home interactive installations (ie, signage and billboards), and mixed reality (ie, AR/VR). It is the express goal of these experiences to engage audiences, build relationships, and inspire action - whether telling a friend, sparking a movement or making a purchase.
We know you are thinking, “isn’t Edelman a PR company?” Sure, public relations is part of who we are, but in recent years we have grown our surrounding departments and evolved into a next generation agency that sits at the intersection of earned, social and advertising.
Edelman has generated some of the industry’s most talked about work, from #TakeOutHate encouraging people to stand against racism by ordering takeout and resulted in a rise in sales for 2,500+ Asian-owned businesses, to ushering the ice cream truck jingle into the 21 st century, all the way to launching the first ever Taco Bell Hotel. The work we create is designed to earn people’s attention and drive action. It’s not enough to be culturally relevant—our briefs demand that we alter culture in a positive way to convey our brand stories.
But enough about us, what about you? You have a track record for leading dynamic teams of story makers and partnering closely with account and specialty leads to drive work from conception to completion, while always raising the bar on creative craft and delivering a cohesive content approach that spans all social and digital touchpoints.
If this sounds like a role you want and place you want to be, we’d love to hear from you.
Responsibilities
- Develop and deliver social and digital first story creative concepts and ideas
- Leverage unique and relevant insights in social behaviors to co-create with various audiences on various platforms
- Develop work that helps bring a brand’s story to life in multiple formats and channels, in ways that differentiates the client from the competition
- Effectively guide and strengthen creative expression for an array of clients in a variety of sectors, including tech, health, lifestyle, cpg, tourism and more.
- Deliver fresh thinking, innovative creative solutions and impactful storytelling
- Identify opportunities to take smart risks and successfully maneuver great ideas forward to execution
- Foster ongoing improvements in creative processes and methodologies
- Lead creative for new business as well as pitch new business in social and digital growth areas
- Lead and direct creative teams across projects in conceptual platform thinking at the brand, campaign and execution level.
- Motivate reluctant clients to embrace better work than requested
- Effectively lead client presentations with strong, clear delivery and a credible point-of-view
- Build a culture of creativity, comradery and accountability, helping to bring out the best of the best of creatives at all levels
- Lead role with clients, with the ability to galvanize and read a room and capture the attention with c-suite executives
- 15+ years of experience, preferably in digital advertising or brand storytelling
- Demonstrated examples of high caliber creative work where you specifically lead the transformation of strategic thinking into best-in-class creative storytelling work; i.e. link to work is required
- An ECD has a lot of responsibility, garnered by many years of experience preparing for this role. Creating new value for businesses and customers requires mastery of many fields and the knowledge to deliver results.
- Ideally a bachelor’s degree in advertising, journalism, design and/or attended portfolio school
- Extensive team leadership experience
- Strong ability to grow client relationships
- Expert design or writing skills and experience
- Advanced presentation/pitching new business experience
- Advanced communication and collaboration skills
- Advanced understanding of content marketing, advertising, and technology
- Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Grounded understanding of the role that PR and social media play in the overall communications marketing mix
For more information please visit: www.edelman.com
Click here to view a short video about life at Edelman.
Employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (i.e., at least 2 weeks after last dose) and, if hired, present proof of vaccination before start date. Candidates may request an accommodation due to disability, sincerely held religious belief or exception required under applicable law.
Edelman is an equal opportunity employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.