Program Director- Audience Based Marketing Job at Wunderman Thompson (DBA VML) i

Job Summary

The ABM Program Director is responsible for leading the day‑to‑day program management of Ford's Audience Based Marketing (ABM) operating model across vehicles and campaigns. This role ensures the ABM workflow runs smoothly from audience discovery through activation, in‑flight optimization, and final performance readouts – coordinating cross‑functional teams across media, creative, strategy, analytics, site/experience, and CRM.

Key Responsibilities

ABM Program Operations & Governance

• Own the ABM operating system (cadence, workstreams, documentation, templates, status reporting) to ensure consistent execution across multiple vehicle teams.


• Stand up and maintain clear roles/responsibilities across stakeholders (strategy, analytics, creative, media/platform, web/experience, CRM, account leads).


• Establish and manage recurring meeting cadences (ABM oversight, channel workstreams, cross‑functional weekly reviews, performance readouts).

Integrated Timeline & Delivery Management (Cross‑Channel)

• Build and maintain the master integrated ABM plan across phases including discovery, audience development, strategy development, end‑to‑end concepting, production, campaign launch, optimization, and analysis.


• Manage dependencies and approvals across teams to ensure channel deliverables ship on time and aligned to audience strategy.


• Track and coordinate delivery across key ABM workstreams (e.g., OLA/display + social “always on,” shopper/ARM video, landing page/site experience, and CRM).

Audience‑First Execution Enablement

• Coordinate development and circulation of audience briefs to replace (or complement) nameplate‑led briefs, ensuring each audience has clear messaging territories, journey considerations, and channel implications.


• Partner with strategy and analytics teams to maintain the learning agenda, test/control design considerations, and measurement framework.


• Ensure audience‑led creative and experience work stays aligned to strategic intent and brand standards across all channels.

In‑Flight Performance Management & Continuous Learning

• Partner with analytics and media/platform teams to manage weekly performance reviews, cross‑channel reporting, and optimization tracking.


• Maintain visibility into KPIs (efficiency, engagement, site actions/hand‑raisers, and other agreed ABM success measures) and ensure actions from performance learnings are implemented.


• Track continuous improvement actions (creative iterations, audience refinements, channel adjustments) and confirm operational follow‑through.

Stakeholder & Partner Management

• Serve as a central point of coordination across Ford stakeholders and agency partners (including media/platform teams, CRM partners, and channel leads).


• Facilitate clear decision‑making by proactively surfacing risks, trade‑offs, resourcing constraints, and timeline impacts.


• Ensure consistent communication and documentation so all teams understand priorities, status, and next steps.

Day‑to‑Day Responsibilities Include

• Managing the ABM master tracker (timelines, dependencies, deliverables, approvals, and risks/issues).


• Scheduling and running key meetings; capturing notes, decisions, and action items and driving items to closure.


• Coordinating cross‑channel asset delivery (briefs, creative routes, trafficking needs, tagging requirements, web/CRM inputs).


• Maintaining clean hand‑offs between phases (e.g., audience strategy, creative concepting, production, launch).


• Creating weekly status reports and leadership‑ready summaries (timeline health, risks, optimization actions, upcoming milestones).


• Supporting process consistency and scalability so ABM can run across multiple vehicle programs without reinventing workflows each time.

Desired Skills and Experiences

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field (or equivalent experience).


• 10–12+ years of program/project management experience in an agency, performance marketing, shopper marketing, or integrated marketing environment.


• Strong experience managing complex, multi‑workstream programs across media, creative, strategy, analytics, web/experience, and CRM.


• Comfortable in client‑facing discussions where priorities, requirements, and deadlines must be negotiated and enforced.


• Excellent organization, documentation, and follow‑through; strong ability to manage ambiguity and evolving inputs.


• Proficiency in PM and reporting tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Word; plus Jira/Smartsheet/Asana/Monday or similar).


• Familiarity with test‑and‑learn approaches, in‑flight optimization workflows, and cross‑channel performance reporting.


• Bonus: experience coordinating CRM partners and/or owned experience teams (web/landing pages, forms, tagging, analytics).

Compensation & Benefits

The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is $75,000 — $180,000 USD. Individual compensation varies based on job‑related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package.

Accommodation & Accessibility

We have adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

EEO Statement

WPP (GTB) is an equal‑opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.