Director, Brand Strategy: Partnerships, Experiential, Culture & Entertainment
A laugh. A tear. A heart skipping a beat. A human reaction to something completely unexpected. This is what drives us. It’s also the inspiration for our name, an elevated blood pressure, since you ask.
As a growing strategy team within the global powerhouse of 160over90, we take the mantle of digging deep into the cultural currents of what people most care about today and tomorrow; attaching a brand to the right and relevant insights… and guiding the way ideas come to life across every part of the marketing spectrum.
Who You Are
First and foremost, you’re serially curious about brands, people and the world around us. You’re plugged into culture, interested and inspired by the now and next. Simply put, you love to ask and understand why. You appreciate the value of others. You inspire creative teams and nurture teams of strategists. Your intellectual curiosity keeps you at the forefront of cultural and category dynamics. Your emotional intelligence lets you question and understand consumer behavior. You collaborate closely with internal creative, account, and project management teams. You bring confidence, gravitas, and a way with words that means clients listen.
Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day strategic work across priority accounts, serving as a trusted partner to senior brand leaders and supporting VP+ leadership in C-suite engagement—particularly across partnerships, experiential platforms, and entertainment-driven growth.
- Drive strategy at the intersection of brands, talent, and rights-holders, collaborating closely with creative, partnerships, and WME counterparts to develop culturally resonant, commercially sound platforms that extend beyond campaigns into ecosystems.
- Develop strategic approaches to partnerships and experiential marketing, including sponsorship strategy, brand‑talent collaborations, live experiences, cultural moments, and IP‑led activations.
- Play a key role in business development (new and organic), contributing to and sometimes leading strategic thinking for pitches and growth opportunities.
- Ensure strategic rigor from insight through execution, translating cultural intelligence, audience understanding, and brand POVs into clear creative territories, experience design principles, and activation roadmaps.
- Contribute to entertainment‑adjacent strategy across film, television, music, sports, fashion, and creator ecosystems—helping brands navigate how (and when) to authentically participate in culture.
- Partner closely with Account and Operations teams to deliver strategically grounded work, balancing ambition with feasibility and helping teams navigate complexity, scope, and evolving client needs.
- Manage and mentor strategists and junior team members, while contributing to the growth and development of the broader Strategy team.
- Contribute to the evolution of the agency’s strategic product and frameworks, especially supporting non‑traditional marketing models and partnership‑led growth.
- Participate in external thought leadership opportunities as appropriate, contributing to 160over90’s voice in culture‑driven strategy.
- Act as a strong cross‑functional leader, helping solve complex challenges, build alignment across teams, and move the work forward with limited oversight.
- Serve as an active in‑office presence, collaborating with cross‑functional leads to foster culture, mentor talent, and contribute to team success.
Skills and Experience
- 8–10 years of strategy experience across creative, cultural, or specialist agencies (experiential, partnerships, PR, digital), brand‑side, or a combination of both.
- Demonstrated leadership experience (2–4 years) leading workstreams, projects, and small‑to‑mid‑sized teams across a range of clients.
- A strong track record of developing effective strategy—ideas that translate across channels and drive meaningful business and cultural impact.
- Exceptional storyteller and presenter, with the ability to craft clear, compelling narratives and contribute to selling “the thinking” to senior clients.
- Fluent in core strategy frameworks, with a hands‑on approach—comfortable both shaping the thinking and building the work.
- Experience contributing to and supporting new business efforts, helping to grow accounts and identify opportunities for expansion.
- Strong collaborator across disciplines, with the ability to navigate stakeholders and build productive relationships within a complex organization.
- Proven ability to manage and mentor junior talent, fostering growth, craft, and confidence within the team.
- Entrepreneurial mindset, adaptable to evolving ways of working and motivated to push the work—and the agency—forward.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate a clear POV and bring others along.
- Strong strategic instincts grounded in curiosity, empathy, and cultural awareness.
- Experience working with research and insights, with the ability to leverage tools and translate findings into actionable strategy.
How we work
WME Group is at the center of sports, media, entertainment, and fashion and is a largely relationship‑based business. To foster an environment of collaboration, develop our future talent, and build on relationships across leadership, peers, and teams, we work from the office 4 days per week.
Compensation
Hiring Rate Minimum: $120,000 annually (minimum will not fall below the applicable state/local minimum salary thresholds). Hiring Rate Maximum: $160,000 annually.
160over90 is a global marketing agency that works with leading brands such as AB InBev, Amazon, Coca-Cola, DP World, Macy’s, Marriott International, McDonald’s, Verizon, and Visa.
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