Director, Brand Strategy

INNOCEAN USA, a full-service ad agency located in sunny Huntington Beach, CA, is seeking a full-time Director, Brand Strategy to join our Hyundai team!

We are a hybrid workplace, x2 days week in-office. Candidates MUST be local to SoCal.

SUMMARY

We are looking for a passionate Director, Brand Strategy to join our team and help shape the future of Hyundai, INNOCEAN’s biggest client. In this role, you’ll lead the development of bold, insight-driven strategies that fuel creative ideas, connect with audiences and drive measurable results for the brand and business. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, senior leadership and clients to uncover opportunities, solve complex challenges and ensure the stories we tell build a consistent brand.

This is an exciting time to join a highly ambitious team who’s dedicated to making Hyundai an iconic brand. If you thrive at the intersection of creativity, business and culture and feel motivated by building a brand people can believe in, read on! As a consumer-obsessed strategist, your responsibilities will include commissioning and designing research, uncovering insights from consumer/product/category intel (qual and quant), and crafting briefs and plans across all media channels.

To be successful in this role, you must be a master in simplifying the complex while being an inspiring storyteller. Ultimately, your work will help create relevant, breakthrough marketing that will spearhead Hyundai and its business forward. An understanding and passion for the automotive industry is a big plus.
 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for the strategic success of the Hyundai brand and its products, including EVs, hybrids and other alt-fuel vehicles. Your mission is dedicated to increasing brand awareness, fostering brand love, and shifting brand opinion and consideration.
• Be the champion of the consumer. Learn what makes them tick, what motivates them, and represent them as you develop insight-driven strategies for Hyundai.

• Lead with curiosity to uncover untapped insights through studying culture, researching and analyzing consumer data including demographics/psychographics/behaviors/and motivations.
• Develop powerful, single-minded creative briefs that will inspire creative teams and clients alike.
• Help build go-to-market plans for new vehicles and brand campaigns.
• Develop competitor analysis to inform plans and strategies
• Be a trusted partner to clients. Proving to be an insightful, knowledgeable, and trusted expert on the brand, the audience, and the competitive landscape.

• Assess the performance of the brand and effectiveness of campaigns via brand health and campaign tracking tools
• Analyze market trends and identify new opportunities and challenges
• Keep a finger on the pulse of culture, continually bringing new insights, references, and ways of thinking to the organization

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• 8+ years' experience in Brand Strategy in an ad agency or in combination with in-house creative strategy environment
• Automotive category experience preferred
• Portfolio of brand-building projects is a plus
• Excellent understanding of the full marketing mix
• Proven thought-leader to agency teams and clients
• Insatiable cultural and consumer curiosity
• Data-driven – Proven ability to design, commission, and analyze both qualitative and quantitative research
• A natural partner to creative teams, able to adapt and pivot quickly
• Great storyteller: Top level communication, writing, and presentation skills.

BENEFITS 

• 3 PPO Medical Plans through Anthem to choose from at low cost
• Free Dental and Vision
• 401k - up to 6% match at .70 cents on the dollar
• Wellness reimbursement program
• Company paid short- and long-term disability, and basic life
• Generous PTO
• On-site Barista
• Beautiful campus across from the Pacific Ocean

The salary range for this role is $158,000 - $165,000.  Pay is dependent upon several factors including but not limited to: client, experience, training and/or transferable skills.

Who are we? We are explorers on a mission to reach brands’ full potential. We look out to the edge of the world and ask, "where haven't we been before?" Together, we hunt for an intersection of art and science, creativity bolstered by data. Storytelling layered in strategy. Innovation rich in intelligence. Our adventures are many, our quests, undaunted. Our possibility is as vast as the ocean. Always remembering, the deeper we dive, the greater we become. And the further we go, the more we find.