Insights Director
Overview:
At Wray Ward (WW), the Insights Director (ID) is a client-facing marketing communications strategy leader who partners with our Client Engagement team to drive better performing work by helping client brands make better business-driving marketing decisions through analyzing the marketplace, identifying opportunities and providing inspiring brand and audience insights.
The ID owns Discovery, Insights and Strategic Planning by originating and guiding the agency’s strategic planning and discovery deliverables and employing a breadth of tools and resources. The ID is also an active participant in WW client brand teams leading strategy behind creative solutions and the measurements that gauge performance.
Essential duties and responsibilities:
• Lead brand positioning strategy and brand equity framework development.
• Lead Strategic Drills and strategy workshops and conduct stakeholder interviews.
• Work as a fully integrated member of WW brand teams with the Client Engagement team.
• Provide leadership and guidance for WW brand team members on branding initiatives.
• Develop accurate and insightful conclusions from research data and present strategy and direction to the client.
• Provide a strategic framework for measurement and work with Measurement Director and Client Business Directors to interpret and leverage measurement insights that perpetuate better performing work.
• Work closely with the Business Development team on new business efforts and proposals that focus on or include Discovery/Insights/Strategy as deliverables.
Lead Strategic Planning/Insights/Discovery deliverables including the following
• Monitor market, economic, cultural and social trends relevant to the home and building category and clients’ businesses and interpret their impact on audience attitudes, behavior and perceptions, using a variety of market and research data
• Analyze data detail, such as demographics, socioeconomics and the market, for the client’s brands along with information such as brand equity, market share and competitive analysis to achieve a comprehensive background that will foster the marketing communications strategy
• Identify when primary research is needed and commission and manage research as required to support brand positioning and marketing communications strategy using both qualitative and quantitative methods as appropriate, providing primary research providers with clear specifications for relevant, actionable research
• Identify the role for marketing communications in solving the business problem
• Recommend marketing communications strategy with marketplace discovery research/analysis and comprehensive brand landscape assessments
• Develop consumer segmentation and personas
• Craft and develop customer experience/journey with experience briefs and experience maps that provide clear persuasive guidance and direction to brand team
Partner with Client Business Directors to
• Provide the team with a clearly defined brief that contains concise information on the brand, audience and strategy, enabling them to develop creative solutions applied to a variety of effective media channels o Provide information and actively participate with and support the brand team during annual planning.
• Share relevant news and information that informs or impacts clients’ knowledge base and strategy.
• Provide support during Ideation and Activation and then assume leadership again, in partnership with Measurement Director, for post-campaign evaluation/measurement and future planning.
• Actively seek out new information resources to expand the agency’s home and building category expertise in support of Discovery, planning and ongoing client relationship support.
• Partner with the Director of Insights in proactively seeking ways to enhance the Insights portfolio of tools, services and deliverables to support Client Engagement, Creative and Connections teams in the development of better performing work.
Additional responsibilities as a member of the Insights Team
• Inspire a contagious passion for strategic creative solutions.
• Model a conscientious, straightforward and dedicated work ethic.
• Passionately uphold the agency brand, culture and values.
• Collaborate among multiple agency teams effectively and efficiently.
Communication skills:
• Demonstrate excellent written, verbal and listening skills.
• Be comfortable and adept in representing WW with a client’s senior management.
• Demonstrate outstanding presentation skills in formal and informal settings and be an excellent meeting leader.
• Communicate in a clear, coherent and professional manner.
• Lead client teams with self-assuredness as well as sensitivity.
• Maintain a candid professional relationship with other WW employees, working closely with the Client Engagement team.
• Experienced, effective communicator with Marketing Director and C-level audiences.
• Strong strategic thinker, with proven experience and skill set for leveraging and analyzing research and able to translate this into brand positioning, brand-building strategy and action.
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, strategy, business, communications, psychology or sociology.
• 10+ years in brand management, marketing strategy, strategic planning, research.
• Account planning experience with a marketing communications agency preferred.
