Job Description

Sr. Director, Brand Strategy (Consumer & Lifestyle)

Chicago, IL

Merge Storytelling and Technology

We bring together the minds and passions of creative pioneers, tech innovators, and data explorers to help ambitious clients solve business challenges and rise to the top. MERGE has enduring client partnerships with American Express, T-Mobile, LG, Subway, Kate Spade NY, Coach, The North Face, Meta, Adobe, BlueCross BlueShield, Abbott, Astellas, Supernus, CSL, GE Healthcare, Broward Health, Indiana University Health, Nationwide, and Morgan Stanley. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Montreal, New York City and Los Angeles. MERGE uses a talent-to-task process that enables clients to think higher and feel deeper about their customers.

Promote Health, Wellness & Happiness

We are committed to promoting health, wellness and happiness in the world by partnering with purpose-driven clients in purpose-driven industries in healthcare, life science, and consumer products. Our deep vertical expertise and category insights stem from decade-long partnerships with our top clients.

Emerge to the Top of Your Career

At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.

As our Sr. Director, Brand Strategy you will

Lead and innovate across key strategic areas within our consumer & lifestyle business, driving brand positioning, portfolio architecture, audience definition and segmentation. You will architect shopper-centric and path-to-purchase strategies while developing comprehensive approaches that drive both brand consideration and consumer conversion.

Your primary focus will be reducing friction across the consumer journey in partnership with our Experience Strategy team, creating seamless experiences from consumer-driven awareness through shopper-driven consideration and purchase. You will connect brand strategy with shopper expertise across the full marketing ecosystem, spearheading omnichannel brand and shopper strategies with particular emphasis on the intersection of eCommerce, in-store retail, and digital transactional touchpoints.

You will apply strategic principles across different business models and leverage data-driven insights to drive tangible business results for our consumer & lifestyle clients. Your role will be instrumental in bridging the gap between brand strategy and shopper behavior, ensuring our clients achieve measurable success in today's complex retail landscape.

Be Accountable and Responsible

• Develop and maintain deep understanding of client business, market, customer, and brand information to support strategic solutions, with specialized focus on shopper path-to-purchase across consumer, retail, and B2B contexts
• Demonstrate consistent curiosity and learning about new products, technologies, and MERGE offerings that support client work
• Identify collaboration opportunities across strategy roles and the broader MERGE organization to maximize client value
• Direct research and analysis, synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data (audience segmentation, POS/sales data, loyalty insights, eCommerce analytics) to uncover actionable insights that fuel strategy
• Lead and facilitate critical workshops and client sessions, presenting strategic outputs from creative briefs to comprehensive deliverables like brand planning strategies, path-to-purchase playbooks, and annual shopper marketing roadmaps
• Stay current on retail technology, e-commerce trends, Retail Media Networks (RMNs), and shopper marketing innovations, applying insights and thought leadership to drive client success
• Translate consumer brand-building and shopper marketing principles to B2B environments
• Mentor junior strategy personnel and champion collaborative mindset across the organization to integrate services for clients
• Champion and innovate upon Brand Strategy discipline principles at MERGE and with clients
• Author and present strategic narratives to senior and C-level clients, integrating data and storytelling to deliver compelling visions for brand growth and omnichannel success
• Leverage AI technology and relevant software, tools, and templates applicable to Brand and Shopper Strategy

These are the qualifications were looking for

• Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in an ad or marketing agency setting, with a focus on shopper and brand strategy; experience in B2B is a plus!
• At least 2 years in a project leadership role, with proven experience collaborating with and presenting to executive leadership.
• Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent work experience
• Thrives in a fast paced, growing and evolving environment
• Motivated by adaptability, and demonstrates strong entrepreneurial spirit
• Strong executive presence, recognized as a thought leader both in the industry and for our clients
• Proven expertise in developing and applying end-to-end brand strategies, with mastery in:
• Translating Brand Positioning into Conversion & Purchase
• Audience definition and segmentation
• Communications message planning
• Omnichannel marketing & mapping, with special emphasis on advertising, social, CRM, media, events, in-store, e-commerce, in-store retail, and the digital shelf
• Shopper Engagement & Conversion Strategy
• Performance Marketing that ties campaigns directly to sales lift and business results
• Mastery of the modern strategist's toolkit, including:
• Strategic foundations building, from path-to-purchase frameworks and ecosystem maps to authoring insightful creative briefs
• Collaboration/workshop platforms (Miro, Mural, Jamboard)
• Data & Insights platforms
• Deep familiarity with syndicated research (MRI/Simmons, Kantar) and hands-on experience interpreting retail panel data, POS data, or eCommerce analysis

At MERGE, were committed to fostering an environment where our team members can thrive in both their careers and personal lives, ensuring they feel supported and empowered to succeed.

MERGE believes in transparency and equity. In accordance with state regulations, were proud to include salary ranges in our job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.

The salary range for this role is $137,000 - $173,000 , based on the individuals skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.

MERGE is proud to invest in benefits that includemeaningful Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401K, Lifestyle Spending Account, Employer Paid Life & Disability Insurance, Flexible Time off & Holidays plus many other benefits and rewards.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

#LI-DP1

#LI-HYBRid

And heres how we live our values at MERGE

• Ability. Mastering our craft
• Agility. Delivering with a growth mindset
• Humility. Collaborating for shared success

MERGE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

MERGE welcomes and celebrates diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or people with abilities. We believe that the more diverse we are, the more creative our work will be!

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at MERGE? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

First Name *

Last Name *

Preferred First Name

Email *

Phone *

Location (City) *

Resume/CV *

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

How many years of experience do you have in consumer brand strategy within a marketing or advertising agency setting? *

How many years of experience do you have in understanding and influencing consumer behavior at the point of purchase through shopper strategy? *

Can you share an example of a time when you developed an omnichannel strategy that successfully connected consumer awareness to purchase? What was your approach, and what measurable results did you achieve? *

When working on a path-to-purchase framework or ecosystem mapping, how do you ensure that all touch-points (eCommerce, in-store, digital) are seamlessly integrated? *

What is your desired salary? *

MERGE offers a hybrid work model. If you live in or near a city where we have an office we encourage you to go into the office 2 days a week. Which office location(s) are you open to? *

Chicago

Atlanta

New York City

Remote

Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? * Select...

Will you now, or in the future, require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B visa status, OPT, OPT STEM, F-1)? * Select...

How did you hear about us? * Select...

If you selected other, please specify.

If you were referred, who were you referred by?

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely volun]]> <

Job Tags

Similar Jobs