Experience Planning Manager

Company Description

Within Canada, Starcom is a part of Publicis Media within Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s leading communications groups. Our team spans across our Windsor, Toronto and Montreal offices. We truly love the world of Media and Advertising. We see the planning and buying process as art. However, it is an art that is always best when backed by the science of empirical data.

One of our core tenants of media planning and buying is that human experiences drive impact through tangible results. Not only do we seek to deeply understand our clients’ business and what truly motivates consumers, but we seek to design experiences that drive meaningful consumer actions our clients care about – Move People, Move Business.

Over the past couple of years, we have been building something different by transforming the way we do our business. From structuring our investment practice around data and digital to bringing our strategy, data sciences and research practice under one house, we’ve been shaping Starcom to be the media agency of tomorrow. One that both you and I want to work at.

We also work very hard in creating a truly inclusive and empathetic culture, one where our talents feel empowered to voice their opinion, do their best work, all while having a good work life balance.

Job Description

The Experience Planning Manager is the strategic architect of the consumer experiences. Think of them as the conductor of the marketing orchestra.

They sit at the intersection of ideas and media, partnering closely with the Brand Planner, Media Planner, and partner agencies to ensure an idea is properly integrated across the channels that best meet a brand’s communications tasks. They partner with their brand teams in deciding how consumers will experience the brand in the different touch points, from owned assets like packaging and website to various paid vehicles and beyond.

They also partner very closely with our Data Strategist throughout the entire planning process in order to create truly data-driven connections plans.

This role calls for a strategist with a creative heart, organizational knack, strong voice, and an analytical mind who can contextualize an idea within the appropriate channels and ultimately ensure that creative execution and media all work in perfect harmony.

Talent is not the only thing we’re looking for. We also like to surround ourselves with the bold, caring, progressive, and fun types. You know, the curious and brave ones who take on impossible challenges and see their ideas through to fruition. They’re the souls who make our collective kinder, stronger, and more creative.

Responsibilities

• Lead the connections planning on industry leading brands that require not only the ability to develop big award winning ideas but also knowledge of best practice media principles
• Determine the communications tasks for each campaign and decide the right channels and their roles in meeting the communication tasks
• Create measurable campaign KPIs, helping to enhance creative effectiveness and improve sell rate of innovative ideas
• Partner closely with inter-agency teams to ensure the creative idea make most effective use of an integrated mix of owned, earned and paid channels, and are deployed via innovative, targeted media and technology
• Partner closely with the Media Strategy, Research and Data Sciences team to drive the creation of media and data plan that pays dividends to your experience plan
• Partner closely with the clients’ owned channel teams to ensure that the communication idea is adopted and executed seamlessly throughout social, PR, and .com properties
• Responsible for demonstrating an understanding of consumer behaviors within media, and a working knowledge of media relevant to the client’s business including TV, digital, social, experiential, print, OOH, and search
• Showcase an understanding of digital, social and emerging platforms and technologies
• Report up to and collaborate with VP of Experience Planning to drive best-in-class work
• Bring thought leadership to clients and Starcom as a whole
• Interact with clients and lead brainstorming sessions and workshops
• Lead strategy within new business pitches for the Starcom brand

Qualifications

Professional skills

• Great thinker and an even better storyteller
• Collaboration
• Curiosity
• Creativity
• Passion for innovation
• Ability to package information in clear, concise and impactful ways
• Excellent at summarizing and making complex information accessible
• Relationship-minded to collaborate with internal teams, external partners, and clients
• Very strong written and oral communication skills

Requirements

• Degree in a related discipline (preferably in a Business, Communication, Marketing, or Cultural Studies program)
• 6-8+ years of Communications or Brand Strategy role
• Master of technological, cultural, media trends & best practices
• Strong ability to balance data-driven nature of today’s media environment and deliver creative innovation
• Exposure to the creative ideation process
• Fully fluent in English. Bonus if you’re bilingual

Additional Information

Starcom is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. We create and nurture a vibrant work environment that celebrates, values and leverages all aspects of diversity and inclusiveness, attracts world-class talent and serves as the industry benchmark for best practices. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals and will provide appropriate accommodation for candidates with disabilities or accessibility needs throughout the recruitment process, upon request. Please contact our recruiter for any questions, accommodations or specific requests. We thank all candidates for their interest in Starcom however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted