Senior Director - Strategy & Insights

Data, Analytics & Insight Gurgaon, India

Position at EssenceMediaCom

Overview of the role

EssenceMediacom is an agency of GroupM, the world’s largest media investment company and are a part of WPP. In fact, we are responsible for one in every three ads you see globally. We are currently looking for Senior Director - Strategy & Insights to join us.
The Strategy group at EssenceMediacom is focused on moving the discipline forward into a new era of consumer and media behavior impacted by the rapid digital transformation in India. Your role will focus on data-linked insights and business solutions. You’ll find all the usual Strategy responsibilities apply - inspiring and applying audience, market and product insights; creating robust media lead strategies and tactics to further our client’s business and communication objectives. This will also entail working with our internal teams and partner agencies to develop and present the most interesting ideas.
 
On top of all of that, we push for more.
 
We puzzle over new data sets, new signals from social platforms, new ways to design creative assets, new testing structures, and new ad products for our clients. It’s all new, unknown and just waiting for us to figure it out.
 
Day to day? You’re operating as the main Strategic point of contact across a few product brands and many campaigns - doing research, formulating insights, brainstorming new ideas and reviewing data with serious rigor.

Some of the things we’d like you to do:
 
We’d like you to be a trusted resource and partner to our clients, especially their product marketing and innovation leads, not afraid to have the tough conversations, when necessary, but also willing to adapt to their needs.
 
We emphasize behaviours. We value emotional intelligence, curiosity, and collaboration above all else. We are looking for a person that is comfortable doing their own research, as well as pulling out and presenting the key insights and ideas. Someone who Ensure strategy stays a “common thread” throughout tactical planning and idea presentations – holding the entire product together.
 
  • Evangelize the practice and its value proposition by working closely with Internal Leads of our client business teams and cross-functional teams like Content, Analytics etc.
  • Identify key audiences - sizing and profile using data points, to determine whether given audience can achieve the client’s business objective
  • Within the aligned audience(s), identify key human truth (insight) using data (quantitative/ qualitative) that leads to a communication platform (one-liner) that demonstrates what a brand should be saying to them and how it should be behaving in media to drive the change in perception/ behaviour (from/to)
  • Build activation platforms/ideas stemming from data-backed cultural or behavioural insights
  • Set budget allocation - topline between online/ offline & key channels identified for each in order to hit the objective
  • Consult on learning agendas & implications for all campaigns/projects - take the learning and apply to the next project
  • Be the guardian of consumer journeys focusing on not just performance, but also for building emotional connection with our audience through media
  • Build and grow senior client relationships - become the client’s consultant (not limited to campaigns and briefs, but business, communication including content and media), in particular Marketing Directors and CMOs
  • Build and nurture constructive relationships with the creative agencies
  • Brining the best from the outside in - Be the in-agency/ external expert of category and consumer trends (especially media related but not limited to), and apply that knowledge to strategy
  • Write / develop agency POVs based on latest trends and developments that matter to our industry/clients
  • Work on non-campaign projects such as brand portfolio, brand positioning, GTM strategy as necessary
 
A bit about yourself:
 
  • At least 14 years of relevant experience (strategy, media, consulting, research) 
  • Prior experience working on a global brand, with a proven track record of driving media and campaign strategies (along with presenting them to senior stakeholders) 
  • Ability to navigate both the digital ecosystem not limited to Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, OTTs, and Linear TV, other offline media – to drive integrated communication process
  • Understanding of brand and performance objectives
  • Succinct in understanding client business, should be able to translate business objectives to Media and close the loop with measurable metrics.
  • Deep understanding on planning, audience research and measurement tools; with ability to land into media solutions
  • Refine and implement Strategy/ Planning tools by collaborating with the global and regional counterpart
  • Vision for where communications strategy and the wider marketing industry is going 
  • More analytical than creative, yet strong in both 
  • A Passion to help and develop people – making yourself readily available to answer questions and offer support to the wider business team, and the ability to motivate people to succeed
  • Experience in managing teams, including training, individual growth and development plans
  • An MBA is a plus but not a must 

    More about EssenceMediacom:

    We are a global communications agency leading with breakthrough thinking, building explosive growth for brands, and helping our clients see the bigger picture. Our daring global network of 10,000 influencers help our clients breach traditional boundaries in media, uncover novel ideas, and unleash exponential growth. EssenceMediacom challenges conventional thinking to build, propel, and supercharge our clients’ businesses at scale and lead our industry in critical areas such as diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability.       
    EssenceMediacom understands that our people are tasked with big goals: building breakthrough growth for brands and leading with breakthrough thinking in our industry. Our people are at the heart of this work because their ideas will enable us to decode the intersections of people, content, and technology to bring our aspirations to life. Our success is down to our eclectic, diverse, and talented people. EssenceMediacom is a place for us to grow our careers and expand our horizons. EssenceMediacom is committed to building an agency culture that supports our people, puts diversity at the forefront of our operations, and creates opportunity for all. This collective culture will be our “new power” where ideas are freely exchanged, and collaboration is actively encouraged in a place where you can innovate in our hyperconnected world.       

    About India:     
    2020 brought opportunities for brands to innovate because of which we saw an evolving media stack. The growth of digital is set to soar high because of changing consumer habits. With approximately 500 million smartphone users, low-priced data plans, 45 to 50 million e-commerce shoppers, approximately 60 OTT offerings and a young population, India is a mobile-first internet market. It is also one of the top 10 ad spend markets in the world and is set to climb the ranks. Global big tech corporations have made considerable investments in top e-commerce/retail ventures and Indian start-ups, blurring the lines between social media, e-commerce and mobile payments, resulting in disruption on an unimaginable scale.

    At GroupM India, there’s never a dull moment between juggling client requests, managing vendor partners and having fun with your team. We believe in tackling challenges head-on and getting things done.

    GroupM is an equal opportunity employer. We view everyone as an individual and we understand that inclusion is more than just diversity – it’s about belonging. We celebrate the fact that everyone is unique and that’s what makes us so good at what we do. We pride ourselves on being a company that embraces difference and truly represents the global clients we work with.