Planning Director

About Wavemaker

We believe there always is a better way to grow. We positively provoke growth for our clients by reshaping consumer decision-making and experiences through media, content and technology. The Wavemaker way is globally consistent. Fuelled by the world’s most powerful consumer data, we understand where and how marketing can intervene decisively to help brands win more sales.

Our name is our mission and our method. To make waves, you need to be provocative, even fearless. We do our best work for brave brands and people who want to be challenged to go further and faster. We know it’s not easy, but if it’s in you, we will get it out of you.

Our 7,600 people across 90 markets provoke growth for some of the world’s leading brands and businesses. Our attitude of Positive Provocation is enabled by:

• deep knowledge we have of our clients’ business
• confidence to challenge what’s gone before
• the support to go further than we thought possible

We are a part of GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management company. Discover more on wavemakerglobal.com, Twitter and LinkedIn 

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Agency Context:

Our clients in Worldwide Activation are split into 4 specialist category hubs, this role will sit within the Entertainment category hub looking after Wavemaker Global’s biggest client, Audible, with a holistic digital approach. The set up of each team is specific to the client’s needs but is largely dependent on the scope of media channels.

Client Context:

Embark Studios are the gaming company responsible for the hit game THE FINALS which is growing quickly internationally and seeing rave reviews. Based in Sweden they have a start-up mentality and are agile and collaborative – a great, positive partner to Wavemaker.

ELF are a global cosmetics brand seeing their profile and sales grow exponentially. Through smart targeting strategies and amazing, eye-catching creative they are cementing their place among the cosmetic heavy-hitters.

Role Context:

We are looking for an experienced branding and performance-based professional with a history of planning, buying and optimising media as separate channels, as well how they integrate with each other to inform a cohesive strategy. The focus of this role is to work with the Planning Lead on ensuring best-practice adherence and challenging ways of working to find the best way deliver world-leading, innovative cross-channel campaigns built on data-led strategies. This role involves strategic leadership and coordination across performance channels, content channels and a combination of digital and traditional media, working in partnership with channel-specific specialists where relevant to deliver innovative campaigns solutions.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

• Contribute to development of channel and cross-channel strategy, laddering up to overall strategic performance approach and own elements of the plan.
• Working collaboratively with channel leads and Performance Managers to build audiences and targeting approach based on insights and ensure learnings are transferred across platforms
• Trusted advisor to day-to-day clients & a source of support for junior team members
• Driving innovation and positively provoking the client to undertake new opportunities and testing where possible
• Helping to drive process automation and improvement
• Feeding in to forecasting and delivery across media, with focus on meeting client KPIs and performance targets.
• Oversight of best practice for paid social/search/display implementation, optimisation and tactics.
• Collaborate with channel leads on client reviews of biddable activation – BAU, campaign specific and channel planning.
• Helping to manage day to day relationships with vendors including Google, FB, Linked In, Twitter, Teads, tech providers etc as well as GroupM media activation solutions, with a view to driving cross-channel insight.
• Responsibility for driving cross-channel planning, optimisation, insight and ways of working.
• Contribute to the team’s approach to and delivery of client reporting of media performance, ensuring timely, insightful, performance focused analysis and actionable cross-channel insights.
• Reactive workflow management inline with changing business/client priorities.
• Responsible of developing a cross-channel, audience-based test and learn road map that demonstrates continual performance improvement and evolution of media buying.
• Active role across activation management workstreams and projects including new business support.
• Share ownership of client management and communication, with informal client interaction generally on a daily basis.

ABOUT YOU:

• Experience in performance media with a good level of expertise across paid search, paid social and programmatic display
• Strong understanding of how social/search/display works within the performance and digital ecosystem.
• Working knowledge of best practices within social/search/display.
• Strategic understanding of how performance media can be leveraged to drive business growth
• Good technical/operational ability in social/search/display.
• Hands-on experience in planning, buying and optimising across all channels is useful.
• Ability to set appropriate performance centric KPIs and evaluate activity against these and understand the role of secondary KPIs and how they support media activation.
• Working knowledge of key tracking solutions.
• Proven people management and leadership qualities.
• Ability to manage upwards as well as downwards.
• Possesses initiative and demonstrates resourcefulness.
• All academic backgrounds will be considered – qualifications in maths, data, media of interest.
• Professional digital media/advertising qualifications will be of an advantage.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.