Creative Director

Creative DirectorPosition: Creative Director 

Location: Remote, operating within a time zone supportive of Creative Riff’s core business hours (between Eastern and Pacific U.S.)

Reports to:  Chief Creative Officer

Creative Riff is an experiential marketing agency designing immersive brand worlds and fan-driven experiences. Our work lives at the intersection of entertainment, brand storytelling, and physical environments, bringing ideas to life through scenic builds, activations, and large-scale cultural events.

Role Description

Creative Director will be responsible for leading a team of creatives in generating and executing award winning creative for live events, brand activations and immersive experiences for existing and new clients on time and within budget. This role will report directly to the Group Creative Director or Executive Creative Director.

Strategic Thinking

• Partner with strategy to develop a brief and creative approach that aligns with overall brand strategy and marketing goals.
• Develop concepts that are on strategy, align with the brand's objectives and resonate with the target audience while being feasible and cost-effective.

Concept Development/Creative Vision

• Oversee the development and articulation of award winning creative concepts that are engaging and innovative, pushing boundaries for both existing and new clients. 
• Responsible for leading creative with extraordinary craft, inclusive of idea, storytelling, art direction, copywriting and 2D/3D from conception to completion.
• Ability to weave a cohesive and compelling narrative through the experiential elements, ensuring that the brand message is effectively communicated to the audience.

Leadership/ Team Management

• Lead and inspire a creative team, providing guidance and fostering collaboration to ensure the successful execution of projects.
• Work proactively to anticipate resource needs for upcoming projects, and help cast the right team to bring ideas to life. 
• Track and maintain awareness of scope and hours allocated for creative resources on projects ensuring deliverables are met on time and within budget, flagging when actual hours are exceeding anticipated hours, to ensure project profitability.
• Ensure hours are being recorded and submitted correctly and on time.
• Develop and grow the skills and experience of the creative team and assist in the development of design principles to articulate in our ways of working.
• Ability to manage associate and mid level team members, focus to enhance efficiency, meet deadlines and avoid burnout while advocating for team needs.
• Actively help with the recruiting process and hire with a focus on DEI+B.

Client Relationships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients.
• Become one of the reasons behind repeat business, a person clients ask for by name.

Execution

• Collaborate closely with the Production team to determine the final execution methods, ensuring that the agency's creative work is produced with the highest standards of accuracy, quality control, and adherence to budget.
• Recommend enhancements and modifications to the agency's processes and procedures, incorporating industry best practices to elevate overall operational effectiveness.
•  Possess an extensive understanding of diverse creative disciplines, encompassing design, technology, production, and logistics, facilitating the seamless integration of these elements into cohesive experiential events.
• Demonstrate adaptability and flexibility within a dynamic, fast-paced environment, recognizing and effectively managing tight timelines and unforeseen challenges inherent in experiential projects.
• Proactively anticipate potential challenges and devise creative solutions to address them, thereby ensuring the smooth execution of projects from inception to completion.
• Identify and implement optimal software and tools for project requirements, leveraging expertise in software across the agency's network of employees and freelancers.

Presentation

• Present creative work to agency leadership and senior level clients.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills to effectively communicate and sell creative concepts to clients, stakeholders, and internal teams in a way that is persuasive and engaging.

Innovation

• Develop relationships with partners to drive innovation.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and cultural shifts that could impact experiential marketing, incorporating relevant elements to keep campaigns fresh and innovative.
• Have a strong PoV on brand experience and where the industry is headed.
• Support agency’s thought leadership and marketing efforts that increase visibility of the agency. and help win awards (awards, press opportunities, whitepapers, conferences, social media etc).

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in creative leadership roles in experiential marketing, preferably in the entertainment industry.
• A strong portfolio of work that showcases your ability to develop and execute innovative and award winning marketing campaigns and experiences.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to motivate and manage a team of creative professionals
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate creative concepts and strategies to clients, partners, and other stakeholders.
• A deep understanding of the entertainment industry, including trends, technologies, and consumer behaviors.
• Experience working with budgets and timelines, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• An unwavering curiosity for creative and cultural innovation
• Understanding of customer experience
• Proficient with Design tools, Microsoft, Google and Presentation software