Associate Creative Director

Roles & Responsibilities

ABOUT US

George P. Johnson (GPJ) is the World's Leading Event And Experiential Marketing Agency. For over a century we've been partnering with the world's top brands to deliver creative solutions that make a real difference.

Our strategic thinking and creativity breathe life into brands. Our ideas create impact, inspire audiences and grow business. It's what turns our goals, and those of our clients, into results.

IN BRIEF

This is a client facing, creative position that guides the development of pitches and effective winning solutions. Emphasis on the customer journey and how creative communications will deliver results.

The Associate Creative Director will:

• Be responsible for the creative vision and output of event projects
• Work with all project stakeholders and is expected to understand our clients' objectives and the strategic opportunity to develop creative solutions which solve the clients' business problems
• Foster respect from peers, management and clients alike, through thought leadership, creativity, industry knowledge and best practice

Capabilities & Experience

• Minimum four (4) years experience in an events agency, in a Creative role
• Conceptual and creative experience in multiple disciplines including but not limited to: creative strategy, live events, activations & design
• Experience with interpreting briefs, providing strategic and conceptual advice, and expertise to internal and external stakeholders
• Design and storytelling sensibility, with the ability to turn creative concepts into powerful communications
• Experience in client relations and management
• Ability to develop customer journey mapping for the entire experience lifecycle

RESPONSIBILITIES

Creative & Strategy

• Unpack and research a brief, then drive the creative response
• Manage end to end the experience journey and story telling, and and be able to sell this internally and externally
• Lead the visual style, overall design, style and tone of artwork produced, and oversee projects through to the finished product within the client's brand guidelines
• Lead the creative process of allocated projects and maintain the ability to react to changes throughout the process
• Lead the overall look and tone of a campaign or pitch
• Be a constant innovator - proactively seek ways to improve a creative project. Push the boundaries of briefs and explore hidden opportunities that could enhance the experience

Collaboration

• The Associate Creative Director plays the role of creative ambassador, acting between the client, other creative resources, the production team and third-party suppliers to ensure the project's creative execution is not compromised
• By working closely with the wider creative team, production, design teams, suppliers and sister agencies, other client led agencies and the client stakeholders, lead the delivery of the project experience and creative content executions

Communication

• Use storytelling techniques to effectively guide and communicate to all project stakeholders the ideas driving the solution.
• Consistently lead winning pitches - can effectively pitch work to clients
• Ensure that other members of the Creative team who are involved in the project deliverables are kept abreast of creative elements and how they fit in with the overall project objectives
• Brief and work with other creative staff (graphic design, environmental design, screen, interactive, CoLab), communicating clearly and efficiently to achieve the highest quality results

Research

• Stay abreast of trends in the marketplace both local and global, thereby supporting the creative capabilities of the company, and share regularly with the team and the company
• Be aware of updates, developing and new technologies and how they may be implemented in future projects
• Understand cultural shifts across relevant demographics

Administration

• Give input into estimated head hours required to complete the work, including concept, draft and production time
• Ensure the project production team are kept abreast of the status of each project. Particularly in terms of hours used, scope creep and any other key developments that may affect the timely delivery of the collateral
• Review and approve designs, artwork, photography and graphics developed by the creative team

ABOUT YOU

• You're an experienced events Creative, with at least 4 years experience working in an events agency
• You're a self-starter who promotes a culture of entrepreneurial spirit
• You have an agile mindset. You keep everything in perspective.
• You are culturally aware and move with the times
• You understand the marketplace and use this information to inform decisions
• You have the ability to articulate a clear vision
• You demonstrate a calm and positive attitude
• You're adaptable and open to unexpected requests and ways of working (priorities and requirements can frequently change in an agency)
• You are always willing to help other people within the project, across departments
• You're curious and eager to learn about the industry, clients' business, tech solutions
• You are solutions focused/ creative problem solver – presenting solutions to roadblocks in order to move forward
• A challenger – you're always looking to improve work rather than, 'we've always done it like this'
• You are persistent and patient – persistence to follow up with stakeholders and clients but demonstrating empathy in understanding agency and client partners' workload
• You're truly passionate about delivering best-in-class work
• You're decisive, with the ability to make several decisions at once, and quickly
• You are a champion of high quality outcomes and demonstrate an affinity with the brands you lead

Tell employers what skills you have

Post Production
Creative Strategy
Strategy
Interpreting
Thought Leadership
Adaptable
Photography
Live Events
Customer Journey Mapping
Articulate
Graphics
Storytelling
Graphic Design
Artistry

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