Job Title: Manager, Brand Strategy

Department: Marketing

Reports to: Vice President, Communications & Marketing

Collaboration: Daily collaboration with Integrated Marketing, Marketing Operations and Creative and Content; Regular collaboration with leaders across the organization including Business Analytics, Ticketing, Corporate Partnerships, Game Operations, Community, Communications, Facilities and HR

Team Overview: Driven by market trends and consumer insights, Brand Strategy leverages the marketing function to solve business problems. As brand experts, this team is responsible for the long-term health of the Lakers brand and sub-brands, prioritizing relevance, consistency and growth to support enterprise advancement in Los Angeles and around the world. Brand strategy serves as the starting point for the go-to-market process, contemplating business needs, basketball operations, consumer insights and market opportunities to leverage the marketing function to unlock potential for the Lakers business.

Position Summary: The Manager of Brand Strategy manages the development of the marketing blueprint, using insights and KPIs to architect the broad marketing approach season-to-season and campaign-to-campaign. Working with the VP of Communications and Marketing, with attention to both mid-term and long-term needs, this role is responsible for initiating marketing planning by outlining objectives, identifying initiatives, developing strategies, steering big ideas, writing strategic briefs, building brand decks and guiding the cross-functional marketing team. The ideal candidate for this position is a naturally curious and strategic catalyst who is an instinctive organizer that revels in the possibilities around leveraging brands and marketing to maximize business potential.

Duties and Responsibilities**:
Brand Strategy

Translates and articulates Lakers brand positioning from a myriad of intelligence into easy-to-apply guidance and tangible marketing strategies
Develops positioning architecture and guidance around Lakers sub brands including G League team South Bay Lakers and 2k team Lakers Gaming
Shares Lakers brand guidance with internal teams and external partners and agencies, effectively presenting to executive leadership and selling in rationale to tactical teams
Identifies spaces for the brand to lift the business, uncovering marketing opportunities and creating enduring strategies to bring in new audiences across a crowded landscape

Campaign Planning

Collates and analyzes intelligence and trend analysis to guide campaigns
Manages the development of the season-long brand thematic and positioning
Identifies and tiers Lakers milestones and engagements, considering fan relevance, brand priorities, pacing and growth opportunities
Creates strategic filters and a standard operating procedure for marketing engagement
Manages the marketing briefing process to collate and disseminate insights, brand objectives, strategic guidance, target audiences and positioning to drive integrated planning for season-long campaigns and milestone engagements like uniform launches, NBA All-Star, playoffs and more
Develops seasonal marketing playbook to align marketing plans around organization priorities
Supports naming and framing across fan engagement initiatives to ensure packaging connects to the brand story, working closely with the creative director and creative team
Consults across the season to identify ongoing brand opportunities and ensure strategic alignment
Reviews schedule release to consider additional brand opportunities around key match ups and times

Business Engagement

Joins connection points with leadership across the business quarterly or semi-annually to track priorities and update strategies, in partnership marketing operations and additional marketing team members, as relevant
Gathers and interprets business needs and feedback, in partnership with marketing operations, to determine continued priorities and strategy shifts

Insights and Trend Analysis

Partners with Business Analytics and Marketing Operations to better understand consumer trends and fan data, translating information into insights to drive fact-based planning
Reviews and analyzes local and global markets and industries to forecast Lakers brand opportunities
Prioritizes global insights to drive critical international growth
Partners with Integrated Marketing and Marketing Operations to understand and map the fan journey
Perform other duties as assigned by executive management

**Responsibilities subject to change based on organizational needs and direction from management.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, business or related field; advanced and continuing education preferred

Previous Experience:

Minimum 7 years in marketing, advertising, branding or related field
Proven success building brand strategies for high-profile organizations
Experience with global brands
Experience leveraging innovation and insights to drive marketing relevance

Technology Capabilities:

Adobe Creative Suite
Project Management Software (Jira, Trello, Wrike, etc.)
Microsoft Office (including Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint & Windows)

Knowledge, skills, abilities:

Ability to use consumer insights and trends to solve business problems
Ability to architect and articulate a brand portfolio through both frameworks and narrative
Understanding of marketing strategies around awareness, acquisition, adoption and retention
Ability to identify, drive and cascade marketing strategies
Understanding of global brands
Strong ability to synthesize and organize information into decks
Naturally persuasive with excellent presentation capabilities and sell-in skills
Brings curious and optimistic approach to challenges
Ability to work effectively across various workstreams with different timelines and stakeholders balancing both long-term and short-term requirements
Detail-oriented and a logical approach to problem solving
A passion for representing the consumer
A passion for organization and progress
A passion for basketball and Los Angeles

Physical Demands: N/A

Location: El Segundo (offices M-F), downtown Los Angeles (Crypto.com arena for Laker home games), other occasional off-site events

Travel: Up to 10% of the time

Hours: This position requires continual attention due to the perpetual nature of the NBA season; after-hours time is mandatory; must be available to work evenings, weekends and holidays

The pay range for this role is $90,000 to $125,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience and certifications.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

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