Director, Brand Experience & Media

Job Description

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Reporting to the CMO, the Director, Brand Experience & Media will be a strategic and creative integrated marketing leader responsible for bringing the Pizza Hut US brand and products to life with innovative, holistic (fully end-to-end) campaigns, programs, and activations that will build affinity, engagement, and loyalty among current and future audiences.

The leader will strengthen and grow Pizza Hut US to the #1 pizza brand in the US through a combination of differentiated brand strategy, bold creative, and fully integrated campaigns, programs, and brand experiences across the entire Pizza Hut US portfolio of products.

This pivotal role requires an individual with a passion for building global brands, designing innovative campaigns, and seamlessly connecting the dots between various teams, channels, and initiatives into a fully integrated brand activation and go-to-market strategy across product launches, always-on initiatives, and the brand's physical and digital presence across owned channels, retail, and through partners (Franchisees, and other partner brands i.e Pepsi and Cinnabon).
This is not a traditional integrated marketing role - it will require strategic brainpower, boundless creativity, ingenuity, US cultural know-how, thinking beyond boundaries, and pushing for integration between many diverse activities for scaled impact. It is an opportunity to reimagine the go-to-market playbook for a top global brand, translating the upside into market share growth.

You will build out and lead three key internal teams including the Creative & Content team, Culture, Partnerships & PR team, and the Media team along with external agency partners to develop, orchestrate, and execute impactful end-to-end marketing campaigns, programs, and launches across all channels, tactics, and formats: owned social platforms, paid media, influencer and partnerships, events and experiences, custom programs, owned digital and physical retail presence, and joint initiatives with external partners.

Making the Pizza Hut US brand part of the cultural zeitgeist is a critical part of this role.

We are on a mission to change the game in the US, boldly positioning Pizza Hut US as a desired, culturally relevant brand period. You are a change agent who will help bring this ambition to life, navigating complexity, chaos, organizational nuances, and always striving to make things better and push the boundaries of what's possible.

Key Responsibilities:

Brand Strategy:

• Translate the global brand strategy into actionable, relevant, and differentiated strategy and brand positioning for the US.
• Develop and roll out a clear, actionable communication strategy (audiences, message, creative, channels) across the Pizza Hut portfolio of products.
• Unify various product launches, seasonal, sustain, and always-on campaigns into one integrated communications and go-to-market strategy across various levers - social, paid media, PR, influencer, partnerships, experiential, etc. (with a clear role for each).
• Define and activate Pizza Hut US's unique role and place in culture with clear programming, campaigns, and moments.

Integrated Go-to-Market Planning and Execution:

• Build and own an integrated calendar and strategic planning to capitalize on key moments, including product launches, US seasonal, cultural, and industry milestones.
• Develop and align integrated marketing communications and brand activation briefs for the year, each quarter, and multi-quarter initiatives.
• Create a steady drumbeat of integrated marketing campaigns, brand programs, and activations across owned, paid, and earned media.
• Align, jointly plan, and execute marketing initiatives with key US partners (franchisees, retailers, other partner brands).
• Oversee timelines, budgets, resources, and orchestration.

Integrated Brand Activation:

• Drive differentiated, ownable, and disruptive brand go-to-market strategies for the Pizza Hut US portfolio.
• Build annual and quarterly integrated go-to-market plans based on product marketing strategies and the product launch roadmap across owned channels, paid and earned media.
• Develop and execute integrated campaigns, innovative programs, activations, and experiences that will challenge the status quo in the US pizza market and make Pizza Hut US top of mind for current and future audiences.
• Orchestrate holistic , trans-media (full go-to-market) and brand activation with relevant messaging, creative, and initiatives across channels, formats, and partner

Content and Creative Development:

• Translate internal product positioning into engaging consumer-facing communications with a clear role for channels (social, paid media, influencer, partnerships, PR, experiential, and events).
• Lead the development of integrated communications plans.

Reporting and Measurement:

• Deliver regular integrated marketing updates to senior business leadership.
• Partner with insights, research, media, and product marketing groups to deliver weekly/monthly/quarterly integrated marketing insights, performance metrics, learnings, and strategic implications.

Partner Agency Management:

• Identify the right in-house vs. external agency partner model and resourcing.
• Own relationships with creative agency partners, driving the best output.

Team Leadership:

• Build out and lead 3 key internal teams including the Creative & Content team, Culture, Partnerships & PR team, and the Media team. Evaluate current state, gaps, and opportunities, and build recommendations. Set a clear vision and plan for the team, roles, and responsibilities.
• Build and maintain a healthy environment through coaching, mentorship, regular performance reviews, and feedback.
• Attract new diverse talent and best-in-class marketing thinking to transform current approaches from a heavy product launch focus to integrated marketing programs and always-on brand activation.
• Build and activate the vision for joint go-to-market initiatives with external partners to scale impact and drive differentiation (franchisees, and partner brands).
• Cultivate an inclusive, collaborative, and equitable team culture that promotes ideation and innovation, risk-taking, ownership, and accountability.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of integrated marketing experience (preferably across diverse areas) on multiple brands, for top global brands. Focus on global consumer brands in entertainment, mass-market food, or lifestyle consumer industries.
• 10+ years of experience with team leadership and cross-functional leadership.
• Proven track record of building and rolling out brand strategies and best-in-class integrated marketing initiatives that transformed brands and grew businesses into positions of market leadership.
• Experience leveraging strategic brand marketing and integrated go-to-market strategies to shift from product-based to experience-based marketing (connected ecosystem).
• Expertise in executing large-scale, multi-channel integrated marketing campaigns (online, offline, advertising, digital, experiential, partnerships), including experience with both brand building and acquisition marketing initiatives.
• Experience leading agency partners, production partners, and other brands to deliver fully integrated marketing plans and initiatives.
• Ability to translate consumer, competitive, and cultural insights and internal data into opportunities, actionable strategies, and specific activation plans that deliver brand differentiation and business growth.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, excellent communication skills, and the ability to articulate marketing strategies and concepts clearly and effectively to all levels of the organization. Relentless drive and positivity.
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional teams and agencies and influence and drive impact in complex cross-functional organizations.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment, demonstrating agility and adaptability to quickly respond to consumer, market, and cultural opportunities.
• High emotional intelligence, enabling close working relationships with key leaders and solving complex problems at scale and speed.

Salary Range: $180,000 - $211,700 annually + bonus eligibility and stock-based compensation. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate's location, experience, and other job-related factors.

About Us

Who We Are

Founded in 1958, Pizza Hut - a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. - now operates more than 18,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. Pizza Hut is leading the way in providing customers with great experiences, innovating with technology and new products, as well as delivering exceptional service.

Our People & Culture

We're looking for people who LOVE pizza and thrive in a fun, past paced, and customer-centric environment. At our corporate campuses, Pizza Hut has created the perfect place for you to grow your career. Every day, you'll work to support our franchisees and teams across the U.S., continuously challenging yourself to feed more possibilities. In return, we'll provide professional development and career growth opportunities so that you can become your best and achieve your goals. And we'll sweeten the deal by immersing you in our world-class recognition culture and providing a robust array of benefits, some highlights include:

• Hybrid work schedule and year-round half day Fridays
• Onsite childcare through Bright Horizons
• Onsite dining center
• Onsite gym with fitness classes and personal trainer sessions
• 4 weeks of vacation per year plus holidays and time off for volunteering
• Tuition reimbursement and education benefits
• Generous parental leave for all new parents and adoption assistance program
• 401(k) with a 6% matching contribution from Yum!
• Comprehensive medical & dental including prescription drug benefits and 100% preventive care

Giving Back

As a global company, Pizza Hut aims to make the world better by acting responsibly with respect to food, planet and people. Whether it's donating food through the Harvest Program or supporting literacy with the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program - the company, our franchisees and our team members are committed to improving the communities we serve.

Pizza Hut is an equal opportunity workplace and committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse culture. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability and genetic information (including family medical history).