Experiential Marketing Client Strategy & Buying Lead

Job Title: Experiential Marketing Client Strategy & Buying Lead

Reports To: P&G Associate Director

FLSA Status: Full Time - Salaried, Exempt

Location: Cincinnati

Who is pep:

pep started with 7 employees, a borrowed conference room, and an idea to fill a void in the marketing services space. Today we’ve grown to over 200 people and we are an industry leader in consumer activation, serving some of the top Fortune 500 companies. We’ve managed over $5 billion in marketing spend for over 750 brands and pride ourselves on a client retention rate of 98%.

Our company has evolved since we started 18 years ago, but there is one thing that has remained a constant. At pep, we put people first. Our core values of accountability, excellence, ingenuity, people, and tenacity guide our interactions, decisions, and drive our culture. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment where every member of our team feels seen, cared for, and has the support they need to thrive. And our tremendous growth provides our people with many new career and development opportunities along with the flexibility to pursue their professional goals.

We’re looking for teammates who are driven, eager to learn, agile, positive, and client focused to join and contribute to our team. We enjoy a hybrid work model and competitive salary based on experience. If this sounds like you and you want to be a part of something special, then click below to apply.

At pep we value our team and offer:

• Generous Time Off
• Family Support
• Robust Health and Wellness Plan
• Mentorship Program

• Enrichment Events and Employee Resource Groups
• 401K Match
• Certification Reimbursement and Ongoing Training
• Role Autonomy

Summary of Position:

The Experiential Client Strategy & Buying Lead is responsible for the strategy, growth, and buying of experiential marketing campaigns that pep leads on behalf of our client(s). Success in this role will include uncovering new opportunities with our client(s), optimizing existing opportunities, developing and driving our strategy, and working with our internal project management team to execute campaigns with excellence. This role requires a passion for experiential marketing, the ability to grow revenue, and teamwork. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment and is able to establish and strengthen client relationships to expand pep’s business.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Develop and manage internal and external business strategy.

• Develop and execute strategy to increase experiential marketing spend with our client(s).
• Manage development of marketing material that communicates pep’s value to client(s).

o Research industry events, build vendor relationships, and evaluate sponsorship/participation based on client objectives and target audience.

• Generate new business by leveraging internal, client, and supplier relationships.
• Lead the development of proposal responses to potential and current clients.
• Ideate, innovate, and pitch effective and differentiated experiential activations to potential and existing clients.

2. Act as internal Subject Matter Expert.

• Serve as the spend lead internally and experiential thought leader representing pep.
• Own Standard Operating Procedures.
• Lead internal trainings.
• Lead initiatives to grow experiential marketing spend.

3. Manage all buying activities for the experiential spend.

• Manage all experiential supplier partners. Including existing partners and developing new partnerships.

o Understand all supplier capabilities and seek out technical knowledge to stay on the cutting edge of innovation.

• Comply with client specific sourcing requirements and buying strategies.
• Competitively bid projects out to the supply base.
• Ensure total value is delivered on each promotion.

o Proactively identify challenges and recommend solutions within the event spend and the sourcing operation.

Knowledge/Skills Required:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. A successful candidate will have the following skills:

· Minimum 3-5 years of applicable business experience required; Bachelor’s in Business or Communication with a 2.8+ GPA from four-year college or university preferred.

• Experience in a client facing role.
• Experience in commercial events and/or experiential marketing.
• Experience leading people and/or a team preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute growth strategies.

· To perform this job successfully, an individual should have experience in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Power Point, and Excel. Typing skills should be a minimum of 55 wpm.

· Preferred, but not required: 1+ years of buying/sourcing experience.

*pep provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, pep complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

*pep expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of pep’s employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.