Sr. Brand Manager, Whiskey Project

Moët Hennessy, the Wines and Spirits Division of LVMH, regroups twenty-five Maisons, many of which have been around for centuries, while others are just starting their journey.
Our vision is to lead the future of luxury Wines and Spirits from nature to communities. Located in the most prestigious terroirs around the world, we have unique savoir-faire from winemaking to art de vivre, hospitality, and brick-and-clicks retail management to craft exceptional experiences for consumers.
For many years, with the ambition to pass on a better world to future generations, we have been committed to the Living Soils Living Together program structured around four key commitments: Regenerating our Soils, Mitigating our Climate Impact, Engaging society, and Empowering our People.
Moët Hennessy is proud to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive working environment for all. As an employer, Moët Hennessy offers unique journeys throughout its global ecosystem, opportunities to develop new skills and grow professionally.
The Senior Brand Manager, Whiskey Maison, is responsible for supporting the creation of a new ultra-premium whiskey brand built as a collaboration between LVMH and a 3rd party partner. This role includes both pre-launch innovation-oriented duties as well as launch planning and sustained brand support once commercialized. This person will be a key member of the team helping to liaise with our partner team regularly to implement an innovative, consumer-centric brand marketing strategy. They will also support the execution of all programming and activations across markets and channels to drive brand awareness and sales.
Key Accountabilities
Launch Preparation:

• Support Brand Director, 3rd party partner and key MH USA stakeholders to define the brand launch strategy, marketing objectives and tactics
• Ensure proper item setup within all internal market systems for ordering, selling, and reporting sales
• Create key selling materials and presentations to introduce and articulate the brand proposition to key stakeholders, distributors, key accounts, etc.
• Lead the creative agency to design and develop elevated, luxury POS materials and brand assets to drive consumer engagement opportunities at the moment of choice

Brand Management:

• Keep a finger on the pulse of culture & the competitive environment at all times, demonstrating a firm grasp on the evolving landscape and activity of Ultra-Premium spirits brands in the U.S to inform planning and execution
• Provide key support the annual budget planning process and the monthly monitoring, responding to the rigor of regular tracking and reporting
• Support the development and shaping of the brand go-to-market strategy, including consumer insights development, market analysis, segmentation and targeting
• Ensure the application of fact-based analysis, including leading insight/research interventions as appropriate to the brand activity
• Be a dynamic and passionate ambassador of the Brand always seeking to strengthen the brand’s reputation both internally and externally
• Propose, recommend, and implement innovative marketing programs in accordance with the defined strategy to build brand desirability
• Lead various aspects of the creation of a Brand Home facility, considering revenue opportunities and overall consumer experience onsite

Brand Innovation & Product Development:

• Lead implementation of innovation developments, including leading cross functional workgroups within the Brand Company, with Markets and design agencies
• Support the evaluation and development of the brand innovation strategy and pipeline, including future line extensions

Brand Content & Creative Development:

• Steward the execution of all brand programs, helping to provide clear strategic direction to the Sales and region brand teams and other key stakeholders, ensuring all brand activities are designed to achieve a single unified vision to deliver Must-Have Programs
• Lead insights-based evaluation of content pre, during, and post creative development to optimize impact
• Lead the development of L3F brand programs and activations firmly rooted in knowledge of the target audience, consumer insights, and growth space research, to achieve volume and profit targets
• Working with Consumer Engagement team and our partner’s in-house creative team, support the development of brand content, bringing to life the brand purpose to build consumer awareness & approval and brand distinctiveness.
• Serve as point person for liaising between our partner’s in-house creative team, Maison brand team, and external agencies to ensure project clarity and on-time deliverables

Brand Media & Connections Planning:

• Working with the Consumer Engagement team, help shape the global media guidelines for the brand, providing support to market teams on their country-level media planning
• Drive continuous improvement in media analysis and understanding for the benefit of the brand

Maison Market and Business Development:

• Foster relationships that gain disproportionate share of hearts and minds in key stakeholders
• Ensure markets have robust resource (A&P/stock) allocation plans & effective marketing activations
• Ensure the evaluation and reporting of key brand and business objectives
• Participate in the annual brand planning process and support creation of 2030 brand strategy
• Manage market opportunities and risks through the LE process and to support P&L delivery
• Build timely and constructive two-way communications between Maison and Market
• Support and guide the annual and long-term brand planning in allocated key markets

Qualifications, Experience & Skills Required
Education
Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or Marketing degree preferred
Professional Experience
6-8 years of brand marketing experience, preferably in the luxury consumer goods or U.S. wines and spirits industries.
Practical/Technical Knowledge

• Demonstrated success influencing cross-functional stakeholders, including senior leaders
• Strong marketing skills: brand strategy, product development, advertising communications development and creative development
• Strong luxury orientation and proven experience bringing elevated brand experiences to life
• Understanding of the U.S. three-tier distribution system
• Highly refined communication and presentation skills
• Understanding of brand strategy development & implementation in a commercial context
• Strong commercial orientation and a deep understanding of the marketing/sales relationship
• Project leader (excellent project management skills with a proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously)
• Proven ability to lead activation strategy, including program development and deployment
• Strong Microsoft Office proficiency – particular skills with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Strong analytical skills to support data-driven decision making
• Ability to credibly represent the brand and product to internal and external audiences

External applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.
Moët Hennessy USA, Inc. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Moët Hennessy USA, Inc. considers candidates without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.