Digital Director

With a history that dates back over 80 years, Starcom is a global communications planning and media leader. We are an agency still grounded in our founding principle that people are at the centre of all we do. Each day, we apply this belief to harness the transformative power of data and technology to inspire and move people and business forward. With more than 7,000 employees in over 100 offices around the world, we are the flagship Publicis Media agency that uses our ‘Power of One’ business model, with teams that span multiple disciplines across clients such as Aldi, P&G, P&O Ferries, Primark, Samsung, Stellantis, and Visa.

We place a huge focus on our People and have driven flagship D&I and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential and we encourage everyone to make “Brave Plays” in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign’s Best Places to Work for three years in a row (2021, 2022 and 2023) and most excitingly, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2023!

The DDT team works across the entire Starcom UK client base covering some of the biggest and most exciting brands in the world; from Samsung to Stellantis, LEGO to L’Oréal and Primark to Puig. DDT is a growing team of 15-20 team members, largely staffed by director-level talent who can drive change for our clients’ business. The team also includes an analytics arm which supercharges measurement solutions from dashboarding to advanced analysis and AI application. The team connects weekly to discuss industry innovation and foster idea sharing across the business.

Responsibilities

• Growth for Clients: Create brilliant experiences to drive faster growth for clients, working with teams across Publicis to do so. Build strong relationships with key clients; be sought out by clients and the planning team as the go-to expert on industry and strategic issues concerning digital and data. Inspire planners and clients in data influenced work, displaying a positive attitude to ambiguity, able to structure complex problems and outline solutions in a simple way. Consistently apply strategic thinking and frameworks to move client's marketing forward. Drive connected media thinking across brand and performance, paid media and owned/earned media as well as paid media with retail media to deliver the best holistic plan that delivers growth and effectiveness for our clients. Actively identify solutions and ensure next steps fit into the overall plan. Seek to understand by asking questions and actively listening to needs.
• Growth for Team: Be a major contributor in shaping the culture of the DDT team. Work collaboratively with Publicis ‘practice’ teams to deliver growth and transformation for clients. Proactively share best practice and knowledge & actively educate the wider business on areas of expertise. Get actively involved and contribute to initiatives across the Groupe, support Power of One. Nurture the planning community to challenge the ways things are done to achieve measurable, continuous improvements. Connect clients with solutions in the Publicis Groupe, and create new solutions where appropriate with specialist teams. Actively contribute to the DDT team being the best data & technology strategy team it can be.
• Drive Growth for Starcom: Be an ambassador for the Starcom brand and help build an exceptional reputation both within Publicis Groupe and external partners. Build long standing and transformative partnerships with senior stakeholders, media partners and respected in the industry for constructive collaboration. Embrace and participate in agency initiatives and growth opportunities. Spot opportunities for growth, highlight potential challenges to BD to improve our work (better insight, audience targeting, measurement). Be a proactive driver of ideas and solutions in new business pitches.

Qualifications

Primarily we are looking for a brilliant data driven marketer who can tell compelling stories through data and gain buy-in across a wide variety of stakeholders: A strategic and big-picture thinker, grounded in analytics and optimisation, able to uncover strategic insights to create, shape, and transform client (digital) strategic direction through a media strategy and communications plan. Natural curiosity and desire to help clients achieve goals. Acts with gravitas and able to convey ideas to stakeholders with varying levels of technical expertise – good data & presentation storytelling. Able to work independently as DDT lead with Planning & Activation teams. Able to consult on performance planning across digital as well as retail channels thinking through budget allocation and tactics that resonate through brilliant rationale and storytelling. Commercially aware. Understanding of ad tech and marketing automation systems, activation platforms (walled gardens) and ability to talk independently about opportunities in client meetings and with team. Experience briefing a team of specialists and the ability to bridge planning and execution. Can clearly, simply, and convincingly articulate the role digital channels play in marketing, contextualise the value of digital for overall client business goals. A strong digital practitioner, with experience from a media agency or digital specialist agency. A self-starter, spotting opportunities and proactively evolving them, visible to the wider team, inspirational yet approachable. Must have AD level digital marketing experience.

Additional information

Starcom has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees. In addition to the classics, Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical and Income Protection Plans we also offer:

• WORK YOUR WORLD: opportunity to work anywhere in the world, where there is a Publicis office, for up to 6 weeks a year.
• REFLECTION DAYS: Two additional days of paid leave to step away from your usual day-to-day work and create time to focus on your well-being and self-care.
• HELP@HAND BENEFITS: 24/7 helpline to support you on a personal and professional level. Access to remote GPs, mental health support and CBT. Wellbeing content and lifestyle coaching.
• FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES: We provide 26 weeks of full pay for the following family milestones: Maternity, Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental Leave.
• FLEXIBLE WORKING, BANK HOLIDAY SWAP & BIRTHDAY DAY OFF: You are entitled to an additional day off for your birthday, from your first day of employment.
• GREAT LOCAL DISCOUNTS: This includes membership discounts with Soho Friends, local restaurants and retailers in Westfield White City and Television Centre.

Publicis Groupe operates a hybrid working pattern with full time employees being office-based three days during the working week. We are supportive of all candidates and are committed to providing a fair assessment process. If you have any circumstances (such as neurodiversity, physical or mental impairments or a medical condition) that may affect your assessment, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner. We will discuss possible adjustments to ensure fairness. Rest assured, disclosing this information will not impact your treatment in our process.