Associate Vice President, Strategy & Insights

Wasserman operates at the epicenter of sports, music and entertainment, serving talent, brands and properties on a global scale. Our brands and properties division works with iconic brands and rights holders, supporting business growth through all marketing disciplines. We are a trusted partner to every major league, team and venue, building meaningful connections between brands, properties and fans.

Based in London, the Associate Vice President, Strategy & Insights delivers consulting, project management, research and analytics support to the Strategy & Insights team, internal Wasserman departments and Wasserman clients across four key functions of the Strategy & Insights division:

• Supporting new business processes and consulting projects with market intelligence, qualitative and quantitative research, data analytics and insights, recommendations and expert guidance to prospective clients.
• Providing strategic advice and counsel to clients seeking to maximize their sport and entertainment sponsorships to further their brand and business objectives.
• Measuring and evaluating the return on investment and sponsorship impact of current client sponsorship programmes.
• Providing thought leadership and direction to build capabilities across the business.

The Strategy & Insights division is an integral part of the infrastructure at Wasserman, working directly with clients and collaboratively with Wasserman Brands; Client Services, Marketing Communications, Planning, and Rights; Partnership Development and Rights Holder Clients across a wide variety of sports and entertainment properties.

This person must demonstrate leadership, be commercially minded, proactive and able to manage time in a multi-tasking environment as well as prioritise based on changing needs. The role requires excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to work across multiple projects, while managing deadlines and meeting the expectations of all involved parties.

The Associate Vice President will draw on their experience and large volumes of data and information from numerous sources, develop insights and present findings in a clear and concise manner. This is a varied role and would ideally suit a candidate with experience in delivering consulting projects, sponsorship evaluation, consumer insights or sports marketing. Candidates must be able to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in data management and application, statistical analysis and research practices, coupled with a good understanding of the sport and entertainment landscape.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING

Department operations

• Budgeting, identification, selection and management of a variety of research and data providers and tools (including fan audiences, social media/digital listening tools, deals databases, insights and trends and other publications), both internal (proprietary) and external.
• Manage the design and implementation of qualitative and quantitative research projects including but not limited to Wasserman’s annual global fan survey.
• Provide thought leadership and stimulate thinking on critical issues that impact Company success.
• Through networking and relationship building, constantly seek opportunities with external vendors and organisations as well as inspire and influence others in the agency to achieve results.

Client services

• Lead the creation and delivery of insight-led strategies that power partnership development and brand storytelling across sport, music, and entertainment.
• Lead the creation and management of sponsorship strategic road maps and M&E plans.
• Lead the production of client M&E reports, providing analysis, insights and benchmarking.
• Support Client Services teams in the production of other evaluation reports, event fulfilment reports, competitor studies, sponsorship market insight reports and mid/end of year reviews.
• Maintain client sponsorship scorecards using research data and support account renewals efforts.
• Liaise directly with clients, including face-to-face presentations to deliver findings and insights.
• Liaise with research vendors on behalf of clients to ensure fulfilment and quality of deliverables.
• Deal with ad hoc tasks on behalf of clients and turnaround in a timely manner.

Partnership development

• Assist with the creation of sales materials and reports to support new business discussions.
• Provide research support and deliver consumer and audience insights that reinforce the relevance and benefits of sport and entertainment partnerships.
• Provide in-person support at prospect meetings, as required, as well as supporting RFPs, and new business acquisition.

Strategy & Insights consulting projects

• Responsible for delivering short term, intermediate based consulting projects.
• Interview key stakeholders to assess objectives and recommend strategies to achieve those objectives.
• Analyse and present target audience or target sector research insights (demographic, psychographic, segmentation, etc.). Key part of this role is making data and insights actionable i.e. Insights not Data, Visuals not tables.
• Define client expectations including financial outlay and ROI.
• Recommend and advise client on a sponsorship portfolio that fits goals, audiences and strategy.
• Conduct complex evaluations or valuations of client partnership proposals.

THE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE YOU NEED

• 10+ years experience in a strategy and insights role within brand marketing, sports marketing and sponsorship is essential.
• Relevant experience within agency rights holder or brand environment or other.
• Highly proficient in quantitative and qualitative research.
• Highly proficient working with social listening, audience profiling, market research, and performance data.
• Data analysis / statistical analysis.
• Sponsorship evaluation.
• Critical thinking and problem solving.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Commercially aware and motivated by helping clients achieve business and brand objectives.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and work towards strict deadlines.
• Ability to write, edit and proof read copy.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills.
• Presentation skills.
• Eye for detail.

Wasserman does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.