Manager - Connections Planning

Job description:

Lead Connections Planning and digital activation across brands in India, translating brand and business priorities into consumer-led, integrated connections strategies.

The role will define where, when and how brands connect with consumers across social, creators, digital, search, owned ecosystems, CRM/1PD, experiences and emerging platforms. It will work closely with Brand, Media, Consumer Insights and agency partners to deliver one connected consumer journey across touchpoints.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Translate brand and business objectives into consumer-led Connections strategies and architectures.
• Identify priority consumer moments and define the role of relevant touchpoints across the consumer journey.
• Integrate social, creators, digital, PR, experiences, partnerships and owned ecosystems into cohesive brand plans.
• Ensure Connections Planning is embedded upstream in campaign development and not treated as a channel activation exercise.
• Partner with the Media team to ensure paid media activation aligns with the overall Connections Architecture.
• Drive the brand's digital ecosystem across websites, social, search, WhatsApp, CRM and other relevant owned touchpoints. Lead digital activation across owned and organic touchpoints including social, websites, SEO, CRM and WhatsApp.
• Develop engagement strategies to strengthen consumer discovery, engagement and Share of Search.
• Lead SEO and owned-content strategy in partnership with specialist agencies.
• Build 1PD and CRM strategies to acquire, engage and activate consumers across relevant brand touchpoints.
• Measure and report performance of all digital marketing campaigns and assess against goals (ROI and KPIs) and identify key learnings/insights on the same.
• Continuously optimize digital consumer experiences based on consumer behavior and performance.
• Define the role of social and creators within the broader Connections strategy and lead the end-to-end creator approach, from partner selection and briefing through activation and measurement.
• Identify relevant cultural conversations, communities, creators and emerging consumer behaviors that brands can credibly participate in.
• Drive social-first and creator-led thinking in partnership with Brand teams and agencies.
• Identify and test relevant opportunities across emerging platforms, technology, AI and new content formats.
• Lead social listening and use search, social and digital signals to identify consumer, category and cultural insights.
• Translate consumer and performance data into actionable recommendations for brands and future campaigns.
• Establish relevant KPIs and measurement frameworks across digital, social, search, creators, owned channels and CRM/1PD.
• Track key measures including Share of Search, engagement, organic traffic, consumer participation and 1PD/CRM effectiveness.
• Build and share learnings to continuously improve Connections effectiveness.
• Work closely with Brand Marketing, Media, Consumer Insights and regional/global stakeholders.
• Lead integrated briefing and ways of working across digital and social.
• Drive stronger integration across agencies and challenge siloed or channel-first recommendations.
• Ensure clarity of roles, deliverables and accountability across partners.

INTERACTIONS:

• Internally: Central Digital Marketing, Brand, Media, Content, Consumer Insights, Global Digital, Legal
• Externally: Local Digital Marketing Agencies, Media Agency, Content aggregators, Influencer Agency

PROFILE DETAILS:

• Qualification: MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification in Marketing
• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in renowned agency or brand managing, out of which s/he should have spent minimum 3 years on digital, social media initiatives and Connections planning.
• Experience working with established consumer brands, preferably FMCG, lifestyle or other culturally driven categories.
• Strong understanding of the Indian digital, social, creator, search and consumer ecosystem.
• Experience developing integrated campaigns across multiple consumer touchpoints.
• Experience across owned digital platforms, SEO, CRM/1PD and social ecosystems.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate consumer and performance data into actionable recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple stakeholders and specialist agency partners.
• Alco-Bev and/or experience working in regulated categories is desirable.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES:

• Essential/Must-have: Have an ability to work in individual capacity while being self-motivated.
• Consumer-centric and strategic thinking
• Curiosity around culture, technology and emerging consumer behavior
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder management
• Ability to influence and challenge constructively
• High ownership and ability to work independently
• Analytical and learning-oriented mindset
• Desirable/Good to have: Digital IT domain knowledge.