Experiences, Sponsorships and Partnerships Manager Reserve at Diageo

The Culture, Influencer & Advocacy team will be responsible for fostering brand thought leadership and enhancing brand reputation by developing a culture strategy that defines cultural platforms, gives a framework for strategy to execution and defines detailed in-culture strategy to execution for all strategic brands. This team is also charged with identifying, negotiating and executing strategic in-culture partnerships (platforms and influencers) across the region.

This role requires a deep understanding of current cultural trends, experiential and sponsorship marketing models and brand partnership capabilities, excellent communication skills, and the ability to build strong relationships with partners and stakeholders

Role Responsibilities: 

• Build a holistic culture strategy with specific culture plans for all strategic brands: identify cultural platforms, build brand specific cultural calendars, negotiate and implement ideal experiential campaigns plus brand sponsorship & partnership models that will benefit strategic brands.
• Grow brand scores through relevant and authentic experiential marketing augmented by brand partnerships/sponsorships that build brand in-culture thought leadership and are embedded in Marketing Business Plans: develop, negotiate and execute in-culture growth experiences, sponsorship and partnership thought drivers, oversee the creation of compelling content tailored to engage both internal and external audiences, co-ordinate content distribution across various channels, including social media, blogs, and other digital platforms. Monitor content performance metrics and adjust strategies accordingly to optimize reach and engagement.
• Driving Brand Visibility and Engagement: Ensure that Diageo's brands actively participate in consumer conversations, crafting stories and content that are not only newsworthy but also captivating to influencers, ultimately driving consumer engagement, shareability, and talkability.
• Cultural Relevance and Integration: Take ownership for understanding local culture, conversations, and tensions, ensuring that Diageo brands authentically integrate into these cultural spaces through compelling stories, content, and campaign executions.
• Embedding Editorial Approach: Lead efforts to instill an editorial attitude within the business, ensuring that brand plans consistently tell a cohesive story that demonstrates culturally relevant moments to drive momentum and reach, while also spearheading cultural calendar initiatives to enhance brand relevance.
• Partnership Management: cultivate and maintain relationships with external partners, including influencers, industry organizations, and community groups. Collaborate with partners on co-branded initiatives, events, and campaigns to amplify reach and impact. Evaluate partnership effectiveness and ROI, making recommendations for future collaborations.
• Measurement and Analytics: establish KPIs and metrics to measure the success of culture and doer marketing initiatives. Utilize analytics tools to supervise performance, analyze trends, and identify areas for improvement. Prepare regular reports and presentations for senior leadership, highlighting achievements and opportunities.
• Budget Management: Develop and manage budgets for experiential, sponsorship and partnership marketing activities, ensuring optimal allocation of resources. Track expenses, manage handle contracts, and negotiate cost-effective solutions. Provide regular updates on budget utilization and forecasts to senior leadership.
• Team Leadership and Development: Provide leadership and guidance to the experiences, sponsorships and partnerships marketing team, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture. Identify training and development opportunities to enhance team skills and capabilities. Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide feedback to team members.

Experience / skills required: 

• 5 years + experience in marketing in IPS and/or FMCG/Luxury good categories. Candidates with similar experience in peer companies will have an added advantage.
• A deep knowledge of what it takes to get into consumer conversation and confidently drive the Marketing Team and business to follow this.
• Track record of bringing successful new thinking into a business, leading business change and experience of experimentation and failure 
• Possess passion for the function and a drive to always push and apply new approaches/thinking from plans through to execution at pace
• Can set a vision and create possibilities for brands and follow through to brilliant execution
• Possess real passion for Influence & Advocacy, and a drive to always push and apply new approaches/thinking from plans through to execution within PR, Social & Content