Senior Manager, Brand Communications – Adidas

  • Responsible for Advertising of the adidas brand in the Netherlands and Belgium.
  • Responsible for Public Relations of the adidas brand in the Netherlands and Belgium.
  • Responsible for Partnership Publishing incl. content creation of the adidas brand in the Netherlands and Belgium.
  • Primary spokesperson for adidas in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Key Responsibilities

  • Manage the advertising strategy and roll-out, in alignment with global direction.
  • Manage the PR strategy and roll-out incl. a pro-active relationship with key media and influencers.
  • Manage the Partner Publishing strategy and roll-out incl. a pro-active relationship with key partners.
  • Manage the reputation of the brand incl. crisis communications.
  • Manage the relationship with relevant internal stakeholders i.e. Global and European Brand Communications teams, other Benelux Brand Activation functions (Sports Marketing and Omnichannel Activation), Sales and Finance.
  • Manage the agency and supplier network.
  • Manage the Brand Communications budget.
  • Manage the team.

Key Relationships

  • Internal: Global and European Brand Communications teams, other Benelux Brand Activation functions (Sports Marketing and Omnichannel Activation), Sales and Finance.
  • External: Media, influencers, creative agencies, media agencies, production agencies, PR agencies and (indirect) Sports Marketing partners.

Knowledge Skills And Abilities

  • Proven outstanding communication skills, both verbally and in writing
  • Proven relationship management skills, internally and externally
  • Solid understanding of Microsoft Office related programs
  • English (fluent, verbally and in writing)
  • Dutch (fluent, verbally and in writing)
  • French is beneficial
  • Driving license

Requisite Education And Experience / Minimum Qualifications

  • Degree in Business Studies and/or Marketing or equivalent, preferably with a focus in Marketing; alternatively, equivalent combination of education and related working experience in the field of Brand Communications
  • At least 5 years working experience, preferably in (Brand) PR and/or Communications in a consumer-focused industry 
  • Experience as company spokesperson incl. crisis communication

Senior Director, Digital Growth – Confirmed app, Adidas

As the Senior Director Digital Growth – CONFIRMED, your role is to make CONFIRMED the leading branded channel for the premium streetwear consumer, growing our membership and commercial value of the business.
 

The pinnacle streetwear and fashion consumer is recognized as one of the highest value consumer groups: as the early adopters in the industry they define what streetwear is and will be; they engage and purchase more frequently; they influence mass consumer segments. As such, being the Brand of choice is a keystone to cultivating Brand Desire.  

This role is responsible for the CONFIRMED platform: the CONFIRMED brand; the experience across touch points including the app, adidas.com and retail; the membership proposition and ultimately the performance as measured by growth in high quality members and revenue. It is a uniquely positioned role in the company, acting as a business owner and integrator of the many teams needed to deliver a successful proposition.

To be successful in this role, you will establish and build collaborative relationships in a highly networked, cross-functional team spanning both global and local functions, including Digital Growth, BU Originals Comms and CTC, Key cities, market Digital Activation, Digital Product teams and Analytics. You will bring with you the curiosity, pragmatism and bias for action which is needed to drive entrepreneurial change.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Create and embed the CONFIRMED proposition & strategy:

  • Shape and maintain the CONFIRMED consumer value proposition
  • Evolve our membership program to drive ultimate relevance and retention with the premium streetwear consumer
  • Define a quantitative and qualitative strategic path for growth in membership and commercial value, including target consumer segments, product lines and digital experience evolution
  • Embed the CONFIRMED strategy & direction in the hearts and minds of the key partner functions through routine and repeated communication at key Brand and Digital milestones


Steward the CONFIRMED brand internally and externally:

  • Act as the owner of the CONFIRMED brand, taking care to ensure each activation and moment meets the elevated standard of the CONFIRMED proposition and experience
  • Embed the CONFIRMED strategy & direction in the hearts and minds of the key partner functions through routine and repeated communication at key Brand and Digital milestones
  • TBC: run the CONFIRMED studio – a new location in the heart of Amsterdam which embodies the brand identity of CONFIRMED, hosts experience and the workplace of the core team members


Drive growth of our premium streetwear membership and revenue across all digital touchpoints:

  • Set quarterly objectives across user base growth, commercial growth and drivers thereof to set the performance framework for the business
  • Orchestrate the cross-functional planning process across product range, activations, content and features which sum to successful outcomes over the quarter and season
  • Oversee the Acquisition & Engagement function, driving excellence in consumer experience at key brand and cultural moments as well as key drops
  • Oversee the investment of marketing budget to drive inorganic user base growth activities with other contributing functions, maximizing effective acquisition campaigns
  • Initiate and steer the cross-functional programs needed to deliver outstanding experiences to the premium streetwear consumer, in collaboration with the key BU, Digital and Market functions
  • Orchestrate the creation & optimization of cross-touchpoint journeys to maximize CLTV, considering .com, flagship app, social and retail as extensions of the CONFIRMED experience
  • Use data and analytics to track performance, drive insight and identify risks and opportunities. Where needed, hold partner functions to account for delivery of their components of success

Orchestrate the network of teams who deliver the CONFIRMED experience:

  • Lead the CONFIRMED management drumbeat, bringing together the key leaders across product range, content, experience and acquisition & engagement to review progress and steer the business
  • Steer quarterly and seasonal planning processes, bringing together all x-functional teams involved in delivering the CONFIRMED experience and growth outcomes
  • Represent Digital Hype on cross-functional steering boards with BU Originals and Markets where needed
  • Cultivate strong horizontal and vertical relationships to strengthen the direct and indirect support network for CONFIRMED
     

LEAD a high performing team:

  • Create a supportive work environment in which employees are coached, trained and provided with career opportunities through development.
  • Continuously monitor and evaluate team workload and organizational efficiency with the support of data and team feedback and make appropriate changes in order to meet business needs.
  • Provide team members/direct reports with clear direction and targets that are aligned with business needs and Digital objectives.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

Global:

  • Digital Hype (Growth)
  • Top Partners (Growth)
  • Mobile Apps
  • Global Membership team
  • BU Originals Brand Comms
  • BU Originals Hype Above Market
  • BU Originals EIM
  • Global Digital Activation teams
  • Studio A
  • Analytics teams (Data Governance, Mobile Performance, Social Analytics, Data Science, Consumer Engagement Analytics)
  • Program sponsors

Markets:

  • Market BU Comms teams
  • Newsroom
  • Key City activation teams
  • Market Digital Activation teams

REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Professional Experience:

  • Ideally master degree in business administration or comparable degree
  • 10+ years of professional experience in multi-national business environment (there of 5+ year experience in a Digital and/or eCommerce environment)
  • Experience in running an ecommerce business in the apparel / fashion space
  • Experience launching digital propositions in multiple marketplaces
  • Experience working with board-level stakeholders
  • Experience in Loyalty / Membership Marketing and Partnerships is a plus
  • Experience in China is a plus
  • 6+ years of experience in leading a team
     

Soft-Skills:

  • Very good communication skills, comfortable presenting to stakeholders at board level and in motivating junior team members
  • Distinctive strategic mindset and ability to prioritize and delegate high numbers of tasks with varying workload and importance
  • Exemplary horizontal leadership to create followership in teams which are not direct reports
  • Ability to understand consumer behavior across the entire digital and retail landscape
  • Ability to handle ambiguity and untangle complex situations into actionable activities
  • High resilience and solution-oriented attitude

Hard-Skills:

  • In-depth knowledge of technical and creative aspects of digital and mobile
  • Comfortable working with enterprise-level platforms and technologies
  • In-depth understanding of digital IT products and capabilities

Fluent in English both verbally and written