Senior Manager Creative Strategy Offline Advertising

University of Maryland - Adelphi, MD

Part-time - Mid Level

Hybrid - Adelphi, MD

Educational Services

About the position

The Senior Manager Creative Strategy for Offline Advertising at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) plays a pivotal role in the strategic planning and execution of advertising creative aimed at enhancing the university's brand and driving qualified inquiries that lead to enrollments. This position is responsible for ensuring that all offline advertising assets are compelling, accurate, on-brand, and delivered on time and within budget, while adhering to compliance and UMGC brand identity standards. The Senior Manager will serve as the primary marketing contact for offline advertising creative strategy and asset development, collaborating closely with university stakeholders to optimize messaging performance and implement best practices across various channels. In this role, the Senior Manager will lead the creative development of offline advertising assets, which include streaming and broadcast radio and TV spots, print materials, out-of-home advertising, and promotional items for UMGC gear. Utilizing data-driven insights, the manager will provide strategic guidance for messaging and design that aligns with industry best practices and reflects contemporary consumer behavior. This includes crafting clear and effective creative briefs and job requests for advertising assets, as well as analyzing creative performance metrics to recommend improvements in messaging and design. The Senior Manager will also be responsible for managing projects through the Marketing Services team and external agencies, ensuring that all projects are thoroughly scoped, timelines are monitored, and budgets are adhered to. Establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with the university's media-buying team, creative staff, and external agencies is essential to ensure high-quality customer support and strategic execution. Additionally, the manager will supervise contingent staff as needed and produce various internal and external reports, presentations, and administrative documents as directed. Other job-related duties may be assigned as necessary.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative development for offline advertising assets including streaming and broadcast radio and TV spots, print and out of home advertising as well as promotion of UMGC gear.
• Leverage data to provide strategic guidance for messaging and design that follows industry best practices and reflects contemporary consumer behavior.
• Craft smart, succinct and clear creative briefs and job requests for advertising assets.
• Analyze creative performance metrics and make recommendations on messaging, design or features to improve effectiveness of content and/or campaigns.
• Provide recommendations for creative improvements and solutions to marketing challenges.
• Conduct routine qualitative and quantitative advertising testing and research to ensure the messaging and creative approach resonates with target audiences.
• Manage projects through the Marketing Services team and external agencies to optimize resources.
• Act as a project leader to ensure projects are thoroughly scoped, monitor timelines and budgets to ensure completion on-time and within budget.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with the university media-buying team, creative staff, subject matter experts, and external agencies.
• Supervise contingent (part-time) staff as needed.
• Produce and manage internal and external reports, reference files, presentations, archives, and other administrative duties as directed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications, advertising, or a related field.
• 5-7 years offline creative strategy experience.
• Working knowledge of offline creative production, media placement, strategic marketing and brand management.
• Strong organizational, grammar, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Solid computer proficiency (MS Office, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, etc.).
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment.
• Ability to effectively communicate and maintain collaborative working relationships with clients and external vendors.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Highly attentive to detail.

Nice-to-haves

• Master's degree in business, marketing, communications, advertising, or a related field.
• Experience in an advertising agency or marketing firm.
• Experience in a higher education environment.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Tuition remission
• Generous leave
• Healthcare coverage