Associate Director, AEO Creative Strategy

Influencer • New York, NY

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, AEO Creative Strategy will help build and deliver Influencer’s Creator-First AEO capability while contributing to the broader Creative Strategy practice. The role sits at the intersection of AI search intelligence, creator strategy, cultural insight and client strategy. It translates data about how brands are understood, surfaced and cited in AI-driven discovery into actionable creator strategies, including narratives to strengthen, questions creator content should answer, relevant creators, and effective content and platforms.

Reporting to the SVP, Global Creative Strategy & Cultural Insights, the position partners closely with Marketing Science and analytics teams to interpret AEO intelligence and connect it to client recommendations, briefs and activation. It also supports strategic work for priority clients, pitches and proactive opportunities, helps develop repeatable methodologies, and contributes to client relationships and commercial growth. The position is based in New York with in-person work two days per week.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of experience across creative strategy, brand strategy, social strategy, digital strategy, insights or creator marketing.
• Ability to turn complex data and insights into simple, compelling strategic recommendations.
• Deep understanding of creator marketing, social platforms, consumer behavior and digital culture.
• Experience developing creator briefs, strategic frameworks and client-facing narratives.
• Strong commercial instincts and confidence presenting to senior clients.
• Comfort working with analysts and quantitative data without being the technical measurement owner.
• Ability to operate across emerging innovation work and established BAU client responsibilities.
• Strong collaboration skills across strategy, measurement, performance, creator and commercial teams.
• Passion for influencer marketing and desire to be part of a fast-growing company.

Nice To Haves

• Curiosity and working knowledge of AI-driven search, AEO, SEO or emerging discovery behaviors; direct AEO experience is advantageous but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Marketing Science and analytics teams to understand how brands appear across AI-driven discovery.
• Interpret AEO intelligence, including prompts, citations, competitive positioning, sources, topics and visibility gaps.
• Identify the questions and narratives most important to a brand, category and consumer, and assess where competitors are gaining authority.
• Track developments in AI search, consumer discovery and creator behavior and translate them into client implications.
• Turn AEO intelligence into actionable creator strategies, recommendations and creator briefs.
• Identify brand narratives to strengthen and questions creator content should answer.
• Recommend creator profiles, platforms, formats and content approaches suited to each opportunity.
• Develop creator-first strategies that balance AEO objectives with authenticity, cultural relevance and brand priorities, and can be translated into activation.
• Build client narratives explaining what AI understands about a brand, why it matters and what actions are recommended.
• Present AEO findings and recommendations to senior client stakeholders; support pitches, workshops, audits and proactive opportunities.
• Partner with Commercial teams to identify opportunities to expand AEO engagements and broader strategic relationships.
• Work across Creative Strategy, Creator, Performance and Marketing Science to carry insights into briefs and campaigns.
• Partner with Marketing Science to establish hypotheses and measurement approaches before activation.
• Review post-activation findings and use the learning to inform subsequent strategic cycles.
• Build repeatable frameworks and methodologies to scale Creator-First AEO across clients and markets.
• Lead and support strategic development across priority client briefs, pitches and proactive opportunities beyond AEO.
• Turn audience, cultural, platform and category insights into creator-first strategies and develop briefs and narratives that inspire creators and address client business challenges.
• Support senior strategists on major integrated opportunities and independently lead appropriate client workstreams.
• Contribute strategic frameworks, points of view and thought leadership across the Creative Strategy & Insights practice.

Benefits

• Medical benefits through Insperity.
• Wellbeing support including EAP and mental health cover.
• 401(k) with match opportunity.
• 22 days of paid time off, plus federal holidays that can be flexed to your needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed