Creative Director, Creative Development

dentsu•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Dentsu Creative is hiring a Chicago-based Creative Director to help build and lead its shopper marketing, retail marketing, point-of-sale creative, and commerce activation capabilities for a leading global beverage alcohol company. The role calls for a senior creative leader with deep experience in integrated shopper and retail marketing campaigns in beverage alcohol, CPG, or retail, and the ability to turn strategic briefs into ideas that engage consumers at the point of purchase. The Creative Director will oversee work from initial concept through execution across retail, shopper, experiential, and omnichannel touchpoints. This is a hands-on player-coach role involving creative direction, team leadership and mentoring, and close collaboration with account, strategy, production, and experiential teams.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in advertising, shopper marketing, retail marketing, commerce marketing, or integrated agency environments.
Proven experience leading shopper marketing, retail marketing, POS, and in-store activation programs.
Strong portfolio showcasing retail, shopper, commerce, experiential, and integrated campaign work.
Experience developing creative for retail environments and omnichannel experiences.
Outstanding visual storytelling, conceptual thinking, and presentation skills.
Experience managing and mentoring multidisciplinary creative teams.

Nice To Haves

Beverage alcohol experience is strongly preferred; CPG experience is highly relevant.
Retail/shopper marketing agency experience.
Experience supporting beverage alcohol brands sold through retail channels.
Experience across experiential marketing, sampling programs, and retail activations.
Experience directing creative across physical retail and digital commerce touchpoints.

Responsibilities

Lead creative development of shopper marketing and retail activation programs across national and regional retail environments.
Develop creative concepts for in-store campaigns, seasonal programs, retail promotions, point-of-sale materials, displays, sampling initiatives, and commerce marketing experiences.
Translate shopper insights, retail objectives, and brand strategies into creative solutions that influence purchase decisions at shelf and in-store.
Oversee creative execution from concept through production.
Partner with account, strategy, production, and experiential teams.
Provide creative leadership for POS materials, retail displays, shopper campaigns, experiential activations, merchandising assets, retail toolkits, and commerce channels.
Direct and mentor art directors, designers, photographers, illustrators, and production partners.
Lead a growing team while remaining hands-on as needed.