Creative Director - Brand Narrative

Mercury•San Francisco, NY

About The Position

Mercury is hiring a Creative Director to build and lead Brand Narrative, a new team within Brand Creative. The role turns company strategy, product truths, customer insight, and cultural observations into original concepts for major launches, campaigns, and brand moments. The Creative Director will originate ideas and remain closely involved as they develop into finished work, drawing on a background in art direction, design, or copywriting and deep experience in film-led storytelling. In close partnership with the leaders of Brand Design and Writing, this role will shape concepts, language, and visual expression from the beginning. The Creative Director will contribute ideas, invite critique, and build on collaborators’ ideas while bringing the wider creative studio together to make the work. During the first year, the focus is expected to be roughly 70% leading creative development for priority launches and campaigns and 30% building the Brand Narrative function. The role also establishes Brand Narrative’s purpose, priorities, creative standards, team, and ways of working. Success includes delivering major launches and film-led campaigns from concept through finished work; building shared creative practices across studio disciplines; and creating a pipeline of proactive opportunities that express Mercury’s product ambition with originality and cultural relevance.

Requirements

A strong creative foundation in art direction, design, or copywriting.
A portfolio demonstrating original concepts developed into ambitious, well-crafted work across multiple formats, with an explanation of personal contributions, how ideas evolved, and how collaboration improved the work.
Deep film experience developing film-led ideas from concept through production, with strong instincts for story, scripts, performance, pacing, and sound.
A track record of leading ambitious multidisciplinary work through trusted creative partnerships with design and writing peers.
Ability to articulate a clear point of view, listen closely, work through creative disagreements constructively, and recognize when a collaborator’s approach strengthens the work.
Strong taste, cultural awareness, and product curiosity; ability to understand complex business or product topics, find the human truth, and express it clearly and memorably.
Experience developing creative people and shaping how a team works, including providing specific, useful feedback and creating an environment for creative risk-taking.
Clear communication and sound judgment, including the ability to rally people around concepts, explain investment value, navigate competing perspectives, and take ownership in ambiguous situations.
Ability to balance creative ambition with the need to move work forward.

Responsibilities

Partner with Product Marketing and Brand Marketing on briefs and translate the agreed audience, opportunity, and product proof into original creative concepts.
Originate and lead creative ideas for launches and campaigns, developing concepts across film, social, out-of-home, digital, experiences, and partnerships.
Work closely with Brand Design and Writing leads and their teams from early explorations through delivery, incorporating thoughtful critique and each discipline’s expertise.
Contribute through personal craft and partner with Motion and Production; for film, stay involved through scripts, visual development, production, and final edit.
Build audience and distribution considerations into concepts, including how people will discover, watch, and share the work across channels and viewing contexts.
Lead concept development and critique; use rough scripts, prototypes, and AI tools to test ideas, learn quickly, and advance the strongest work.
Protect the qualities that make an idea interesting through feedback and production, while knowing when to continue exploring and when to commit.
Develop proactive ideas and identify cultural opportunities based on curiosity about Mercury’s products, customers, and the wider world.
Partner early with Product Marketing, Brand Marketing, Product Design, Comms, and Insights to identify important creative opportunities and recommend where to invest.
Present recommendations to senior leadership and use results from marketing and insights partners to inform future work.
Define Brand Narrative’s purpose, priorities, creative standards, and ways of working; help hire and develop the team and shape its structure and capabilities.
Set expectations and coach team members to strengthen their judgment and conceptual skills.
Foster a collaborative culture that welcomes experimentation, honest feedback, and cross-disciplinary contributions, with shared ownership of the work.
Establish a clear process from insight and agreed brief through concept and execution, including useful critique and close collaboration.
Develop relationships with external creatives and agencies who can provide distinctive perspectives or capabilities when needed.