Director, Media Strategy & Planning

First Horizon Bank•Memphis, TN

13h•Onsite

About The Position

First Horizon is seeking a Director of Media Strategy & Activation to lead the evolution of our media function into a modern, strategic, and integrated media engine. This role will serve as the internal leader for media strategy, responsible for translating business objectives into clear, full-funnel media plans that drive both brand impact and business outcomes. The Director will partner closely with our media agency of record to co-develop media strategies, ensuring a strong point of view, clear direction, and alignment across all stakeholders.

Requirements

8–12+ years of experience in media strategy, connections planning, or integrated marketing
Experience working in or closely with agency partners (agency or hybrid background preferred)
Strong understanding of the broader marketing ecosystem, including how media, content, creative, digital experience, CRM, and data work together
Strong understanding of full-funnel media strategy, including both brand and performance marketing
Proven ability to think strategically across channels, audiences, and customer journeys
Experience partnering with analytics, data, and martech teams
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
Ability to operate in a cross-functional, matrixed environment
Familiarity with the evolving media landscape, including AI, search (SEO/GEO), and data/privacy changes

Responsibilities

Translate business goals and marketing objectives into clear, actionable media strategies
Define audience approach, channel mix, investment strategy, and phasing across the funnel
Lead development of annual, quarterly, and campaign-level media plans, including investment allocation, channel roles, and phasing across the funnel
Ensure media strategies clearly connect media KPIs to business outcomes, with a strong understanding of how channel performance drives broader business goals
Provide POV on creative strategy within media, including messaging alignment, creative rotations, format selection, and ensuring the right message is delivered in the right place at the right time
Partner with media agency to co-develop integrated media plans
Establish and communicate a strong POV on what we should and should not be doing in media
Serve as the primary internal lead for the agency relationship
Partner with agency to co-develop strategy, challenge thinking, and ensure alignment between media approach and business objectives — not operate in a purely executional or handoff-based model
Provide clear direction, feedback, and accountability to agency partners
Establish and manage ways of working, including planning cadence, communication structure, and decision-making frameworks
Ensure agency output aligns with business priorities, brand standards, and performance expectations
Partner closely with: Integrated Marketing & Regional Marketing, Brand & Content Strategy, Social & Community, Digital Experience (Website), Analytics & MarTech teams
Partner with brand, creative, content, digital, and analytics teams to ensure media activations reflect: brand positioning, messaging and creative strategy, localized execution where appropriate, on-site experience and path-to-conversion (e.g., landing pages, CTAs, branch/locator integration)
Lead cross-functional planning and alignment sessions
Ensure media strategies are fully integrated with content, creative, and customer experience
Define and guide audience strategy within the broader marketing ecosystem, ensuring alignment across media, content, CRM, and digital experience (supporting segmentation frameworks as needed)
Partner with analytics and martech teams to leverage first-party data, targeting, and activation capabilities
Ensure consistent and strategic use of audience insights across campaigns
Define KPIs, measurement frameworks, and success criteria for media initiatives
Ensure alignment between media KPIs and broader business objectives, clearly articulating how performance metrics ladder up to business impact
Lead a structured test-and-learn agenda (A/B testing, incrementality, geo-testing, etc.)
Partner with analytics teams on attribution, modeling, and performance insights
Translate data into clear recommendations and next steps
Establish clarity around media operations, trafficking, asset management, and tagging
Partner with internal teams to ensure seamless execution across media, creative, and project management
Support development of media documentation, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting processes
Serve as a key strategic partner to the Head of Brand Strategy & Activation, helping shape direction across media, channels, and broader activation efforts
Act as a connector across the marketing ecosystem, bringing together brand, content, channels, data, and experience into a cohesive approach
Bring a strong point of view on how the marketing ecosystem operates as a whole, not just media in isolation