Director of Advertising and Creative Design $100,000-$165,000/annually

Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures • Hinckley, MN

1d • $100,000 - $165,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Director of Advertising and Creative Services, you’ll serve as Grand Casino’s enterprise advertising leader and the primary advertising business partner to property leadership. You’ll translate business objectives into integrated advertising, creative, media, and content solutions across Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Hinckley, leading a hybrid in-house model that pairs the speed and brand knowledge of internal resources with the scale and specialized capabilities of external partners. You’ll set clear priorities, develop Associates, strengthen workflow and accountability, protect the Grand Casino brand, and ensure campaigns are delivered with strategic focus, creative excellence, operational discipline, and measurable impact.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Design, Business, or a related field preferred. An associate degree with relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and directly related experience, will be considered.
• Five (5) or more years of progressively responsible experience in advertising, creative services, integrated marketing, media, or brand management.
• Two (2) or more years of experience leading people, or leading cross-functional projects with responsibility for directing the work of others.
• Demonstrated experience leading or substantially contributing to campaigns from brief through creative development, production, launch, and performance review, including managing or coordinating agencies, production partners, scopes of work, budgets, and timelines.
• A portfolio or work samples demonstrating integrated advertising or creative work will be requested from all candidates as part of the selection process.
• Strong creative judgment, business and financial acumen, project and workflow management, presentation, facilitation, negotiation, coaching, conflict resolution, and executive communication skills. Balances bold ideas with sound judgment, financial discipline, and respect for deadlines.
• Working knowledge of the digital, social, email and SMS, paid media, print, broadcast, and on-property channels listed above, with proficiency in project-management, creative-review, digital-asset-management, and marketing-performance tools.
• Must be able to secure and maintain a license from the Gaming Regulatory Authority (GRA) and follow all Detailed Gaming Regulations (DGRs).

Nice To Haves

• Experience in casino gaming, hospitality, entertainment, resort, or another highly regulated, Guest-focused, multi-channel environment, including property promotions, entertainment, player loyalty, and Guest segmentation.

Responsibilities

• Lead Advertising and Creative Services as a shared service supporting Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Hinckley.
• Serve as the primary advertising business partner to property leadership, translating business objectives, audiences, market conditions, and revenue priorities into clear recommendations and into annual and campaign-level advertising plans.
• Lead, coach, and develop Associates through role clarity, performance expectations, development plans, cross-training, and succession readiness, including mentoring, stretch assignments, and readiness plans that support Band Member advancement.
• Present strategies, concepts, budgets, risks, and results clearly to property leaders, senior leadership, and cross-functional partners.
• Set the creative vision and quality standards for advertising campaigns, brand communications, promotional materials, and Guest-facing content across print, digital, social, email, web, signage, video, broadcast, and on-property channels.
• Lead integrated campaigns from business brief through strategy, concept, production, media activation, launch, and performance review.
• Develop campaign briefs that define the business problem, audience, objective, message, offer, deliverables, timing, budget parameters, compliance considerations, and measures of success.
• Provide creative direction from concept through final production and oversee brand governance, ensuring work is strategically sound, Guest-centered, accessible, and consistent with Grand Casino brand standards, voice, visual identity, trademarks, and required disclosures.
• Guide integrated media and channel planning with internal specialists and Strategic Partners so the creative idea, audience strategy, media approach, and on-property execution work together.
• Own advertising intake, briefing, prioritization, capacity planning, scheduling, and status reporting, creating one clear front door for requests without becoming the approver of every project.
• Coordinate internal creative, production, digital, media, and project-management resources so campaigns move efficiently from concept through execution, launch, and closeout.
• Manage agency, production, and vendor relationships, including scope, estimates, deliverables, timelines, quality, and performance review; recommend the internal-versus-external resource model for each assignment based on strategic importance, capability, speed, cost, and risk.
• Establish service standards, workflow controls, templates, approval paths, and version control; lead campaign readiness reviews and resolve competing priorities, unclear decision rights, incomplete briefs, and capacity constraints before they affect launch quality or timing.
• Provide budget recommendations and manage approved departmental, campaign, production, and agency expenditures; review estimates, monitor commitments and forecasts, identify variances, and pursue efficient use of resources.
• Define campaign KPIs with business and analytics partners, and ensure campaign recaps connect creative and media performance to awareness, visitation, retention, revenue, or other approved business outcomes.
• Use research, Guest insights, competitive activity, market trends, and campaign results to strengthen creative strategy and to identify opportunities in personalization, production efficiency, and the responsible use of emerging tools and artificial intelligence under Grand Casino technology and AI governance policies.
• Partner with appropriate leaders and subject-matter experts to ensure advertising complies with applicable gaming, promotional, privacy, accessibility, intellectual-property, and sponsorship requirements, including GRA and DGR obligations.
• Perform other departmental duties as assigned to contribute to the overall success and efficiency of the team.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits (medical, dental, vision).
• 401(k) with employer match, tuition reimbursement, and paid parental leave.
• Generous PTO, holiday pay, and recognition for birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones.
• Opportunities for professional development and advancement within Grand Casino.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director