Vice President of Brand & Marketing Strategy

Charlotte Hornets•Charlotte, NC

About The Position

Hornets Sports & Entertainment (HSE) is seeking a visionary and collaborative leader to serve as Vice President of Brand & Marketing Strategy. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, this role will lead the evolution of the Hornets brand and shape how the organization connects with fans across basketball, entertainment, community, and culture to drive business growth, strengthen brand affinity, and cultivate the next generation of fans. The Vice President will oversee brand strategy, integrated marketing campaigns, and fan development initiatives with a focus on expanding audience reach, increasing cultural relevance, and deepening fan engagement across the Carolinas and beyond. Working cross-functionally, this leader will develop signature campaigns, marquee moments, and scalable fan platforms that build lasting fan connections while supporting the organization's strategic and business objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Sports Management, or related field required; advanced degree preferred.
Minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in brand marketing, integrated marketing, or consumer engagement leadership roles within sports, entertainment, media, lifestyle or related industries.
Proven success leading large-scale integrated marketing campaigns and brand strategy initiatives.
Strong understanding of modern fan development, audience segmentation, consumer behavior and cultural marketing trends.
Experience building culturally relevant brands through storytelling, experiential marketing, content strategy and partnership integration.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional collaboration across creative, content, digital, sales, partnerships and operations teams.
Strong strategic planning, project management and organizational leadership skills.
Experience managing and developing high-performing teams in a fast-paced environment.
Strong analytical mindset with experience utilizing consumer insights, research and performance metrics to guide decision-making.
Exceptional communication, presentation and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
Knowledge of sports and entertainment business operations, including ticketing, sponsorship, retail and live event marketing.
Ability to think creatively while balancing strategic priorities and operational execution.
High level of professionalism, discretion and emotional intelligence.
Passion for sports, entertainment, community engagement, and fan culture.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead the organization’s long-term brand marketing strategy in alignment with overall business and revenue objectives.
Create connected campaigns that unify messaging and fan engagement across Marketing, Content, Social, Ticketing, Partnerships, Retail and Community Impact.
Oversee strategy and execution for seasonal campaigns, promotional nights, theme nights, tentpole moments, and experiential fan initiatives that elevate the Hornets brand and drive attendance.
Establish brand standards and strategic alignment across campaigns, experiences, activations, storytelling initiatives and partner integrations.
Evolve the Hornets brand positioning to remain culturally relevant, aspirational, and forward-thinking across sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and community platforms.
Lead integrated marketing planning processes that connect business priorities, audience insights and creative execution across departments.
Oversee fan development strategy with a focus on attracting, engaging and retaining next-generation audiences.
Shape and lead the organization’s long-term youth strategy, including Kids Club, youth programming, grassroots basketball initiatives and community fan development platforms.
Oversee grassroots basketball programming, including camps, clinics, Jr. NBA initiatives, school programs, and community basketball activations.
Identify and execute culturally relevant opportunities across music, fashion, creators, influencers, lifestyle, gaming and entertainment.
Utilize consumer research, audience analytics, and marketplace trends to inform strategy, campaign development and fan engagement initiatives.
Lead and mentor a high-performing marketing and brand team while fostering collaboration, innovation, accountability and professional growth.
Establish departmental goals, KPIs, measurement frameworks and reporting processes tied to organizational growth objectives.
Oversee brand-related budget planning, resource allocation and campaign investment strategies.
Stay informed on emerging trends in sports marketing, entertainment, digital engagement, fan behavior and consumer culture.
Perform other duties as assigned.