Director of Brand Media
About the job
- A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience is required.
- At least 7 years of media, brand strategy, advertising agency, client-side, or publisher-side experience is required.
- Proven experience leading brand media strategy and channel planning across multiple accounts is required.
- Experience across brand channel formats, including premium video (linear, connected TV, and streaming), programmatic video and display (demand-side platforms), audio, out-of-home, brand partnerships, integrations, sponsorships, brand social, emerging media, and custom activations is required.
- Experience managing significant client budgets and investment decisions is required.
- Strong leadership experience, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career pathing for a growing team, is required.
- A track record of gaining trust through sound judgment, including under pressure or ambiguity, is required.
- Experience partnering with performance media counterparts to build integrated plans across brand and performance is required.
- Experience collaborating across disciplines such as creative, strategy, search engine optimization/generative engine optimization, web development, and public relations within a full-service agency or integrated client-side marketing organization is required.
- Strong new business pitch experience, from strategic ideation through proposal development and delivery, is required.
- Strong client-facing storytelling and presentation skills, including translating complex strategy for varied audiences, are required.
- Proficiency with reporting and dashboard platforms such as Ninjacat and Funnel, or similar tools, is required.
- Familiarity with agency artificial intelligence tools such as Gemini, OpenAI, Copilot, and Claude to support planning, research, and reporting workflows is required.
- Familiarity with audience research and competitive intelligence platforms such as GWI and MediaRadar, or similar tools, is required.
- Experience with social listening and publishing platforms such as Sprout Social, or similar tools, is required.
- A strong understanding of the brand marketing funnel and upper-funnel channel strategy is required.
- Strong proficiency in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, particularly Sheets or Excel and Slides or PowerPoint, is required.
- Ability to translate media strategy into a clear, compelling narrative for senior client stakeholders is required.
- Ability to partner with Account leads and cross-functional teams outside the direct reporting line is required.
- Strong problem-solving skills and initiative to challenge clients and internal teams are required.
- Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills are required.
- Ability to manage multiple accounts, priorities, and deadlines is required.
- Lead brand media strategy and channel selection across multiple client accounts, ensuring narratives and channel choices connect directly to business objectives.
- Partner with the Performance Media team to build each plan as an integrated system aligned to a single business outcome.
- Champion integration between Brand Media, Account, Strategy, and Creative teams throughout client planning and development.
- Interrogate client briefs and evaluate whether they ask the right questions and are grounded in the right audiences and objectives.
- Lead relationships and negotiations for custom media vehicles, sponsorships, franchise opportunities, and emerging partnership formats.
- Develop thought leadership and market perspectives applicable across clients, establishing a distinct FINN point of view.
- Represent FINN's media expertise externally through client presentations, new business pitches, panels, and industry platforms.
- Lead new business planning for brand media and partner with senior media colleagues on client retention.
- Champion the use of artificial intelligence and automation across planning, strategy development, and reporting.
- Manage and develop the Brand Media team by interviewing, hiring, delegating, mentoring, conducting performance reviews, and recommending compensation decisions.
- Evaluate staff development needs related to rotation and promotion, ensuring role definitions keep pace with team growth.
- Coordinate with Account leads on day-to-day client direction while retaining ownership of the team's development, performance management, and discipline standards.
About the company
Finn Partners is a global integrated marketing and communications agency with 18 offices across three continents and more than 700 colleagues. It delivers a range of services that help brands communicate with audiences through coordinated PR, marketing, digital, and strategic communications programs. The core product is integrated campaigns that combine media relations, content, events, digital tactics, and stakeholder engagement into a single, cohesive effort managed across regions and disciplines. Finn Partners differentiates itself through its collaborative, “new agency” model that blends a 60-year legacy in the industry with speed and energy from today’s hi-tech world, a culture focused on “amazing” work and workplace communities, and a track record of rapid growth, recognition, and awards. The company’s goal is to create meaningful, impactful communications work for clients while building a positive, inclusive workplace and contributing to the communities it serves.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
Founded
2011
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Laura Macdonald joined September 29, 2026, strengthening AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and adtech.
- Columbus and Minneapolis opened in 2026, expanding Midwest reach around Hormel, Medtronic, and Life Time.
- Honner’s Australia acquisition opened APAC financial services work inside the AU$4.5 trillion superannuation market.
What critics are saying
- FINN hovered near $200 million in fees for three years, signaling stalled organic growth.
- Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT answer boxes compress earned-media traffic before 2027 renewals.
- If AI search disintermediates PR placements, FINN’s media-forensics and retainer model weakens fast.
What makes Finn Partners unique
- Independence and 39 offices let FINN cross-sell globally without holding-company conflicts.
- FINN’s tech practice generated $50.3 million in 2025 and spans nearly 300 staff.
- AIristotle gives FINN proprietary messaging intelligence inside Media Forensics, launched September 2025.
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Benefits
Flexible Work Hours
Company News
FINN Partners has appointed Laura Macdonald as Global Technology Practice Leader. Macdonald, formerly President Americas at Hotwire, will oversee the agency's nearly 300-person global technology practice from San Francisco. She spent over a decade at Hotwire in leadership roles across the US, UK and globally, serving as Chief Growth Officer before her most recent position. Her expertise spans corporate, technology and consumer communications, with experience in AI, cybersecurity, adtech and fintech. FINN Partners' global technology practice generated $50.3 million in fees in 2025 and added over 50 new technology clients in the past year. The firm serves nearly 300 technology clients globally, including 2K, Comcast, IEEE and TP-Link. Founded in 2011, FINN Partners has grown from $24 million to approximately $200 million in fees over 14 years.
FINN Partners has appointed Janet Helm as Head of Food and Nutrition Strategy in a newly created role. Helm, a registered dietitian and nutritionist with over 20 years of experience, will guide strategy across the agency's food and beverage, agriculture and culinary travel client portfolios. Based in Chicago, Helm brings expertise in nutrition science, brand strategy and earned media. She has worked with food brands and agricultural commodity boards on nutrition storytelling, sustainability and stakeholder engagement. She has also appeared on Good Morning America, Today and CNN discussing food trends. The appointment reflects FINN Partners' continued investment in specialised expertise. CEO Peter Finn said Helm's scientific credibility and cultural fluency would help clients navigate conversations around food production and the future of food. Helm holds leadership roles with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is a member of culinary professional organisations.
FINN Partners has opened a Minneapolis office, its fifth location in the Midwest and 39th globally. The new office will have a 10-person team supporting clients including Hormel Foods, Medtronic, and Life Time. The office is led by four senior partners with expertise in creative strategy, consumer lifestyle, health communications, and crisis management. The team serves Minnesota's key economic sectors, including health and life sciences, outdoor and sports, consumer brands, and technology. The Minneapolis location joins FINN Partners' existing Midwest offices in Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, and Madison, Wisconsin. The firm provides earned-first public relations, social and influencer marketing, digital marketing, and Generative Engine Optimization services. The office is overseen by Dan Pooley, founding managing partner for the Midwest region.
FINN Partners has opened a new office in Columbus, Ohio, appointing Marty McDonald as managing partner and Midwest deputy. The move expands the independent marketing and communications agency's US presence into one of the Midwest's fastest-growing business hubs. McDonald will lead the Columbus office whilst supporting regional growth, working alongside Dan Pooley, founding managing partner and Midwest lead. She will also join FINN's global travel leadership team. Previously, McDonald spent over two decades at Fahlgren Mortine, most recently as the agency's first female president. In her new role, she will focus on B2B and B2C organisations, particularly in domestic tourism, economic development, healthcare, and logistics sectors. The downtown Columbus office is set to open in September 2026. FINN Partners now operates 38 offices globally with more than 1,300 professionals.
FINN Partners has appointed Udit Joshi as Partner to lead its expanded Hyderabad office. The move strengthens the agency's presence in the Indian city, which is becoming increasingly important for Global Capability Centres in pharmaceuticals, life sciences, medtech, and technology. Joshi will oversee an integrated offering spanning corporate communications, executive positioning, employer branding, public affairs, and digital engagement. The office will support organisations navigating communications between India's scientific talent and international markets, particularly the US. Managing Partner Aman Gupta noted that Hyderabad combines an established pharmaceutical ecosystem with substantial technology and engineering capabilities. The city's GCCs are evolving beyond operational support to lead global research, development, and innovation. The expanded operation connects clients with FINN Partners' expertise across India, the US, and its network of over 37 offices globally.