POSITION SUMMARY:

Summer Friday, a creative content and marketing agency based in New York, is looking for a cultural strategist to serve as our resident expert on research and trends. The strategist will have their finger on the pulse of cultural trends and key industry insights, as well as client news and updates. This is someone who continuously monitors cultural shifts, marketplace trends and audience insights — both broadly and for specific clients. 

 ABOUT YOU:

You love to dig in and discover unique insights across a broad spectrum of segments. You have an anthropological approach to finding the connection between consumer needs and brand platforms, and you’re passionate about it. Even better? Collaborating seamlessly with creative teams to bring those insights to life and cut through the clutter. You can’t wait to build something new and completely different, something that will ensure all creative output is socially responsible and relevant. You care about the impact and the cultural influence that creative and marketing content can have on the world. You educate and inspire, all while considering the medium, audience and end goal. And let’s not forget your best trait of all: your entrepreneurial spirit and appetite for learning. 

 RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Create and manage a cultural insights research panel that can provide insights across all US audiences, ensuring our creative is on-point and socially responsible.

  • Establish an insights center of excellence that continuously provides data to the client strategy, new business and creative teams. Insights include:

    • Culture: Understanding trending topics, nuances by region and demographic, monitoring key dates/holidays.

    • Industry: Exploring the ways cultural trends relate to key industries and their influencers, and uncovering insights that shape the journey and experience.

    • Client: Track news, comments and social sentiment; monitor changes in the business, as well as the competitors’ movements 

  • Be an early adopter of new trends, platforms and cultural shifts — and democratize those learnings for our entire organization

  • Collaborate closely with creative teams to ensure ideas are capable of breaking through and tapping key cultural or media trends

  • Work hand-in-hand with client strategy and creative team members to develop integrated marketing plans

  • Identify, manage and maintain positive relationships with external vendors and platforms 

  • Help develop and win new business by identifying and presenting key insights to current and prospective clients

  • Actively participate in agency development 

  • Embody Summer Friday’s core values of teamwork, equality, open and honest collaboration, unwavering trust, commitment to quality and innovation, and passion for social responsibility

REQUIREMENTS:   

  • Bachelor’s degree 

  • 7+ years of experience in strategic and/or research analyst roles

  • Exceptional understanding of strategy/research tools across all digital platforms

  • Financial services, insurance, utility/energy experience a plus

  • Traditional research experience a plus (both qualitative and quantitative)

  • Proven experience working within an integrated marketing team and communicating with clients

  • Strong communication, organizational and writing skills

  • Enthusiasm for learning new skills, approaches, applications and media

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment spanning multiple disciplines and locations 

  • Strong initiative and personal drive

  • Top-notch organizational skills, with the ability to multitask in order to meet deadlines

  • Calm demeanor, positive outlook, ability to collaborate with and inspire team members and clients

  • An entrepreneurial attitude to take on tasks that support our clients’ success and the vision of Summer Friday. No job is too big or too small for you  


OUR COMPANY:

At Summer Friday, we live at the intersection of Big Ideas and Nimble Execution. We develop enduring creative experiences that are rooted in strategy. It’s that ability to pair big-picture, award-winning thinking with a roll-up-our-sleeves mentality that allows Summer Friday to thrive as a content studio, digital conversion driver, omnichannel optimizer and execution powerhouse for major fortune 500 brands.

OUR CULTURE:

Two words define the Summer Friday state of mind: Fun and Fearless. We trust our people and processes, and that trust empowers us to be bold — to seek out projects that challenge us to grow and to constantly examine how our work impacts society. We balance that fearless spirit with a playfulness that shapes everything we do, from the way we share ideas to the way we collaborate and create. For us, it’s not about “work hard, play hard.” It’s about loving what you do and bringing that authentic passion to the team every day.

OUR STANCE:

Managing a creative marketing firm has always required an unwavering commitment to talent acquisition and advancement. We stand by the word of Martin Luther King, Jr. when it comes to judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. We take this further in recognizing all walks of life beyond skin, religion and sex. Through this collective understanding and appreciation, we have learned that diversity is exactly what allows us to be successful, fun, smart, efficient, creative, innovative and inspired every day. And with this emphasis, we believe we are fighting racism and inequality from within. Charging ahead, we are committed to adapting policies as we learn and progress as a company and as a country.  

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