Director of Marketing, Content and Editorial

ROLE                                     Director of Marketing, Content and Editorial

LOCATION                            Stratford and area, Ontario

COMPANY WEBSITE           https://www.stratfordfestival.ca

REPORTS TO                       Senior Director of Marketing and Audience Development

TYPE                                     Permanent, Full Time

 

THE ORGANIZATION

The Stratford Festival (the Festival) is North America’s largest classical repertory theatre company, operating year round, presenting a season of about a dozen plays each year between the months of April and November, a rich stream of digital content and hundreds of Forum events, designed to deepen understanding of the plays. The Festival is undergoing a culture shift to support anti-racism and anti-oppression and ensure a respectful, equitable and inclusive environment in which all staff, artists and audience members can feel a true sense of belonging.

By attracting the finest talent from Canada and the world, and by providing the conditions and training that enable artists to achieve their most courageous work, the Festival immerses its audiences in a theatre-going experience that is innovative, entertaining, and unsurpassed anywhere in the world: one that is deeply relevant to, and reflective of, their lives and communities.

 

THE MARKETING, CONTENT AND EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

The department creates rich, engaging, multimedia content to connect diverse audiences in the ways they love to receive stories. While the main focus of the Department is to provide the content depth to support the Marketing Promotion and Revenue Department’s tactical sales campaigns, it also provides support (story mining, writing and proofing) to other departments, and ensures stylistic consistency and grammatical accuracy of external communications.

The Marketing Content and Editorial Department takes a transmedia storytelling approach by designing stories to unfold across multiple media — print, digital (written, audio and visual) and talks/speeches — in an expansive rather than repetitive way. By telling interconnected stories the Department embraces the thematic nuance and complexity of our plays and events to create content that appeals to different audiences.

The Department aims to create and distribute content that captures people’s attention, drawing them towards the Stratford Festival, encouraging them to visit the city to attend shows and events; enrichening their experience and deepening their appreciation for the work they see; reinforcing each show’s and event’s entertainment position; fostering a powerful emotional connection to the Stratford Festival and a love for the city.

 

THE POSITION

This senior full-time role is responsible for inspiring conversation about the Stratford Festival, enriching people’s experience of the Festival’s shows and events, deepening people’s appreciation for the work and developing the Festival’s pitch perfect tone of voice for different audiences.

In addition to being a natural storyteller, this role will suit an experienced journalist/broadcaster or communications professional with experience in a transmedia environment. You will develop an omni-channel content plan, overseeing the creation of written, visual, audio and video communications for publishing in print, on the web, through email, on social media, video platforms and podcasting platforms.

As the Director of Marketing: Content and Editorial you will establish and champion the Festival’s Brand Voice, and guide its expression through distinctive, engaging, and compelling content. 

The Director of Marketing: Content and Editorial will lead and manage the Festival’s content teams, and work collaboratively with the Director of Marketing: Promotion and Sales to ensure editorial content supports the festival’s revenue objectives and is aligned to promotional campaigns.

This is an outstanding opportunity to be at the heart of a national arts organisation, connecting Canadians of all ages with a nationally significant company and telling inspiring and interesting stories about the Festival’s work.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Brand Strategy

  • Develop and champion a distinctive and memorable brand voice for the Stratford Festival that is capable of engaging a diverse range of audiences from traditional theatregoers to people encountering the Festival for the first time.
  • Connect audiences to a deeper understanding of the Stratford Festival’s artistic direction and cultivate a strong and positive emotional connection to the Festival.
  • Enable flexibility in Brand Voice to ensure communications to diverse communities are pitch perfect to the receiving audiences.
  • Develop a multi-channel tourism-inspired brand campaign that references the Festival’s history, its audiences (both actual and those to be developed) and the city of Stratford.
  • Ensure the Festival’s Brand Voice is consistently and correctly used in all marketing and communications activities.
  • Establish a compelling and inclusive communication tone and ensure stylistic consistency in marketing communications.

Content Strategy

  • In collaboration with the Marketing team, create a content plan that identifies different target audiences for plays and events, the media platforms they use to engage with culture
  • In collaboration with the position’s key reports and other marketing and communications roles, devise a content plan for the Festival generally and each show specifically, that takes into account different target audiences and media platforms they use to consume culture and arts content.
  • Implement the content plan by commissioning, writing, recording, editing, and proofreading compelling articles, feature stories, and analytical pieces for various Festival publications.
  • Ensure all content creation deadlines are met.

Communications

  • Engender community support by communicating/promoting the Festival’s activities and involvement within the community
  • Use season and play introductory notes to convey key messages and speeches.
  • Present captivating experiences from which both the Festival and followers can generate shareable content.

Management

  • Lead the Festival’s content teams and work collaboratively with the Director of Marketing, Promotion and Sales to ensure editorial content supports the festival’s revenue objectives and is aligned to promotional campaigns.
  • Work with the Marketing Director, Promotion and Sales to meet the Festival’s ambitious revenue targets and engagement KPIs.
  • Prepare speeches and written materials for the Festival’s AGM and other corporate activity.
  • Develop a default style guide for the organisation’s writers to use as a baseline for writing.
  • Interview creative teams and read scripts to mine for interesting and engaging stories and show-specific themes.
  • Coordinate special projects and events as required.

 

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

  • Minimum 8 years’ experience in journalism, broadcasting, social media, content management, communications/PR or similar background.
  • Experience with consumer-facing marketing.
  • Ability to create compelling messages that support the Festival’s marketing strategy.
  • Alignment with the Stratford Festival’s mission, vision, and values.
  • Demonstrated success in creating impactful content across multiple platforms.
  • Experience in using innovative digital methods to successfully support customer-centric approaches.
  • Understanding of all relevant communications platforms and channels.
  • Ability to build trust and engender confidence amongst the management team.
  • Diplomatic team-player with the ability to lead and manage effectively within a highly creative environment.
  • Outstanding communications skills, verbal and written.
  • Ability to meet deadlines and accurately fact-check information.
  • Relevant university degree or equivalent experience in a field related to marketing or communications.

 

CANDIDATE ATTRIBUTES

  • Highly articulate, with exceptional team-building skills.
  • A deep knowledge and love of theatre.
  • High professional standards, with an acute attention to detail.
  • A practical, calm, and creative problem solver and strategic thinker, with the flexibility to react nimbly to the unexpected.
  • Ability to work well under pressure, independently or as part of a team.
  • Results-oriented personality with a collegial management approach and high level of integrity.
  • Disciplined; accepts ownership with a hands-on approach.
  • Passionate about impactful storytelling.

 

COMPENSATION

A competitive, experienced-based compensation package (annual salary range between $115,000 and $125,000)  with benefits will be provided.

 

HOW TO APPLY

If you would like to be part of this change and contribute your own remarkable talents to North America’s largest not-for-profit theatre, we’d like to hear from you. Please submit your application by emailing your cover letter and résumé no later than February 25th, 2022 to: stratford@searchlightpartnersgroup.com

Stratford Festival is working diligently toward a safe and healthy workplace for everyone.  We welcome applicants of every identity, and encourage applications from Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Deaf, disabled and 2SLGBTQ+ folks. We are committed to accommodating people with disabilities throughout the recruitment process and beyond. If you require accommodation (including, but not limited to, an accessible interview site, alternate format documents, ASL Interpreter, or Assistive Technology) during the recruitment and selection process, please let our Recruitment team know.

As a condition of hire, all successful job candidates must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of full vaccination at time of contracting. This condition is subject to the provisions of the Human Rights Code. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those being considered for interviews will be contacted by Searchlight Partners.


Similar searches: Marketing & Communications