Client Service Director, Brand Activations

Responsibilities

• Own a portfolio of client accounts, driving account strategy and revenue growth by generating new leads and pitches.
• Own the commercial lifecycle of Creative Riff’s managed media and activation spaces at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), driving annual sales strategy in partnership with New Business and Marketing, managing inventory through sale, and building strategic relationships with select SDCC partners.
• Build trusted, strategic client relationships by understanding their business objectives, priorities, stakeholders, and culture.
• Serve as the primary point of contact throughout the project lifecycle, leading clear, proactive client communication and ensuring alignment at every stage.
• Be a confident seller who can uncover needs, shape opportunities, and persuasively connect client needs to Creative Riff’s capabilities.
• Resolve client issues directly and decisively, anticipating challenges and escalating only when executive involvement is required.
• Own project delivery from pitch through execution, ensuring work is delivered on strategy, on time, on scope, and on budget.
• Establish clear scopes, priorities, timelines, and accountability across project teams and with the client.
• Maintain strong project and client communication throughout delivery, ensuring teams have the clarity and support needed to execute.
• Anticipate risks and dependencies, address issues early, and make decisive calls when circumstances change.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field.
• 8 to 10 years of experience in client service, account management, brand or experiential marketing, or a related role within an agency, brand, entertainment company, or in house marketing organization.
• Proven experience leading multi million dollar programs or client engagements with accountability for revenue, margin, pricing, budgets, forecasting, and scope.
• Proven experience working at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), including managing client relationships, commercial opportunities, or activations within the convention environment.
• Track record of growing client relationships, generating new business opportunities, and leading successful pitches or proposals.
• Strong experience leading cross functional teams with the ability to influence.
• Deep understanding of experiential marketing, entertainment, brands, audiences, and culture.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship building skills, with sound judgment in high stakes situations.

Preferred

• Experience with entertainment IPs, fan driven experiences, or large scale cultural events.
• Experience building or scaling a client service function or team.
• P&L ownership at the department or portfolio level.
• Familiarity with project and resource management tools (Asana, Runn, or similar) and data driven client reporting.