Vice President, Earned Media Strategy

Responsibilities

• Put the brand at the center of culture. Identify opportunities across sports, entertainment, music, fandom and internet culture where the brand can credibly show up and earn attention.
• Lead earned strategy for major brand moments. Develop integrated earned approaches around tentpole sporting events, entertainment moments, partnerships, product launches, activations and cultural happenings.
• Operate in real time. Track what’s happening across media and social every day and quickly identify conversations, headlines, trends and moments the brand can capitalize on.
• Know sports beyond the schedule. Understand the personalities, traditions, memes, rivalries, fan behaviors and emerging storylines surrounding major sports leagues and events — particularly football and other major U.S. sports.
• Stay relentlessly plugged into the media landscape. Know which reporters, creators, podcasts, newsletters, social accounts and emerging platforms are actually shaping conversation.
• Build relationships that matter. Maintain strong relationships across national news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, culture and digital media.
• Turn insights into headlines. Find the sharp cultural observation, tension or behavior that can become an earned idea — not just another press release.
• Think beyond traditional PR. Develop ideas designed to travel across earned media, social, creators, experiential, talent and paid channels.
• Work with talent and creators. Help identify the right athletes, entertainers, musicians, celebrities and creators for brand programs and develop earned strategies that make those partnerships newsworthy.
• Be a trusted client counselor. Advise senior clients on cultural opportunities, media strategy, brand positioning, talent, risk and real-time decision-making.

Requirements

• 8+ years of PR, communications or earned media experience, including significant experience leading work for major consumer brands.
• A genuine passion for sports, entertainment and culture — this is essential to the role, not a nice-to-have.
• Deep knowledge of the sports landscape, particularly major U.S. sports and the fan cultures surrounding them.
• A track record of developing earned ideas that have broken through around major cultural moments.
• Strong relationships across sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, culture and national media.
• Deep fluency in the modern media ecosystem — from traditional outlets to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, newsletters, Substack, creators and emerging platforms.
• An instinct for what will get people talking and the ability to turn that instinct into smart, ownable opportunities for a brand.
• Experience working with athletes, celebrities, musicians, creators and other high-profile talent.
• Experience leading integrated campaigns across earned, social, creator, experiential and paid channels.
• The ability to move quickly. Really quickly. You’re comfortable developing a smart recommendation when the cultural window might be measured in hours, not weeks.