Karla Otto is a renowned public relations and communications agency with offices across 14 locations in the UK, EMEA, US and Asia. Established in 1982 by Karla Otto herself, the agency has since grown to become a global leader in luxury brand PR and events.
With offices in major fashion capitals such as Milan, London, New York, and Los Angeles, Karla Otto represents some of the most prestigious fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands in the industry.
In 2017, Karla Otto and K2 merged to form The Independents, a global group of agencies for industry leaders across luxury and lifestyle. Currently this group comprises of Bureau Betak & Bureau Future, Karla Otto, K2, The Qode, Lefty, Prodject and CTZA, Atelier LUM, INCA Productions and Atelier Athem.
Our network of expert strategists, designers, planners, and publicists work tirelessly to deliver exceptional results and establish long-term partnerships with our clients. We are passionate about the world of fashion, beauty, and luxury, with everyone bringing their unique expertise and insights to the table. We are driven by a shared commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving industry landscape.
To help support our future growth as an agency, we are looking for a Vice President, Creative Strategy to join our team based in our New York office.
The Vice President, Creative Strategy will be collaborating across departments and with international offices to utilize all Karla Otto divisions (Insights, Strategy, Creative, Talent, Experiences, Communications) for clients in fashion, lifestyle, beauty, and FMCG sectors. The role involves leading US integrated pitches, creative outputs for key clients, and managing multi-market clients on both retainer and project bases.
Candidates should have experience managing large global clients and client services teams, building strong internal and external relationships, and delivering valuable work for clients and the agency. They should possess expertise in integrated strategy and creative within fashion, lifestyle, beauty, and FMCG brands, and be adept at problem-solving and innovation.
Client Focus
- Lead pitches, answer client RFPs, win new business and up-sell existing clients through identifying strategic / creative opportunities
- Develop client trust; build and develop long term relationships
- Ability to articulate concepts in visual, written, and verbal form
- Lead supporting team to ideate, concept and execute creative ideas that encapsulate the brand s vision and successfully deliver to target audiences and growth targets
- Commission and manage fresh and exciting talent to execute branded projects, thinking outside the box and towards long-term partnerships and opportunities
- Work with the supporting team to ideate and conceptualize strategies that execute a brand s vision and will successfully deliver it to their target audiences against brief guidelines and commercial targets and commissioning/negotiating terms for talent to execute branded content
- Deliver accurate budgets required for execution of proposed projects and manage expenditure against these accordingly
- Be able to adapt and drive working processes and workflows depending on the client, to ensure success
- Manage the reporting process to demonstrate the value of programs and their effectiveness to maximize results and provide key future learnings to continually optimize EMV, impressions etc.
- Liaise closely with internal and external teams, proactively managing workflow and resolving issues, reacting to client and consumer feedback etc.
- Overseeing administrative tasks, including talent contracts and invoicing, collaborating with the Karla Otto finance team etc.
- Support the Managing Director, Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President and collaborate with other team members, where required
Internal Focus
- New business acquisition through the development of strong pitch decks, scope of works and budgets
- Responsible for day-to-day management and development of the US creative strategy team
- Client budget management: manage internal team efficiency and productivity to achieve desired profit margin
- Stay ahead of emerging trends to challenge and share learnings across the teams
- Work with teams across departments and international offices within a creative strategy capacity as needed
- Develop and manage team members, offering coaching and support when needed
Key Attributes
- 10+ years in marketing/communications, with experience on both the agency and in-house sides being advantageous.
- Proficient in integrating creative and analytical thinking to justify marketing strategies, with excellent knowledge of social media platforms/trends (especially Instagram and TikTok) and emerging platforms.
- High-level execution skills with meticulous attention to both aesthetic and organizational details.
- Exceptional leadership and management skills, with the ability to work autonomously, lead and coach junior team members, and collaborate effectively in a team setting. A real team player who thrives in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
- Excellent copywriting, verbal communication, and presentation skills, proficient in Keynote and PowerPoint.
- Natural planner and strong negotiator with the ability to handle multiple projects, meet stringent deadlines, and work through complex contracts.
- A positive, can-do attitude with a capacity for problem-solving, adaptability
- Understanding of Influencer Marketing and monitoring/tracking tools
- Experience with design programs (Adobe Photoshop/InDesign) is a plus and strong numerical proficiency including Excel.
What We Offer...
- Medical, Dental, and Vision plans
- 401K Employer Match program
- Commuter Benefits
- Paid Time Off including Vacation Days, Personal Days, Sick Days, and additional Comp Days
- Company-wide closure last week of the year
- 10 Federal Holidays Observed
At Karla Otto, we are always looking for personalities with positive charisma who are enthusiastic, self-motivated, and have a keen sense of aesthetics.
Karla Otto embraces and celebrates diversity, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Karla Otto provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join our team!