Marketing Communication Strategist – Blue Buffalo

Job Description:
OVERVIEW

“Love Them Like Family, Feed them Like Family.”

This is an exciting time to be part of the Blue Buffalo family, as the company is on a journey to revolutionize relationships with consumers (Pet Parents). This role is key to Blue Buffalo’s growth strategy: cultivating deeper, more meaningful relationships with consumers (Pet Parents) that will drive incremental value and loyalty to Blue Buffalo.  Blue Buffalo wants to be there to support consumers (Pet Parents) during all the moments that matter in their lives, so more consumers (Pet Parents) who love them like family can feed them like family.

Reporting to the Director, Brand Strategy, Communication and Activation, we are seeking a Communications Strategist to join the team. In this role, you will play a critical part in the successful delivery of communication strategies in service of Blue Buffalo business objectives. Partnering closely with stakeholders across Blue Buffalo you’ll help bring growth-oriented communications strategies and plans to life. This role is instrumental to ensure data across Blue Buffalo (insights, experience, trade and finance) is understood and translated into actionable insights to optimize our communication planning (campaigns and ongoing optimizations). This role will translate the outcomes of consumer (pet parent) experiences into business value through ongoing business planning optimizations and work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure business goals are being met through activation activities.

The preferred location for this role is Wilton, CT but remote applications may be considered. 

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Leads and Develops Communications Strategies & Plans

Define and develop the communications strategies underpinning Blue Buffalo brand and business growth objectives.

Lead communications planning meetings; guiding holistic brief development and alignment to overarching business goals

Set communication learning agenda(s) and guide and inform cross-functional teams on how communications plans and strategies will be activated to achieve goals.

Serve as the brand & communications liaison to the business, reviewing and guiding business requests for alignment to holistic brand and keen marketing communication objectives.

Manage, guide and action upon business requests, working to prioritize efforts based on in-flight and/or planned initiatives.

In partnership with cross-functional teams (EX: Creative, Experience, CRM) gather inputs to develop communication briefs and maintain objective integrity throughout the development process ensuring paid, owned and earned integration across marketing efforts.

Collaborate with functional Marketing strategy channel leads (EX: Media, Partnerships and PR) and Activation teams (EX: Media, PR) to ensure clear strategy and link between how national campaigns (master brand and/or product line) will be supported and/or amplified by owned communications.  Partner with functional Marketing Strategy, Experience Strategy and CRM teams on the integrated communications planning and roll-out of marketing programs, messages and communications that align to BLUE business goals and strategic objectives.

Collaborate & Continuously Improve Communications Efforts

Partner with Insights, Trade, Performance & Optimization, CRM, and Channel Activation leads to understand campaign and communications performance outputs; incorporating paid, owned and earned performance insights, equity/A&U, marketing mix, creative effectiveness, shopper/trade learnings and business performance to produce After Action Reviews for key campaigns.

Leverage After Action Reviews to inform future communications planning efforts and uncover opportunities for improvement; aggregate and communicate out actionable implications to communication strategies and plans to key marketing team members.

Participate in data gathering sessions and collaborate with cross-functional team members (finance, experience, performance & optimization, paid, owned and earned channel leads) to ensure key learnings are gathered and used to hone ongoing spend allocation and optimization.

Incorporate key learnings to optimize strategic role of owned touchpoints to deliver on BLUE brand communication objective and/or reach unique consumer (Pet Parent) audiences during the business planning and ongoing communication planning process.

Manage external agency partners/vendors     

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in marketing or related field

7+ years of relevant experience in consumer-packaged goods industry and ideally with a Master Brand company.

Highly collaborative with strong communication skills – written and verbal.

Experience in designing and shaping marketing communication strategies and plans.

Understands campaign design, brand strategy principals, consumer journey development and omni-channel planning.

Experience working in agile and managing agile teams.

Deeper digital marketing background and experience.

Market research knowledge and/or experience.

Use data and performance metrics to understand consumer trends and shape actionable communication plans

Must be able to work in environment with free-roaming companion pets

Inclusive leadership qualities, and flexible team-oriented approach to working with others.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Internal consulting skills: ability to facilitate consensus across multiple stakeholders.

Ability to handle multiple simultaneous projects while effectively balancing scope, resourcing, time, and quality.

Self-starter with ability to clearly communicate strategic initiatives.

Strong attention to detail

Pet enthusiast preferred

Company Overview:
We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best — bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what’s next.