Brand Curator at Diageo

Diageo is still a relatively young company - we have only existed in our current form since 1997- but our brands and our business have a rich heritage. our earliest ancestor company formed in 1749, is Justerini & Brooks - wine merchants, and blenders of the famous J&B whisky range. 10 years after that, in 1759 Arthur Guinness signed the lease on the now world famous St James's Gate brewery in Dublin, going on to create a globally iconic brand.

Diageo’s Reserve business is well-established and highly profitable with a leading position within super premium & above spirits, holding the number one share position globally. Our portfolio includes industry icons The Singleton, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Tanqueray No. Ten, Zacapa, Don Julio, Ciroc, Ketel One and others.

As the luxury market continues to gain momentum around the world, within beverage alcohol, luxury spirits is one of the fastest growing segments. With premiumisation encouraged to remain a long-term trend, this growth is forecasted to continue, and our award-winning portfolio is well positioned to captivate consumers across the global and income levels.

To win in luxury spirits, our manifesto guides what we strive to cause for consumers - to make their every day more special, to make the many dreams with experiences available and aspirational. Our consumers want to socialize in style, and this desire for specialness fuels the opportunity for Premiumization.

A critical pillar of the Reserve Luxury strategy is the On-Trade – bars and restaurants where consumers socialize with our brands. The On-Trade provides a stage for elevated brand experiences and is a vital network for cultural programming. Trend leading venues serve as a studio for content generation, amplified through a network of influencers, providing scale and amplification well beyond the outlet.

Our objective is to build On-Trade activation into our Marketing Brand plans. This will help us earn talkability around our products and improve equity metrics such as saliency, meaning, and distinctiveness. Our On-Trade team are therefore relationship owners, creators and brand builders, helping to nurture our portfolio of Luxury brands.

Key leadership responsibilities will include:

• Champions the attitude with internal and external teams about the On-Trade's role as a stage for brand activations. It also promotes the On-Trade as a content partner that drives talkability in culture.
• Integrates On-Trade programming strategically into luxury brand building through internal planning process such as marketing and commercial planning.
• Builds broad and deep relationships across the team internally and externally to orchestrate the luxury agenda across various functions within the business.
• Maintains high connectedness to what’s going on around them internally and externally (in trade & broader culture context) and recognizes opportunities to deliver collaborator needs.

The role of Brand Curator is a critical new position within the commercial team, developed to deliver our luxury manifesto of crafting elevated and aspirational experiences. We want our brands to be culture-forward: participating with people, in the places, at the moments which intersect where consumers socialize.

The Brand Curator is an On-Trade cultural expert, passionate about bringing our brands to life in influential and trendy on-trade venues. The role is city based and focused on high-end influential, & trendy venues.

Working directly with customer marketing and sales, the Brand Curator is responsible for delivering high-profile talkable experiences that generate user-generated and brand-generated content - in partnership with our on-trade customers. 

Transformative TLA (Trend Leading Account) Partnerships

• Shortlists venues from TLA selection (across channels) to determine best-fit for our brands to deliver talkability at scale with benefit of ongoing trial in venue (based on audience, influence and brand-fit).
• Partners with Luxury Sales Manager & Brand Culture Manager to develop experience & content driven Customer Plans outlining Commercial Drivers, Culture Drivers, Activation & Content Plan and Investment Plan.
• Partners with Luxury Sales Manager and Brand Culture Manager and provides input on specific performance measures relating to the culture-based activation deliverables within the TLA contract (events, content capture, network, PR & social amplification).

Ideation of Tailored Experiences

• Co-creates with each venue on ideation of high profile talkable brand experiences to bring brands to life through elevated storytelling, iconicity and outstanding rituals.
• Links cultural trends, brand truths and venue concepts - and ensures culture activation has earned amplification opportunities to drive talkability.
• Aligns the internal brand and culture team to the customer opportunity for the brand and ensures alignment to the brand’s cultural platform and relevancy in current culture context.

Experience Planning & Activation

• Inputs into MBP (Marketing Business Plan) process ensuring on-trade culture drivers are built into Brand Culture Calendar and advises the amplification brief including investment requirements.
• Leads activation via experiential agency and other activation partners (influencers, content creators etc.) and is the point of contact between the customer and Diageo for all brand activation.
• Aligns with Luxury Sales Manager on investment requirements to deliver TLA culture drivers and ensures Trade Investment and A&P work in service of delivering marketing outcomes.

Content Creation & Capture

• Partners with the Customer and Brand Culture Manager to develop a Content Calendar supervising all content elements planned for publishing, based on venue Activation Calendar.
• Ensures creative output/ content outcomes best support brand strategy in terms of photo, video & other social media assets, adherence to brand world, visual consistency & DMC compliance.
• Manages the plan for brand-generated content capture via content creation network, influencers, venue production, or production agency as per the Culture brief agreed with Brand & Culture.

Content Amplification:

• Provides inputs into Brand’s Content Plan on channel considerations for content amplification (Earned, Paid, Owned) including social media channels, D-Commerce and other channels.
• Provides inputs into Amplification Plan together with PR/Culture & Brand on media amplification goals & targets Aligns customer to amplification targets.
• Inputs into weekly Activation updates with BA’s, SM’s as well as monthly amplification updates with Culture, PR, Experiential and Brand teams.

Measurement & Evaluation:

• Puts processes in place to supervise and measure planned metrics and targets across areas of events, content bring together, PR and social activation & amplification
• Tracks and monitors adherence to contracts – venue/ influencers / content creators, carries out compliance and addresses non-compliance together with the Luxury Sales Manager.
• Inputs into M&E performed by brand/culture lead on investment in terms of social media reach and engagement against planned/goals with objective of continued optimization.

Adhoc Regional Partnerships & Events (<20% of time in Role)

• Builds, maintains and activates adhoc regional partnerships critical to winning in Reserve.
• Undertakes regional events and properties important for winning in Reserve.

The ideal candidate will have 3+ years of experience working with luxury brands in the spirits/wine, luxury hospitality or food & beverage industries. The candidate has worked across luxury sales, experiential marketing or customer marketing functions.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in public relations, events, influencer management and media relations.
• Tried experience in content direction and production with expertise in content commissioning or is content producer with social-first approach to earn.
• Has expertise across digital and social channels, search engine optimization and content planning.
• A storyteller with the ability to bring ideas to life in bright, multifaceted ways.
• Has positive relationships with the trade, influencers and organizers. 
• Passion for luxury and premium brands, our customers & our consumers.
• Luxury Activation – track record of successful brand activations, driven with outstanding standards in luxury, highly talked about 
• Inability to influence, develop alignment and followership from interested parties across functions.
• Lack of resilience and inability to work in an ambiguous, fast-pace and evolving environment.
• Lack of brand and marketing judgement, lack of flair for luxury brands or limited creativity ability.

Method of Application