At AKQA, we blend the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Strategists at AKQA make our client’s business their business. Working with account teams and creative teams, they are the voice of both the client and the consumer, and their job rarely ends at strategy. Adept storytellers, strategists use their endless curiosity and up-to-date knowledge of technology, culture and societal trends to provide unique outlooks and solutions for our clients.

Drawn from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, our Strategic Planners develop and apply market insights, data and trends to communicate and drive innovation opportunities. They help to deliver cohesive blueprints that fulfil audience needs and surpass business goals.

Strategists are ultimately responsible for creating and maximizing value, both for our clients and for the audiences they serve.

While our strategists may have deep knowledge about specific industries, their work must resonate in multiple business sectors and cultures.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct extensive research (qualitative and quantitative, interviews, desktop, etc) and digest findings into relevant, actionable insight. 
• Have a broad overview of all client data sources, and know where to get the specifics very quickly.
• Understand the client’s business needs and collaborate with the team to define solutions.
• Build profiles of clients’ audiences – digital behaviours and device ownership as well as usage.
• Keep abreast of cultural, creative and technological news and developments pertaining to clients/useful for the account team.
• Quickly develop POVs on best practices and briefings on a range of technology, consumer, and industry trends.
• Co-create and eventually lead in the development of campaign, content, product and other strategies for our clients.
• Development of expertise in creative usage of different research methodologies to generate fresh insights for the account team.
• Finding new sources of information, e.g. experts; thinktanks.
• Apply appropriate frameworks, tools and approaches to deliver innovative solutions.
• Understand the clients’ business, the brands’ strategy, and quantitative methods well enough to be able to suggest what the relevant evaluation measures should be. Get involved in the monitoring of the effectiveness of each brand (partnering closely with Analytics), and the writing of effectiveness papers (if appropriate).
• Get to grips with the ever-evolving debate on how to evaluate digital activity and services.
• Contribute more to the strategic debate on brands, articulate and support a point of view on how it should be 'moved on'. Develops perspectives on the different ways to achieve both short-term (e.g. sales now) & long-term (e.g. equity) brand objectives.
• Get experience of working on pitches; take responsibility for important sections of the process (e.g. organising & managing a piece of research, etc.), and contribute usefully to discussions on strategy. Follow through the pitch process to develop an understanding of how we can continuously improve.
• Ensure there is close integration with other disciplines within AKQA, especially with Account Management, User Experience, and Creative.
• Be proactive, provoke debate, and identify what the agenda for future discussion should be.

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• You have an insatiable curiosity and are able to observe and identify patterns, trends and insights. 
• You have strategic planning experience within a digital or integrated agency environment.
• Constantly strives to improve processes and procedures.
• Reaches personal billability and utilisation targets. 
• You have experience working on digital marketing projects.
• Effective time management and project management of strategy deliverables. 
• Familiar with the basics (business model canvas, lean canvas) and eager to master new tools and skills.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence and inspire people with their thinking. 
• Experience designing and analysing complex quantitative research is a plus.

AKQA is an Equal Opportunities Employer, we believe that diversity is vital to AKQA’s ability to provide our clients with the best recommendations and are committed to fostering a varied and inclusive work environment. Your race, colour, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or veteran status have no bearing on our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.