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One of the coolest social media jobs around!
HARRY COMMENTS: We are working with Boston Market in their search for a Director of Interactive and Social Media based in Golden, Colorado — just 18 miles outside of Denver. Frankly, I love working on Colorado based searches because everyone wants to live there. Ever been there?
It’s heaven on earth.
Anyway, about today’s client: I’m sure you know Boston Market.
Boston Market is a leader in the fast-casual restaurant category, providing time-pressed consumers with great-tasting, convenient meals. The firm has 460+ locations in 28 states, and the firm’s brand is synonymous with convenient, home-style meals.
During my intake call with this client, I was happy (but not surprised) to learn that Boston Market is one of America’s largest providers of catering services. The company offers same-day ordering and delivery for corporate and personal events of all sizes — making Boston Market vittles a welcome relief from traditional sandwich tray selections.
Now here’s what’s so cool about this role …
EVERYONE EATS. Eating is practically the national pastime in America. We don’t just love food, we adore eating food that isn’t prepared by us. Truly, the average American household spends roughly $6,700 on food per year, and of that total, more than $2,500 is spent on food away from home. According to First Research, the US restaurant industry includes about 630,000 restaurants with combined annual revenue of about $470 billion.
Regardless of where food is consumed, one of the most important things you can do with your family is dine together. But with busy schedules and countless distractions, family meals can easily fall by the wayside. Families simply cannot (or will not) make time for each other at lunch / dinner. Which is why Boston Market devotes itself to helping busy families put a wholesome meal on the table.
About the Role
The Director of Interactive and Social Media is a cross-functional team leader who has the responsibility to leverage the breadth of knowledge and interactive opportunities across the organization to spearhead key strategic initiatives that meet the company’s overall business objectives. Translation: It’s YOUR job to figure out WHEN and HOW digital engagement and social media can be used to amplify Boston Market’s brand promise across every customer touchpoint.
You’ll execute Boston Market’s existing strategy and support all aspects of brand development, creative, strategic thinking, local store marketing, production and fulfillment as it pertains to digital media. You’ll shape and implement a continuously evolving and robust digital strategy. Trends change. Opportunities and threats change. So you’ll need to stay fluid but focused on your goal of using social / digital to keep the brand top-of-mind.
Central to Boston Market’s strategy are its affinity platform, mobile app, social media, email marketing, website experiences, and emerging technologies. Again, your job will be to promote the brand and its products to meet near-and long-term goals for growth, traffic, sales, engagement, guest advocacy, and brand affinity.
Is this role right for you?
Although this is somewhat fluid, it would be great if you had restaurant experience and understood the underlying economics of the restaurant business plus the basics of restaurant marketing. In this role, it’s essential that you understand how to talk about Boston Market’s business — and if you knew these things going into the role, that’d be awesome.
(Again, this is nice to have. But not 100% required …)
Additionally, we’re looking for someone with at least five years experience in marketing and communications. Key consideration: How will you start meaningful conversations with Boston Market’s guests? This is a biggie, and in some ways this attribute might be more of a priority than hiring someone who is a total gunslinger with digital platforms.
Remember: This job is not only about how to push great content into the market. It’s also about gathering data on those initiatives and doing something with it.
Next, we’d love it if you understood how to work with a brand with a rich heritage. Boston Market has been around for 30 years and its positioning should reflect that. The company is definitely not stodgy – but these folks have been in the restaurant business a long time. You should understand how to tell a story for a brand that is slightly older. Nothing wrong with that. Just ask Coke or Levi’s.
Which brings me to PR. Do you have solid PR experience? Good! Because you’ll be working with Boston Market’s PR and advertising agencies.
Finally: Metrics, engagement, and KPI’s. Obviously, we’d love it if you have deep experience with Sprout Social, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the like. But please understand that building a vaunted brand across multiple dayparts, multiple social platforms, and multiple devices (used by multiple decision-makers … husbands / wives / kids … anyone with an opinion on what’s for dinner) requires an extremely analytical bias to the way one markets.
It’s okay if you have creative heart of an artist – but you’ll need to summon your inner scientist to move the needle in this role.
My intake call with this role’s hiring manager lasted 76 mins, and I’m happy to discuss everything I’ve heard, seen, and researched about those things with qualified candidates. You don’t want to apply without this intel, so let me hook you up.
Simply TEXT [your name + “Boston Market”] to me at (404) 281-2025. Or simply apply online below. Either way, I look forward to chatting with you!
View Harry Joiner’s profile
Essential Functions:
- Serves as the primary thought leader on how to develop and deliver the strategic direction and implementation of all interactive media initiatives, including social and digital media which consists of the planning and execution of digital technology, digital advertising, social networking, social commerce, video and website.
- Leads all digital development and implementation efforts in conjunction with internal and external partners; manages 3rd party relationships to ensure optimal effectiveness, efficiencies, and value.
- Oversees the design, build, and ongoing implementation/maintenance of the brand loyalty program, email platform, and other marketing channels and devices; evaluates data analytics that result in building robust guest profiles and deepening guest relationships to drive affinity and advocacy through the development and activation of immersive engagement campaigns, in addition to a framework and technological infrastructure that serves as the foundation to deliver “the right message to the right guest through the right channel at the right time.”
- Stays current on consumer trends and needs through research and data analysis, and applying insights to the holistic digital experience.
- Partners with consumer insights team and other parties, as necessary, to analyze data on user needs, analytics and traffic/engagement patterns to inform digital experience priorities and initiatives and understand how the Company’s guests’ digital expectations are evolving; represents the Company’s voice with the consumer, ensuring accurate and consistent representation of the brand on all digital properties and channels.
- Manages digital agencies and develops innovative media content, in conjunction with marketing, across web, mobile and email platforms.
- Ensures restaurants, external partners, and internal departments are well-educated, informed and prepared for upcoming or optional digital programs and campaigns.
- Contributes to the creation of a culture to embrace and sustain digital innovation, including identifying opportunities for applying new technologies, digital products and services to provide consumers with a seamless interactive and visual experience across all relevant digital and offline channels.
- Rolls-out processes that drive feature and functionality improvements, and cost effectiveness to meet the fast moving needs of the target consumer and business; identifies an ongoing consumer insight model to support future experience, design, and functionality decisions. Maintains holistic roadmap for the digital experience including the sequencing and timing of capabilities and features as well as rollouts and test markets.
- Partners with marketing department leaders to properly leverage the digital platform and experience in support of the brand’s channel marketing strategy and calendar. Demonstrates subject matter expertise across digital teams to share best practices, interdependencies, and alignment opportunities across the organization.
- Defines department staffing and resource requirements; leads and develops a lean digital marketing team that is highly capable and engaged in the management and implementation of the brand’s digital experience. Establishes and manages annual operating and capital budgets.
- Performs other duties as required and assigned.
Competencies:
- Accountability
- Customer Focus
- Effective Communication, written and oral
- Execution Excellence & Reliability
- Financial & Business Acumen
- First rate Interpersonal Skills
- Personal Effectiveness/Credibility
- Analytical/Quantitative/Problem Solving Skills
- Relationship Building at all levels
- Results Driven
- Stress Management/Composure
- Teamwork & Collaboration
Required Education and Experience:
- Undergraduate degree required.
- Advanced MS office experience.
- 2-4 years of social media experience.
- 3 years’ experience with online marketing best practices.
- 3 years’ experience of crisis communications, public relations, partnership development and event coordination.
- 8 years’ experience in communications or marketing, including demonstrable experience in social networking.
Preferred Education and Experience:
- BS in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, or related field.
- Master of Business Administration.
- 2-3 year’s purchasing experience preferably within the restaurant or retail industries.
- 10 years’ experience in communications or marketing, including demonstrable experience in social networking.
- 5 years’ experience with online marketing best practices.
- 5 years’ experience of crisis communications, public relations, partnership development and event coordination.
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