Associate Creative Director, Creative Strategy

underdog & company is looking for an  Associate Creative Director, Creative Strategy  to bring ideas to life at the intersection of sports, culture, and brand storytelling.

Want to make an application Make sure your CV is up to date, then read the following job specs carefully before applying.

As a senior member of a newly forming creative strategy team, this person will serve as both a strategic thought partner and a hands-on creative leader. They will turn complex business challenges into clear strategic platforms, original experiential and sponsorship ideas, and compelling narratives that move clients and win new business.

Our team supports a diverse network of agencies and clients, from brands and B2B businesses to teams, leagues, and the agencies themselves. The right candidate will be equally comfortable leading a brainstorm, shaping a pitch narrative, presenting to senior executives, and jumping into the details of a deck.

Agency experience is required. This role reports to the VP of Creative Strategy.

Key Responsibilities

? Lead creative strategy and concept development for priority client assignments, integrated campaigns, and new business pursuits.

? Turn business objectives, audience insights, and cultural tensions into sharp strategic platforms and original activation ideas.

? Lead brainstorms and working sessions, helping teams generate, evaluate, and strengthen ideas against the brief.

? Build clear activation ecosystems that demonstrate how a central idea can scale across experiential, sponsorship, content, social, and other consumer touchpoints.

? Shape presentation narratives, strategic frameworks, manifestos, taglines, messaging systems, and high-impact pitch materials.

? Lead senior client conversations and confidently present strategic and creative recommendations to C-suite audiences.

? Guide and elevate the work of junior strategists, writers, and cross-agency collaborators through clear, constructive creative direction.

? Own the editorial direction of quarterly trend reports, category-specific insights, and external thought leadership.

? Help build the team's creative process, including briefing tools, brainstorm structures, templates, review standards, and shared resources.

? Move fluidly between long-term brand thinking, fast-turn pitches, and hands-on creative execution.

We are looking for candidates with 8+ years of experience across creative strategy, copywriting, brand experience, advertising, or integrated marketing.

? A portfolio demonstrating strong conceptual thinking, strategic storytelling, and campaign or activation ideas, not only finished copy.

? Experience developing experiential, sponsorship, sports, entertainment, or culturally relevant brand work.

? Proven ability to lead high-stakes pitches and present confidently to senior clients.

? Exceptional writing and editing skills across strategic, emotional, and highly practical communications.

? Experience guiding junior contributors and elevating cross-functional creative work. xhyhwjd

? Comfortable working with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and the pace of a growing, entrepreneurial organization.

Salary Range: $115,000 - $135,000