Creative Lead, Experiential Marketing

Job Description

Creative Lead, Experiential Marketing

The Zendesk Creative Lab brings Zendesk to life by designing high-impact brand moments that are aligned with our voice, look, and feel, and stand out from the competition. We ensure a cohesive and consistent brand experience through our guidelines, creative direction, and partnership with agencies and Marketing business partners.

As the Creative Lead for Experiential Marketing, you will enhance our creative platform across both digital and in-person experiences. Your focus will be on fostering human imagination, innovation, and storytelling to create engaging interactions that align with Zendesk’s brand and business goals.

This role works in close collaboration with Creative Leads peers in Creative Integrated Marketing, the Creative Studio, Communications, the senior leadership team, and Experiential Marketing teams combining strategic leadership with a hands-on approach to create world-class immersive experiences that shape the way people interact with our brand.

Key Responsibilities

Activate the brand across the events portfolio

• Build world class creative that comes to life throughout the full event experience
• Enable brand consistency via guidelines and quality control through concepts and design systems that are connected to the event strategy, and unifies all aspects of the experience: presentations, digital livestreams, and in-person experiences
• Forge strong partnerships within Creative, agencies, and with Marketing partners to build experiences that align to event objectives
• Use visual storytelling in presentations and activations that resonate with customers and inspire them to do business with Zendesk
• Stay in-tune with industry best practices, trends, and cultural shifts to inform creative work, introducing new ideas and approaches to keep our experiences relevant and competitive

Shape the visual narrative and execution to align with with messaging, event objectives, and speakers’ voices

• Work closely with executives to align messaging, enhance visual storytelling, and create a seamless integration between slide design and stage presentation, ensuring branding and visual elements transcend well between slide and screen.
• Collaborate with the Communications Team and Experiential Marketing Team in providing strategic guidance on how to effectively thread the narrative from slide content to spoken delivery, ensuring clarity and impact
• Advise executives on presentation delivery, offering feedback on pacing, tone, and engagement strategies to enhance the impact of their words
• Ensure synchronization between speaker movements and the on-screen content, providing direction on how content should be revealed or animated during live delivery
• Oversee live rehearsals and adjust visuals in real-time as needed for optimum presentation flow

Lead Onsite Management Of On-stage Speaker Experience

• Support the Communications Team with directing executives on presentation delivery, offering feedback on pacing, tone, and engagement strategies to enhance the impact of their spoken words
• Ensure synchronization between speaker movements and the on-screen content, providing direction on how content should be revealed or animated during live delivery, keeping both the in person and digital audiences in mind
• Oversee live rehearsals and support adjusting visuals in real-time as needed for optimum presentation flow

Cultivate an environment of candor, respect, and inspiration

• Model our values and leadership attributes in all communication and interactions
• Ensure excellence in the work with clear creative direction, and psychologically safe team critiques and discussions
• Foster team connection, diversity, and inspiration throughout the creative process
• Guide, inspire and mentor creatives across the broader team, sharing examples of best-in-class work across the industry

Ensure efficiency and productivity within the Creative Lab

• Share ownership with Creative Operations in weekly resourcing meetings, removing blockers and friction
• Create an environment where the Creative Studio is able to deliver the simplest solution
• Provide relevant information, tools, and resources that help the team do their best work

Skills Required

• Strong expertise in presentation visuals, slide decks, and live event design
• Experience with cross-functional group facilitation, creative ideation, executive engagement, and strategic concept development
• Strong business acumen skills, including financial literacy, executive presence, and project management
• Experience with stage direction and delivering executive coaching on presentation and speaking skills
• Ability to translate complex business problems into inspiring creative opportunities
• Provide clear creative direction and feedback to internal creative team and agency partners
• Willingness to travel, and on short notice
• Systems design and generative AI
• Proficiency in Adobe, Figma, and Google apps

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $145,000.00-$217,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

The Intelligent Heart Of Customer Experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.