Director, Data (Audience & Cultural Insights)

About VML

VML is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human first, award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55+ markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

VML is a WPP agency (NYSE: WPP). For more information, please visit  www.vml.com, and follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Location: Kansas City

Hybrid: Onsite 4 days, Remote 1 day

Who we are looking for:

VML is seeking a Director of Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence with a focus on strategic insights and intelligence to serve as a critical partner to a QSR brand, translating data, research, and cultural intelligence into actionable insights that fuel brand relevance, consumer connection, and business growth. This role sits at the intersection of analytics, culture, and strategy and is responsible for uncovering human truths, identifying emerging consumer behaviors, and translating signals from data into clear opportunities for the brand to lead in culture.

This leader will work in close partnership with strategy, creative, and channel teams to ensure insights directly inform brand positioning, campaign development, content strategy, and channel execution. By embedding insight into the creative and strategic process, the Director will help shape ideas from inception through activation, ensuring work is culturally resonant, consumer-led, and grounded in data.

The Director will synthesize insights from a wide range of sources, including social listening, audience intelligence, brand tracking, culture trends, and internal business data, to develop a holistic understanding of what matters to consumers, how culture is shifting, and where the brand can authentically and strategically engage. They will also be responsible for overseeing reporting and insight development across campaigns and organic social, ensuring performance data is translated into clear learnings, optimization opportunities, and forward-looking recommendations.

A successful candidate brings deep fluency across social platforms and digital ecosystems, a strong point of view on cultural dynamics, and the ability to connect quantitative and qualitative data to real human motivations. This role requires both analytical rigor and creative thinking, with the ability to clearly articulate insights and implications to senior leadership and cross-functional teams.

What You’ll Do:

• Analyze and synthesize data from social listening platforms, audience insight tools, brand trackers, cultural research, and internal business data to uncover consumer insights and human truths

• Partner closely with strategy, creative, and channel teams to embed insights into brand strategy, campaign development, content ideation, and channel planning

• Oversee reporting and insights across paid campaigns and organic social channels, translating performance data into actionable learnings and recommendations

• Monitor and interpret cultural, social, and behavioral trends to understand what is happening in culture and how the brand can strategically engage

• Identify business and brand opportunities rooted in consumer needs, emerging behaviors, and cultural moments

• Translate complex data into clear, compelling narratives and strategic recommendations for leadership and cross-functional teams

• Collaborate with marketing, brand, social, media, and business teams to inform brand strategy, campaigns, innovation, and long-term planning

• Develop frameworks and methodologies for integrating cultural intelligence with business and performance data

• Serve as a thought leader on consumer insights, culture, and data-driven decision-making across the organization

• Lead, mentor, and oversee the work of a team of insights analysts, providing direction, feedback, and development to ensure high-quality and consistent output

• Set standards and best practices for insight generation, reporting, and storytelling across campaigns, social, and brand initiatives

• Define and evolve measurement frameworks and success metrics for brand health, social performance, and campaign effectiveness

What You’ll Need:

• 10+ years of experience in strategic insights, analytics, marketing intelligence, or consumer insights, with experience working on large, culturally relevant consumer brands

• Proven ability to translate quantitative and qualitative data into actionable, forward-looking insights that inform brand, creative, and business decisions

• Expertise in identifying brand, audience, business, and cultural opportunities through data synthesis and trend analysis, moving beyond reporting to predictive and opportunity-driven insight

• Deep understanding of social platforms and internet culture, including content performance, creator ecosystems, platform trends, and real-time cultural engagement

• Strong experience applying social listening, cultural intelligence, and audience insights to inform brand strategy, creative ideation, and channel execution

• Proven leadership experience overseeing and mentoring team members while setting standards, prioritizing insight needs, and ensuring rigor and consistency across outputs

• Extensive experience overseeing campaign and organic social reporting, developing measurement frameworks across brand health, social, and campaign performance, and applying marketing effectiveness principles

• Hands-on expertise with social listening, platform analytics, audience insight, and brand tracking tools used to monitor culture, understand audiences, evaluate performance, and track brand impact

• Strong storytelling, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and partner closely with strategy, creative, media, social, and channel teams

• Ability to navigate ambiguity, balance speed with analytical depth, and guide teams through complex, fast-moving environments

The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package, click WPP Benefits for more details.

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$75,000—$180,000 USD

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP (VML) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

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