Associate Director, Audience Development - The Orchard

We are seeking an experienced and innovative Associate Director of Audience Development to join our New York-based Marketing Strategy & Audience Development team. This role will lead the day-to-day strategy and hands-on execution of first-party fan data acquisition campaigns (email & SMS), with a particular focus on building high-intent email and SMS audiences that can be converted into e-commerce merchandise buyers & beyond. Reporting to the Vice President, Audience Development, this role combines strategic thinking, hands-on campaign execution and data-driven performance optimization. You'll leverage proprietary technology, paid and organic marketing channels, live events and third-party audience tools to deliver measurable growth for artists and label partners across multiple genres and career stages. Please note: This is a hands-on role that will occasionally require evening or weekend work to support priority releases & live events. What you'll do: • Office- first role, in office 4 days a week. First-Party Data Acquisition Strategy • Partnering closely with our Marketing Strategists, you'll lead the day-to-day development and execution of strategies that grow artists' first-party fan audiences across email & SMS. • Use data to identify the right value exchange for each audience, including exclusive content, early merchandise access, contests, ticket presales, live-event activations and other fan experiences. • Develop scalable acquisition frameworks & benchmarks that can be adapted across artists, genres, & campaign types. • Partner closely with the Associate Director, Fan Engagement & CRM to ensure newly acquired fans enter CRM lifecycle journeys and receive a cohesive experience from initial sign-up through conversion and retention. Campaign Execution & Optimization • Support our Marketing Strategists by owning the end-to-end execution of fan acquisition campaigns, including campaign planning, audience strategy, platform setup, landing pages, sign-up flows, testing, launch and performance reporting. • Collaborate with Marketing Strategy & Global Paid Media teams to develop and optimize impactful paid lead-generation campaigns across Meta, TikTok and other relevant platforms. • Establish testing frameworks and best practices across landing pages, forms, incentives, messaging and acquisition channels to improve both the volume and quality of acquired fans. E-Commerce & Revenue Growth • Partner with D2C, CRM and Marketing Strategy teams to connect your acquisition campaigns to downstream product discovery, sales conversion and repeat-purchase opportunities. • Use transactional and behavioral data to identify the channels, campaigns and fan segments most likely to generate merchandise revenue. • Collaborate with the Associate Director, Fan Engagement & CRM to build clear handoff strategies that move newly acquired fans into personalized welcome, nurture and conversion journeys. • Collaborate with the Associate Director, Fan Engagement & CRM and Global Paid Media to evaluate acquisition performance beyond initial sign-up volume, using metrics such as cost per acquired fan, subscriber quality, engagement, first-purchase conversion, revenue per acquired fan and return on investment. Audience Insights, Measurement & Reporting • Develop reporting frameworks that connect fan acquisition activity to downstream engagement, streaming, ticketing and e-commerce outcomes. • Define campaign KPIs and benchmarks across acquisition channels, markets, artists and campaign types. • Analyze fan behavior to identify high-value audience segments, acquisition sources and conversion patterns. • Translate performance data into clear, actionable recommendations for internal teams, artists and label partners. • Build case studies and best-practice guidance that can help scale successful acquisition strategies across the organization. Tools, Technology & Innovation • Oversee the strategic use of proprietary and third-party audience acquisition tools, landing-page platforms and CRM integrations. • Identify opportunities to improve fan sign-up experiences, progressive data collection, audience segmentation, consent management and data enrichment. • Partner with Product, Design & Engineering teams to help guide the development of tools and features that improve first-party data acquisition and measurement. • Collaborate with Marketing Strategy, Relationship Management, Fan Engagement & CRM, Privacy and Product, Design & Engineering teams to ensure acquisition campaigns comply with global privacy and consent requirements. • Support the Vice President, Audience Development in evaluating and testing new fan acquisition technologies, platforms and partners. • Monitor emerging audience-development trends within music and across industries such as gaming, sports, television, film and retail. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Education • Partner with Relationship Management, Global Paid Media & Growth Strategy, Brand Marketing, Fan Engagement & CRM, D2C e-commerce and Marketing Strategy teams to integrate first-party data acquisition into artist campaigns. • Serve as an audience-development thought leader internally and as a trusted advisor to artist and label partners, providing best-practice guidance and data-driven recommendations. • Educate internal teams and clients on the role first-party fan data can play in driving long-term audience ownership and commercial growth. • Support the Vice President, Audience Development in educating marketers across global markets on acquisition strategies appropriate to their local audiences, platforms, cultures and privacy requirements. • Help establish repeatable processes that make audience acquisition a consistent component of priority artist and release campaigns. Who you are: • 5+ years of audience development, digital marketing, fan acquisition, growth marketing or related experience within music, entertainment or another consumer-focused industry, including e-commerce experience. • Proven track record of growing first-party email and SMS audiences and connecting that growth to measurable business outcomes. • Hands-on experience developing and executing lead-generation campaigns across paid, organic, artist-owned and partner channels. • Experience with audience and marketing platforms such as Klaviyo, Laylo, Salesforce, Braze or similar tools, as well as e-commerce platforms like Shopify. • Understanding of conversion funnels, landing-page optimization, audience targeting, A/B testing and customer acquisition economics. • Deep understanding of first-party data strategy, including value exchange, audience segmentation, consent management and data privacy best practices such as GDPR and CCPA. • Strong analytical skills, with experience using dashboards and KPI reporting to evaluate acquisition quality and downstream conversion. • Excellent communicator and collaborator who can advise multiple stakeholders and translate complex audience strategies into clear, actionable plans. • Comfortable balancing strategic planning with detailed, hands-on campaign execution. • Passionate about music, fan behavior, e-commerce and the use of technology to build lasting artist-fan relationships. • Intrinsically motivated to find new and exciting ways to identify and acquire music fans, with a curious mindset and a strong desire to test, learn and scale successful approaches. • Comfortable working flexible hours when needed to support our partners, live events and high-priority releases. What we give you: • You join an inclusive, collaborative and global community where you have the opportunity to channel your passion every day • A modern office environment designed to foster productivity, creativity, and teamwork empowering you to bring your best • An attractive and comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life & disability coverage, and 401K + employer matching • Voluntary benefits like company-paid identity theft protection and resources for pets, mental health and meditation resources, industry-leading fertility coverage, fully paid leave for childbirth or bonding, fully paid leave for caregivers, programs for loved ones with developmental disabilities and neurodiversity, subsidized back-up child and elder care, and reimbursement for adoption, surrogacy, tuition, and student loans • Investment in your professional growth and development enabling you to thrive in our vibrant community. • The space to accelerate progress, positively disrupt, and create what happens next • Time off for a winter recess New York Pay Range $85,000-$100,000 USD