Associate Director, Connections Strategy

Overview

We're looking for a strategist who understands that customer relationships are built, not simply communicated. As an Associate Director, CRM & Loyalty Strategy, you'll help brands design the systems, experiences, programs and communications that drive customer acquisition, engagement, retention and lifetime value. You'll work at the intersection of strategy, data, customer experience, loyalty, CRM, product and marketing to define how brands create meaningful, mutually valuable relationships with customers over time.

This role is ideal for someone who is equally comfortable discussing loyalty economics, customer behavior, lifecycle strategy, engagement models, program design and communications architecture.

You'll help clients answer questions such as:

• What behaviors matter most to growth?
• How should a brand reward, recognize or motivate those behaviors?
• What keeps customers engaged over time?
• How do communications, experiences and loyalty mechanics work together?
• How should customer relationships evolve across the lifecycle?
• What creates measurable increases in retention, participation and lifetime value?

Responsibilities

Develop customer growth and loyalty strategies

• Design relationship strategies that drive acquisition, activation, engagement, retention and customer lifetime value
• Identify customer behaviors most closely linked to commercial growth and develop strategies to encourage them
• Assess loyalty program performance and uncover opportunities to improve participation, engagement, redemption, retention and profitability
• Develop recommendations for rewards, recognition, challenges, tiers, membership experiences and value exchanges
• Define how CRM, loyalty, product, experience and marketing should work together to create a stronger customer relationship

Design relationship ecosystems

• Map customer journeys and identify moments where brands can create value, build loyalty and strengthen engagement
• Architect customer relationship ecosystems across owned, addressable and connected experiences
• Develop lifecycle strategies that guide how relationships evolve over time
• Define the role of channels, experiences and communications within a broader engagement system

Turn insight into action

• Translate behavioral, transactional, attitudinal and performance data into strategic recommendations
• Partner with analytics teams to identify key customer segments, opportunities and growth drivers
• Leverage first-party data and customer insights to inform relationship strategy and personalization approaches
• Connect customer behavior to business outcomes including retention, frequency, cross-sell, share of wallet and lifetime value

Lead integrated planning

• Partner with creative, experience, media, analytics and technology teams to bring customer strategies to life
• Develop inspiring strategic briefs grounded in customer insight and business opportunity
• Guide the development of relationship experiences, engagement programs and communications frameworks
• Help clients understand the evolving loyalty, CRM and customer engagement landscape

Build trusted client relationships

• Serve as a senior strategic advisor to clients
• Present complex ideas clearly and persuasively
• Develop thought leadership around loyalty, customer growth and relationship marketing
• Bring fresh perspectives informed by market shifts, emerging technologies and evolving customer expectations

The strongest candidates will have experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Loyalty strategy
• CRM strategy
• Lifecycle marketing
• Membership strategy
• Customer experience strategy
• Retention marketing
• Relationship marketing
• Subscription strategy
• Customer growth strategy

We are particularly interested in candidates who have helped brands:

• Launch or evolve loyalty programs
• Increase customer engagement and participation
• Improve activation, retention or lifetime value
• Design customer journeys and relationship experiences
• Develop loyalty mechanics, rewards structures or behavioral engagement programs
• Connect customer data and insights to measurable business growth

Qualifications

This exciting and important role requires strong work experience (7-9 years; min 4-year college degree), including a track record of impactful work and professional ingenuity - which means you are:

• A customer-centric strategist with deep experience in CRM, loyalty, lifecycle marketing and/or customer engagement, and an instinct for turning customer relationships into business growth
• A relationship marketer who understands how data, technology, experiences and communications work together to drive participation, retention and lifetime value
• Experience developing loyalty, membership, retention or customer growth strategies that influence customer behavior and create measurable business impact
• Time spent designing relationship ecosystems across owned and addressable channels including email, SMS, app, web, direct mail and emerging digital experiences
• A strong analytical thinker who can connect customer insights, behavioral data and performance trends to clear strategic opportunities
• A student of customer behavior who is endlessly curious about what motivates people to join, engage, stay loyal and advocate for brands
• An engaging storyteller who can turn complex customer, business and data challenges into simple, persuasive strategic narratives
• A collaborative partner who thrives in cross-functional environments and can bring together analytics, creative, experience, media and technology teams around a shared customer vision
• A strategic problem-solver with experience evaluating customer journeys, loyalty programs, engagement models and relationship-building opportunities
• An up-and-coming leader with a demonstrated ability to coach teams, influence clients, inspire new thinking and elevate the quality of strategic work
• A commercially minded marketer who understands how customer engagement connects to retention, share of wallet, customer lifetime value and broader business performance
• An all-around seasoned professional with exceptional communication, organizational and presentation skills, and the flexibility to adapt quickly to changing client and business needs

Additional information

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

Compensation Range: USD $106,780.00 - USD $170,937.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 1/1/2028.