Associate Creative Director, Art Director - In house Agency

Chick-fil-A’s In-house Agency (IHA) is focused on delivering creative excellence in advertising and customer communications while keeping pace with the speed of the business and providing cost stewardship. The IHA Creative team is responsible for generating ideas that push creativity and solve the Marketing department’s challenges across all lines of business. The Restaurant Creative Lead will play a big role in that.

The Creative Lead is responsible for developing original creative concepts and approaches, overseeing multiple projects through execution across multiple media channels. They will contribute to the development of marketing strategies, drive the collaborative efforts of the project’s creative and inspire teammates on all levels to exceed expectations.

The Creative Lead will have the opportunity to create at a high volume and pace for a fast-growing beloved brand. They will manage and lead the design of marketing communications through strategic direction, development of creative concepts and seamless execution, including copywriting. This leader should be well versed in how consumers interact with brands in a fragmented media environment and consequently understand how to create for it across various media channels –social, digital, experiential, in-restaurant, etc.

• Drive for Creative Excellence – does not compromise on quality. Consistently deliver high standards and overcome obstacles to consistently deliver the best. And leads direct reports with the same standards/expectations.
• Idea Generation – provide strong thinking and help create innovative ideas
• Brand Stewardship – understand the needs of the brand and develop creative to build the brand. Stay updated on appropriate style guidelines and brand voice for consistency in messaging.
• Drives for Results – drive for results and succeeds; has a sense of urgency to drive issues to closure.
• Progressive Vision – ongoing mindset to confidently stretch into new mediums across Chick-fil-A, and always looking to push IHA to the next level by elevating the work
• Creative Lead - Own all creative development for an IHA pod, providing a unique perspective of brand and business knowledge to best support the customer channel needs. Lead concepting, pitching and overseeing the development of strategic creative executions for all elements that the IHA pod is responsible for. Develop strategic social concepts, designs and lead creative through to completion, effectively rolling out detailed communications to Operators and staff.
• Art Direction - Own art direction on all communication needs as related to Chick-fil-A’s presence across different mediums, partnering with copywriter to execute necessary customer communication, and partner with creative production to execute efficiently and effectively.
• Creative Execution - Create conceptual comps and final creative assets using the full Adobe Creative Suite, with a strong proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
• Video and Photography -  Lead execution of all brand-related video and photography for Chick-fil-A -- experience with planning and directing video and photoshoots.
• Creative Flexibility -  Expand creative thinking and contribute to conceptual ideation sessions throughout entire landscape of IHA.
• Creative Drive -  Push new innovative thinking and ideation with every single creative opportunity, bring “something that wasn’t asked for” to each creative presentation. Should include new mediums and opportunities for Chick-fil-A.
• Strategy -  Work closely with brand strategy and advertising teams to solve marketing problems through smart, well-designed advertising and customer communications that support same store sales growth, build brand salience and drive growth of CFA One. Help clients define and solve complex communication problems. Conduct competitive research and analysis for specific projects.
• Brainstorming/Ideation - Lead and participate in creative ideation brainstorms to develop and implement creative strategies including writing copy for final assets. Provide additional creative concepting support to Designers and Art Directors. Build conceptual presentation decks using Keynote. Ideation extends beyond owned pod/channels, so much be well versed in all mediums.
• Creative/Content Development - Design, develop and provide concepts for projects/campaigns to meet approved strategic marketing objectives. Work with Brand Strategy and Advertising teams to understand the strategy, create technical and business parameters to develop innovative, effective creative solutions. Recognize project creativity/profitability tradeoffs. Self-manage creative projects, including setting priorities and meeting deadlines. Present creative concepts and rationale behind creative to the project team. Lead and/or participate in agency creative meetings.
• Creative Leadership - Direct and develop junior creative team members (including freelance designers and writers) across all assignments to assure a high level of quality in all projects. Strategic support to channel owner of core decisions to brands role on channel. Considerable latitude from Creative Director, owning decisions and collaborating once at concept stage and once post production. Participate in external agency creative meetings and idea sessions when necessary.
• Copywriting: Writes strategic, clear and original copy for CFA tone and voice across various mediums, understanding and applying differences to target audiences when applicable. Strong understanding of brand voice and tone and brand messaging strategy.
• Research/Trends - Stay up to date with current culture, trends and creative ideas. Research new trends as it relates to the social, digital and restaurant landscapes – sharing and educating team members along the way.

• Conceptual and visual storytelling experience
• 6+ years experience communicating both in conversation and in writing, with an emphasis on pitching and presentations, running work-sessions and articulating and defending creative decisions
• 6+ years production experience
• 6+ years experience in graphic design and typography
• 6+ years experience using design programs: Adobe Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) proficiency in presentation programs: Keynote and PowerPoint
• Able to manage large work volumes - large scale campaigns (100+ assets) 10-15 projects/year, plus additional 5-8 additional projects simultaneously
• Digital experience and expertise: including digital advertising, email communications, website assets, and social platforms
• 6+ years Excellent communication skills (both in conversation and in writing), with an emphasis on pitching and presentations, running work-sessions and articulating and defending creative decisions

• Natural leadership abilities, leading work and directing people through the work
• Proven track record partnering with multiple disciplines on projects and practices
• Strong time management skills with the motivation to work as a team
• Be self-directed, organized and a master at managing multiple projects at once
• Take feedback constructively, defending ideas where appropriate and implementing solutions
• Good interpersonal skills to build working relationships
• A critical eye for detail
• Desire to work collaboratively as part of a larger team in a fast-paced environment
• Not overwhelmed by balancing multiple requests against inflexible deadlines
• Strong copywriting background