Assistant Manager Brand Communications, Od/Fcc

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

The mission of the role is to drive the adidas brand as China’s leading sports brand through innovative, integrated communications, with a focus on: 

• PR & Social Content Strategy: Lead strategic planning and execution of brand storytelling across social/digital platforms. 
• Consumer Activation: Develop and execute engagement initiatives to amplify brand love and conversion. 
• IMC Campaign Support: Bridge online-to-offline experiences in cross-channel campaigns. 

Key Responsibilities:

PR & Social Content Strategy & Execution

• Develop and implement integrated social/digital content strategies aligned with brand objectives. 
• Direct agencies and leverage partners to create innovative PR/social contents, ensuring consistency with global/local brand narratives. 
• Strategically utilizes our global and local sponsored athletes, teams, and events with effective communication initiatives to provide the authentic link to our technical product ranges
• Leverage data insights to optimize content performance and audience engagement. 

Consumer Activation Strategy & Execution

• Design and execute 360° consumer activation plans (e.g., experiential events, influencer collaborations, UGC campaigns). 
• Partner with key stakeholders to align activations with product launches and trade initiatives. 
• Measure impact through KPIs (engagement rates, conversion, sentiment). 

IMC Campaign Support (Online-to-Offline)

• Support the IMC campaign from ideation to execution following the aligned time frame.
• Develop rollout plans that are in line with the category focus and ambition.
• Collaborate with Online & Offline landing channels, Sports Marketing, and X-team counterparts to ensure seamless landing. 
• Ensure offline activations (e.g., consumer interaction, pop-ups, retail experiences) amplify conveys as frontier touchpoints to deliver campaign & product messaging. 
• Post-evaluate campaign performance, providing insights into future integration. 

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as a “Brand Guardian”, ensuring all communications reflect adidas’s innovative and inspirational ethos. 
• Manage agency/vendor relationships, budgets, and timelines for maximum efficiency. 

Management

• Manages sourcing of all (locally produced) Brand Communication material at the lowest price while still maintaining good quality and adidas standards
• Assumes responsibility for the (legally) correct usage of the adidas trademarks and logos
• Sources, establishes strong relationships and manages day-to-day activities with relevant agency partners, (media) vendors and external industry partners

Financial

• Follows, maximizes and controls the Brand Communication budget as set according to the Marketing Plan
• Suggests future Brand Communication budgets
• Negotiates and develops quotations with vendors by setting clear objectives and expectations
• Evaluates and recommends pricing levels for all Brand Communication purchases

Systems and Processes

• • Develops and implements planning and execution processes, follows the marketing plan timely, and that maximizes brand and (new) product exposure
  • Executes and tracks the Brand Communications plan
  • Implements quality control systems for production of all materials containing adidas logo
  • Co-ordinate all launches of relevant material with X-team assets landing channels
  • Establishes and maintains system to track and restock Internal product inventories
  • Post evaluates campaign performance by conducting or coordinating research and tracking project development, and then collating results into regular quality reports
  • Benchmarks on the progress in the brand perception of the consumers
  • Is responsible for on-time and accurate provision of Commitment and Payment requests related to all Brand Communication projects
  • Fully optimizes integration with other Communications disciplines such as PR and Creative Services

Others

• Other job-related work assigned by supervising manager

KPIS:

• On time launch of campaigns including internal/external process track & management
• Social/PR: Engagement growth, share of voice, content ROI. 
• Consumer Activation: Participation rates, sales lift, brand sentiment. 
• IMC O2O: Campaign integration quality, offline-to-digital conversion. 
• Brand Health: Net Promoter Score (NPS), spontaneous purchase intent. 

Key Relationships:

Internal

• Category Merchandising team (BU)
• Sports Marketing Team/ EIM
• Retail Experience Team
• Online/Offline Channels Team
• Global Counterparts

External

• PR/digital agencies
• Media & KOLs/partners & communities

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Insights and resources of Outdoor Industry
• Consumer activation expertise
• Digital/social savvy
• Willing to experience and communicate in the front facing consumers & partners

• Manage Business (O2O Processes and Projects)
• Result Orientation
• Influencing Others
• Planning and organizing
• Strategic Acting
• A passion for and an understanding of the category along with the desire to translate the passion into building the adidas brand in the region
• Strong team player
• Very high level of integrity
• Communication skills, relationship management and empathy
• Excellent creative/design/ art direction sense
• Ability to multi-task and attention to detail
• Ability to take calculated risks

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 3-5 years’ experience in the advertising or communication dept. with an international brand; Experience in Outdoor Industry background is preferred
• Previous experience in advertising, PR, and Social Services in China; Previous experience with Activation in China
• Knowledgeable about China sports and international sports. An interest and desire to participate in and learn about sports, i.e. a sports enthusiast with deep category knowledge
• Excellent presentation and organizational skills
• Exposure – Sports, brand/category marketing
• Relevant China marketing experience, preferred
• University Degree or above. Preferably in a marketing or communications related discipline.
• Outlook – basic; Word – advanced; Excel – advanced; PowerPoint – advanced
• Fluent in English and Mandarin (written and spoken).