Specialist, Merchandise Brand Strategy

Job Description

Specialist, Merchandise Brand Strategy (Consumer Products Incubator)

It's an amazing time to join Netflix! We have grown to over 204 million members worldwide that are genuinely engaged with our brand and original content. We are building a consumer products division to create merchandisable products, games, books, and experiences based on our robust original programming slate.

In this role you will focus on global IP incubation within Consumer Products at the intersection of brand strategy, product/category innovation, consumer insights, and go-to-market planning. Specifically, you will work cross-functionally to shape the consumer value propositions of CP programs supporting: global audience portfolios (anime, unscripted, sci-fi, horror, etc), local language originals, non-franchise Young Adult/Adult titles, and the long-term strategic development of content-agnostic, lifestyle-driven consumer products, services, and experiences.

This is a unique opportunity for a uniquely flexible individual who is excited to take smart risks and develop CP programs with high potential for outsized cultural impact.

Essential Responsibilities

Audience Expertise & Strategic Program Development
• Work in conjunction with the manager to develop and distill rich audience/fandom insights into compelling consumer profiles and go-to-market playbooks
• Leverage deep comfort with data (hard and soft) and cultural trends to co-lead identification of promising global titles for consumer products incubator pipeline
• Develop proactive and reactive strategic plans to bring title and brand-based opportunities to life in the real world across the Consumer Products business (in collaboration with licensing, retail/DTC, publishing, experiences, games teams)
• Proactively build deep relationships with internal Content, Marketing, Product, and Comms teams; external creators, showrunners, brand and agency partners, to highlight collaborative opportunities and unlock program synergies
• Evaluate new-to-service, pre-launch titles with the manager to determine the merchandising viability with a focus on buzzworthy activations via any Consumer Products touchpoint
• Work with regional teams to provide strategic direction and go-to-market rationale for incubator titles wherever relevant
• Develop and socialize channel and distribution strategy recommendations to internal/external cross-functional teams.

Internal/External Alignment & Socialization
• Align with key stakeholders across brand partnerships, partner marketing, creative marketing, consumer insights, and regional marketing teams to maximize the impact of CP incubator plans
• Liaise Consumer Product initiatives back to content teams, showrunners and external production companies
• Work directly with Consumer Products cross-functional teams (Creative/Product Development, Licensing, Retail, Interactive Games, Publishing, Experiences) and ensure that end-to-end strategic guidance that keeps programs on track and consumer-first
• Partner with the global agency and regional Netflix teams to develop market and region-specific plans
• Develop and update resource materials for the Consumer Products team, including title pitch decks and business plans
• Update and maintain title-based documents that will be used by cross-functional internal teams

Basic Qualifications
• 7+ years of deep experience in a global brand strategy/development, creative strategy, innovation/product strategy,
or consumer trends/insights role.
• Significant understanding of, or experience in, one or more of the above functions and/or design thinking/design strategy, media/entertainment/SVOD, retail/merchandising, experience design/strategy, go-to-market planning, or brand partnerships
• Broad understanding of, or experience in, consumer products (incl. Publishing, Interactive Games, and Experiences), Licensing and Retail

Desired Skills
• Ability to flex and think fluidly–a curious, learning-first personality who sees challenges as opportunities and hiccups as pivot points
• Entrepreneurial spirit–comfortable with pushing against preconceived notions, fighting biases, and driving new approaches/outputs with minimal direction
• Strong passion for entertainment, with knowledge of the competitive and cultural landscape, including genre-specific content (e.g. unscripted, anime, sci-fi, film, etc.)
• Lateral thinking and a wide range of knowledge–this is an audience focused role so familiarity with the patois of many subcultures is highly desirable
• Value-additive organizational skills are critical–you prize thoughtful attention to details and processes
• Track record of developing nimble strategic plans for brands (including new IP), marketing campaigns and/or franchises and an undying obsession with authentic connections between brands, lifestyles, and consumers
• Ability to analyze a water-hose of data in order to formulate macro-strategies and tactical recommendations
• Works cross-functionally and is able to engage, listen and collaborate with internal departments/teams to align early on in terms of overall strategy and goals
• Is an effective collaborator in a fast-paced, multifaceted environment
• Experience and appropriate discretion working with creators, founders, creatives, and executives
• A natural storyteller at ease with packaging dense insights into a compelling narrative that non-experts can understand
• Humility and self-awareness–be comfortable with what you know, and receptive to new ideas, approaches, and ways of working

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rbqmje-18-118-210-213-42 in your application.