Creative Strategist

About On Board Experiential (OBE)

OBE is a global marketing agency that brings brands to life through culture-shaping experiences. For more than 30 years, we've partnered with iconic brands — including Nike, the NFL, JPMorganChase, Meta, Sephora, Starbucks, and Converse — to build community, create cultural relevance, and drive measurable business impact. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London, we activate globally. OBE is also a founding member of The ADD Collective, extending our reach and resources while staying true to our core capabilities.

We've been recognized by Event Marketer as one of the best places to work in events — and we couldn't agree more.

The most important part of our business is our people. They are hardworking, imaginative, and make genuinely remarkable things happen. But behind every great activation is a human who deserves rest, connection, and a life outside of work. That's why we invest in recovery days, company offsites, happy hours, and the kind of friendly-but-competitive fitness challenges that bond teams for life.

We show up for each other — in open conversations that heal, inspire, and bring us closer. We want to hear about your lived experiences, your unconventional ideas, and the perspectives only you can bring. Being unapologetically yourself isn't just welcome here. It's part of the job.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

The Creative Strategist is a key member of the Creative team, focusing on driving the development of insightful, measurable big ideas that exceed client expectations, achieve results, and drive business for the agency. The Creative Strategist demonstrates an ability to conduct timely, relevant research and generates strong insights to drive creative thinking. This person must show an affinity for creative ideation, leading and contributing to brainstorms and concept development, creating measurement plans and recaps, and sticking with a project long-term to ensure success throughout the process.

The Creative Strategist will drive concept development for select experiential projects and RFPs, while working in collaboration with other Creative team members as well as cross departmental teams.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

RESEARCH & INSIGHTS

• Conducting research from various sources, including primary research (such as focus groups and interviews) and secondary research from databases and industry sites.

• Synthesizing this research into digestible outputs, for use on projects, RFPs, and client presentations, to name a few.

• Proactively researching client brands and industry trends to support fresh thinking and the creation of impactful experiences.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

• Developing measurable objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help ground and guide overall concept and proposal development.

• Identifying key insights for creative concepting and brainstorms.

• Contributing to the development of big, brave creative ideas as part of ongoing and new creative projects.

• Participating in client presentations and pitches as needed.

MEASUREMENT & ROI

• Developing Measurement Plans for new and ongoing proposals and projects, discerning measurable objectives and Key Performance Indicators related to those objectives, as well as identifying data collection methods for capturing data related to each KPI.

• Supporting the Account team in collecting and analyzing KPI-related data in efforts to calculate ROI/ROE and provide insightful recommendations to improve and optimize our project executions.

STORYTELLING

• Clearly articulating ideas in presentation decks, case studies, messaging grids, or other formats as needed, in multiple brand voices.

• Crafting and presenting well-articulated plans and points of view, including comprehensive pitch decks and project plans that include clear insights, strategies, and creative concepts. Support more senior Creative team members in this process for large opportunities and projects.

• Applying sound judgment and rigorous quality control to any AI-supported outputs, ensuring any usage follows client and agency guidelines while maintaining accuracy, brand fit, and creative integrity — and never delegating critical thinking, taste-making, or accountability to the system.

DAY TO DAY TASKS COULD ALSO INCLUDE:

• Overall Strategy & Creative team support

• Participating in client discovery calls

• Presenting agency capabilities using strong storytelling skills

• Copywriting support for both internal and project-specific deliverables (i.e., email marketing copy, signage copy support, etc.)

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Business Administration, Copywriting, or equivalent preferred.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of two to five years’ experience in an advertising/marketing environment.

• Experience generating ideas, concepts and overarching strategy for advertising or brand experiences, such as events & tours, social media campaigns, and innovative interactive & experiential programs.

• Experience in copywriting in multiple brand voices.

• Advanced education degrees will be considered to supplement the candidate’s work experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Excellent research and insight development skills.

• Strong copywriting and copyediting skills.

• Capabilities in brand and creative strategy practices, including positioning, messaging frameworks, brief development, et. cetera.

• Excellent client presentation skills.

• Strong understanding of experiential and 360 marketing campaigns, including social media, out-of-home, and guerilla tactics.

• Familiarity in working with and contributing to Brand Guidelines and Style Guides.

• Up to date on current media, industry and consumer trends that affect audiences.

• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including designers, producers, account managers, technologists, and more.

• Interest in and ability to Art Direct preferred but not required.

• Interest in athletics, sports marketing, financial or technology companies preferred but not required.

OTHER QUALITIES AND SKILLS

• Strong work ethic and ability to thrive in and enjoy a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.

• Entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to work as part of a team as well as independently.

• Ability to take direction and balance competing stakeholder feedback.