Director, Marketing

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) was born in 1946 in Southern California. The world’s leading electric guitar & musical instruments brand, Fender has built a worldwide influence beyond the studio and the stage. A Fender is more than an instrument; it’s a cultural symbol that resonates globally.

Based in our London, UK office, the Director of Marketing (EMEA) will lead the strategic development and execution of all marketing investment and activities in the EMEA region for the Fender brand, reporting directly to the CMO (FMIC), based in Los Angeles, CA and indirectly to the SVP EMEA, based in East Grinstead, UK. As the senior marketing leader within Fender’s EMEA organization, the marketing director will be responsible for executing Fender’s global and regional brand growth and marketing development strategies in Europe across all functional areas, including: an effective GTM process for product launches and new product introductions, digital marketing including lead-gen, growth & LTV strategies, regional paid media, CRM/email, social media, artist marketing, influencers, PR/Comms, brand partnerships / events, retail marketing, marketing operations and more, as well as leading and developing a high performing marketing team, external resources and agency partners.

The ideal candidate will be a proven leader, experienced at leading and developing regional marketing teams within a global brand organization; a great communicator, comfortable working across multiple regional and global functions and team structures; a savvy marketer with a proven track record of leading breakthrough marketing initiatives and growth strategies; and a consumer-driven brand evangelist with a deep passion for music and appreciation for Fender’s uniquely authentic brand position, and status across artists, influencers, music, and culture.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creation of annual and rolling integrated, cross-functional, regional marketing plans, aligned to global brand priorities, initiatives, and marketing calendar.
• Lead and develop a high-performance, multi-function marketing team, to elevate the brand, fuel consumer demand and engagement, and drive traffic, across all critical aspects of the Fender brand marketing mix, funnel and brand experience.
• Lead the evolution of the ideal Fender Marketing Mix for EMEA, balancing global and regional priorities, budgets and capabilities. Functional areas include, but are not limited to: Artist marketing, influencer marketing, social media, paid media, PR/comms, digital marketing, CRM/email, retail marketing, events, brand partnerships and collaborations.
• Work closely with the sales and product teams to optimize Fender’s key product launches and category marketing strategies with key retailers and channel partners across critical consumer touchpoints, from digital to retail.
• Partner with EMEA sales, product, operations & finance counterparts, to develop the process and capabilities needed to drive effective, localized, GTM planning & execution across priority distribution channels (direct, indirect and distributor) in key EMEA markets to meet Fender’s quarterly & annual revenue, category and share goals.
• Communicate a clear vision to/for the EMEA marketing team, set clear performance expectations, and ensure the team is enabled and empowered to deliver.
• Lead the regional expansion of Fender’s leadership position with key consumer segments, artists, creators, influencers, and key media to build awareness of Fender’s product innovations with key segments, drive adoption, nurture advocacy, grow engagement and ensure the relevance of the Fender brand in music and culture.
• Own the development and communication of regional input & insights to feed into the global brand planning process to sharpen Fender 's global and regional planning, execution, and effectiveness, including identifying new areas of opportunity and/or mitigating risk.
• Lead, manage, and measure the marketing expenditure budget for Europe, demonstrating clear annual ROI and multi-year LTV (as appropriate) for all marketing investments and campaigns.
• Invest in developing long-term and effective relationships with external partners (agencies, artists, brands, etc…) and leveraging their expertise and services to create best-in-class marketing campaigns and elevate functional marketing execution.
• Demonstrate inclusive and empowering leadership to the EMEA Marketing Team, continually elevating the capabilities and potential of the team and managing performance.
• Be an active member of the EMEA Senior Leadership Team, contributing to region- wide agendas and being an advocate for people-driven initiatives.
  
  

This is an indication of the main responsibilities of the role and the Company reserves the right to amend the content of the role at its discretion.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of demonstrated experience effectively leading cross-functional marketing teams, people managers, agencies, and partners at a leading, high-profile, B2C brand.
• 5+ years proven experience setting annual marketing plans and leading the development and execution of key initiatives across multiple functional areas, from strategy & insights to marketing & creative briefs, to concept development to multi-functional planning & execution including paid media, social media, earned, pr, influencers, 3rd party/channel, events and retail (direct / indirect wholesale).
• CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing Qualified), holding a previous Senior Marketing Manager or Marketing Director position in a regional-managed business.
• Proven history setting KPI’s, delivering highly effective marketing campaigns, and demonstrating tangible, measurable, ROI, across the marketing funnel and across multiple channels.
• Strong demonstrated working knowledge of 2024 digital marketing best practices across all outbound, owned & operated channels, platforms and experiences.
• Successful track record working with key internal brand partners, including sales (DTC and indirect), product line management/merchandising, and operations teams, driving effective GTM processes, growth, and ROI.
• Experienced leading marketing planning & execution across multiple countries, multiple consumer segments and multiple product categories, and the ability to clearly articulate scope, goals, strategy, tactics, and outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills and presence, with senior and peer-level internal & external stakeholders.
• Experience effectively managing external relationships including brand ambassadors (artists, influencers, etc.), media, agencies, brand partners and retailers.
• Experience of leading change in the face of resilience and examples of marketing transformation, step change in campaigns.
• Experience of working with multi-stakeholder commercial organizations and examples of where strong performance-based relationships have emerged.
• Proven ability to build/manage cross-functional processes and communication to ensure operational excellence, elevate product, expand the reach of our channels, and grow the business.
• Have a strong knowledge of best practice sales and marketing across the European marketplace.
• Strongly preferred: BS/BA in Marketing or equivalent field, Music Industry Knowledge and Awareness, European Languages.