Director, Lifecycle Marketing

Who we are

: Founded in 2001, Vivid Seats (NASDAQ: SEAT) is a leading online ticket marketplace committed to becoming the ultimate partner for connecting fans to the live events, artists, and teams they love. We believe in the power of experiences and are fiercely dedicated to building products that inspire human connections. Named as one of Built

In's

top places to work in 2023 , we believe that our People are our greatest competitive advantage. To support our People, we have built a company culture that empowers our employees to embrace challenges, encourages unity through collaboration, and seeks to constantly evolve by leveraging data and inspiring innovation.

The Opportunity:

The Director, Lifecycle Marketing will be responsible for driving fan engagement, retention, and cross-sell/up-sell in order to improve fan loyalty and LTV. This Director will own Lifecycle Marketing across Vivid Seats platforms and lines of business (LOB) with a laser-like focus on the fan and their journey. Success in this role will require 1) building a highly effective fan engagement strategy and playbook; 2) leveraging the MarTech stack to enable personalization at scale; 3) structuring and leading a high-performance Lifecycle Marketing team that is able to test, iterate, and scale quickly, as well as; 4) building strong cross-functional partnerships to create long-term, high value relationships with fans.

This Marketer must be comfortable and highly agile, leading in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment. We need someone who knows how to build new things (capabilities, technologies, processes, teams) and optimize what is already working. This role requires someone with aggressive and confident strategic thinking and planning, plus an expertise in operationalizing the plans they set in motion.

In addition to bringing Lifecycle Marketing best practices, you will develop a collaborative, cross-disciplinary and high-performing team while overseeing and improving organizational design, structure, priorities, management processes and reporting information systems. They will be responsible for hiring and promoting talent, while building productive, value-added partnerships with vendors. You will also be integral in building an engaged Vivid Seats corporate culture. “How” results are achieved will be as important as “what” is achieved.

How your role contributes to the success of Vivid Seats: Fan Engagement Strategy & Playbook – Build an integrated Lifecycle strategy and tactical CRM and playbook reflecting every aspect of the Company’s mission and growth agenda, while embracing financial targets established by the Board and senior leadership team. The key opportunity is to increase repeat rate among Vivid Seats large database of prior buyers and decrease “one and done” behavior. Deliver profitable, organic revenue growth by driving repeat visits and frequency of visits (reduce days between orders) and increasing average revenue per fan (ticketing revenue and cross-sell into Vivid Picks daily fantasy gaming, and future LOB’s). Work cross-functionally to champion and enhance user journeys, drive awareness of key products/product launches, and deliver more relevant personalization at scale. Segmentation/Targeting – Direct the activity of Marketing analyst (and collaborate with central Business Intelligence team) to understand the current fan journey. Identify and prioritize consumers with the highest potential to re-engage/repeat or purchase additional offerings (up/cross-sell) and appropriately allocate Marketing resources to grow Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and meet or exceed Vivid Seats financial targets. Lean into broadly understood “personas” as well as creating granular segments/cohorts (that may change seasonally) to shape strategies & tactics across platforms. Grow Addressable User Base – Collaborate closely with Product teams to uncover and reach audience segments at the right time and place in their customer journey to enhance engagement via personalization and ultimately LTV. Step-change email, push, content cards and other CRM efforts by determining how and where to integrate lead-capture (and preference-capture) opportunities and app download gates throughout the experience to balance immediate gross order volume (GOV) with long-term loyalty and retention goals. Product Collaboration – Collaborate with Product and Design teams to integrate calls to action, promotion, and breadcrumbs throughout the UI/UX to move fans across the platform driving a better understanding of Vivid Seats repeat value proposition & loyalty offering. This marketer will develop a close relationship with the Product team and will collaborate to develop a connected discovery/conversion experience. Cross-Platform Marketing – Collaborate with Supply Chain, Mapping & other Marketing teams (paid, brand, content) to understand high-opportunity events/key releases. Leverage learnings to build promotional calendar and digital merchandising efforts. Develop and activate targeted promoted and base content that drive incremental and profitable up- and cross-selling, while supporting overall brand and product messaging. Test & Learn – Combine data fluency with an experimental mindset to guide testing frameworks that optimize each send, canvas, campaign, and the Lifecycle strategy overall. Work across functions to drive impact through additional owned touchpoints. Display a healthy dose of competitiveness & fearlessness in testing & learning, then quickly driving to kill/iterate/scale. Drive a culture of experimentation & data-driven interpretation of results within the Lifecycle team & Marketing at large.

How your role expectations will progress as the Director, Lifecycle Marketing in the first 30, 60, and 90 days:

30 days in Acclimate to Vivid Seats’ values and organizational goals to understand how your department drives initiatives forward. Understand your teams’ contributions and the needs of stakeholders that rely on your deliverables to bring business objectives to life. Audit the consumer journey and review CRM dashboards/reports to understand drivers of the program/performance and formulate hypotheses on actions to start/stop/continue. Establish relationships with key cross-functional contacts (product/tech) and orient yourself with our MarTech stack & database architecture. Meet with key vendors (ex. ESP, CDP) and review existing contracts & capabilities. Set weekly touch points with direct reports to understand their role, motivations, and needs, building trust and leading with empathy.

60 days in Fine-tune performance measures (with analytics) for a clear & complete view of program performance, including incremental contribution at a granular level. Review CRM department objectives & calibrate as-needed/surface revised strategies, and work to remove blockers to progress. Input into/ratify an ongoing testing roadmap that looks out at least one quarter, and ensure proper test-design & measurement. Participate in monthly Repeat Rate Review with senior leadership & report on progress-to-goal. Empower and coach team members to achieve personal and functional goals that correlate to department objectives. Continue to lead initiatives for your team that enhance process, drive innovation, and build on Vivid Seats values.

90 days in Demonstrate meaningful progress to key goals (Incremental GOV, App Mix Shift, Repeat Rate, etc.) Monitor and evolve team deliverables, individual goals, and overall performance to ensure alignment with broader initiatives of your department and the organization while coaching your team to grow skill sets. Take stock of existing tools/MarTech stack and work to leverage under-utilized capabilities—lead CRM road mapping & evolution into the next phase of growth. Collaborate with stakeholders to confirm accurate prioritization and refine processes for collaboration and best practices.

What You’ll Bring: CRM/Loyalty/Personalization – Experience designing and deploying a comprehensive, digital-first CRM program (retention-focused), utilizing a variety of messages, incentives, rewards, and products to establish and enhance purchase, and loyalty over time. Deep customer journey and Lifecycle Marketing expertise including segmentation, and personalization and customer journey management at scale. Expertise in direct (1:1) Marketing to consumers is a must, with a proven track record of developing effective segmentation and targeting strategies to maximize value from large and complex customer databases. Ecommerce/Dual-Sided Marketplace Experience – Experience leading Lifecycle Marketing strategy in an Ecommerce context that is aligned with broader brand-building goals. Deep understanding of how smart, consumer-centric journeys lead to enhanced conversion, transaction acceleration and lower bounce rates. Fluent in the current eCRM marketplace and vendors. Digital & MarTech – Recent experience managing or overseeing multiple digital channels that build meaningful and deep relationships with customers while maximizing LTV. Must be familiar with a variety of interactive/digital marketing tools including Email, Retargeting, SMS, Push Notifications, etc. Demonstrated ability to leverage a connected/best-of-breed MarTech stack to optimize consumer journeys & drive results. Capability Development – Brings the experience to optimize a robust customer journey capability with an understanding of currently available and up and coming tools including enterprise grade DAM’s, CDP’s, and ESP’s. Demonstrated success building a highly engaged and performance driven team culture. Proven talent development, recruiting and training, and process engineering, with a track record of success delivering results personally. Ability to work closely with teams to get stuff done, quickly and on-budget.

Our Commitment:

We are an equal opportunity employer that values the critical importance of a diverse workforce and sense of belonging. Many of our roles have flexible requirements and we encourage you to apply regardless of whether you meet every qualification. Vivid Seats provides competitive compensation; bonus incentives and equity for all employees; FLEX PTO; mental health days; medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401K matching; monthly credits and discounts for attending live events; remote work and snack allowances; and a variety of additional workplace perks.

Location : Chicago, IL

This position will be based at the Company’s headquarters in downtown Chicago, where teams embrace hybrid in-person working 2-3 days a week. Vivid Seats’ mission is to help fans “experience it live” and that belief extends to employees as well. Vivid Seats just opened a brand new 40,000+ sf space in the historic Marshall Field building at Washington & State, close to several train stops and accessible via indoor pedway system. The space is bursting with the energy of live events fandom and the vibrancy of Chicago’s rising tech scene.

Our Commitment:

We are an equal opportunity employer that values the critical importance of a diverse workforce and sense of belonging. Many of our roles have flexible requirements and we encourage you to apply regardless of whether you meet every qualification. #J-18808-Ljbffr