(T) Senior Manager, Media Strategy & Planning

Foot Locker · Utrecht

Overview

You will own the paid media strategy and planning that turns brand moments, product drops and seasonal peaks into measurable business growth, across stores, e-commerce and app. You set how budget is split between building brand demand and capturing it, and you decide which channels earn investment. You build cross-channel plans for Europe that integrate online and offline media, and you plan media behind the brand's biggest campaigns. You also take our vendor partnerships to the next level through media strategy planning, and you key voice of media strategy in key meetings inside and outside the company. You work with brand, e-commerce, retail, CRM and creative teams, and you manage the agencies and platforms that execute the plans.

Responsibilities

Full funnel strategy and planning

Build the annual, seasonal and campaign media strategy across the funnel: awareness, consideration, conversion and retention.
Develop cross-channel media plans across Europe that integrate online and offline: paid social, search, video (YouTube, online video, CTV), programmatic and display, audio, affiliate, retail and marketplace media, OOH and TV.
Translate brand and business priorities (key franchises, categories, launches, cultural and sports moments, promotional periods) into channel plans, flighting and audience strategies.
Set the investment logic between upper-funnel and lower-funnel spend, and defend it with evidence.

Brand campaign partnership

Elevate brand campaigns by working with the Brand team from brief to launch, so media strategy shapes the plan early and not after the creative is set.
Plan the media behind brand platforms, tentpole campaigns (such as Back to School and Holiday) and cultural moments, with clear channel roles, audience priorities and flighting.
Feed paid media learnings, platform requirements and formats back to Brand and Creative in time to inform content.

Vendor partnerships and go-to-market (GTM)

Take vendor partnerships to the next level by planning and leading the media and GTM elements of vendor activity with brand partners (for example Nike, adidas and ASICS).
Prepare for vendor sell-ins and planning sessions so Marketing is present, well prepared and clear on its priorities.
Align vendor investment, co-funded media and activation plans with the campaign calendar, business priorities and product launches.
Work with Marketing leadership so vendor plans are consistent with Foot Locker's brand and media strategy.

Budget, forecasting and financial accountability

Own budget allocation, pacing and forecasting by market, channel and funnel stage, and re-allocate in-flight as performance and inventory change.
Optimise for profit and contribution margin, not only topline revenue. Use ROAS, cost per new customer and overall marketing return as guardrails, alongside margin and stock position.
Partner with Finance on forecasts, planning cycles and business cases.

Measurement, incrementality and testing

Define the measurement framework by funnel stage: reach, attention, engagement, traffic, conversion, new-customer acquisition, sales and profit.
Lead a test-and-learn roadmap: geo and holdout incrementality tests, creative and audience tests, and platform lift studies.
Use media mix modelling (MMM), multi-touch and platform data together, and be clear about each method's limits.
Build omnichannel measurement that links paid media to both online and in-store outcomes, using the data and platforms available.
Deliver regular performance reviews and executive-ready readouts with clear recommendations, not only reporting.

Audience and consumer insight

Develop audience and segmentation strategies based on first-party data, consumer research and category trends.
Work with CRM and data teams on audience activation, suppression, lookalikes and retention plays.
Track competitive spend, share of voice and emerging platforms and formats, and act on what you find.

Agency, partner and platform management

Lead media agencies and platform partners: scopes of work, briefs, performance accountability and fee and commercial efficiency.
Negotiate with media owners, platforms and retail media networks for rates, added value and early access to betas.
Manage ad tech and measurement vendors, and make sure data, tagging and reporting are consistent.

Cross-functional leadership and representation

Align plans with brand, social, content, PR, e-commerce, retail operations, merchandising and regional or local market teams.
Align the promotional calendar and inventory with media timing so spend supports the right products at the right time.
Brief creative teams on channel and format needs, and feed performance learnings back into the creative process.
Be the voice of media strategy in key meetings, both inside the company (leadership, cross-functional planning, pitchbacks) and outside it (agencies, vendors, platforms and partners). Present strategy and results in plain language for non-media audiences.

Team and capability

Coach and develop media planners, specialists .
Build and maintain best-practice playbooks, planning templates and ways of working.

Qualifications

Experience

7+ years in paid media, media planning, including 3+ years in managerial roles.
Proven ownership of large multi-channel budgets (typically in millions annually) across multiple European markets.
Experience planning integrated online and offline media, including OOH or TV, in a consumer brand, retailer, e-commerce business or agency serving them. Sports, fashion, footwear or omnichannel retail is a plus.
Experience working with brand partners or vendors on joint planning, co-funded media or go-to-market activity is a plus.

Skills and knowledge

Deep hands-on knowledge of the paid channels: Meta, TikTok, YouTube/Google, Search, Shopping, programmatic, retail media, CTV and OOH.
Strong grasp of incrementality testing, MMM and attribution, and the judgement to resolve conflicting signals.
Strong commercial and financial judgement: able to link media investment to sales, margin and profit, build forecasts, and make the business case for shifting budget.
Confident with data and analytics tools such as Google Analytics, a DSP or ad server, BI dashboards and Excel. SQL is a plus.
Excellent storytelling and stakeholder management. Credible representing media strategy to senior leaders, vendors, agencies and partners.
Experience managing agencies and negotiating with media partners.
Comfortable in fast-moving, culture-led environments (sport, music, fashion, social).

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, economics, analytics or a related field, or equivalent experience. Platform certifications are a plus.

Benefits

Recognition, inclusion and belonging in a diverse environment
25 holidays and flexible working (hybrid position, in office 3 days p/w)
Employee Discount on in-store and online products
Casual Sneaker Culture
Learning & Health/Wellbeing programs
Career development and growth in an ambitious international team
Travel reimbursement
Access to premium wellness apps
Bike plan and contribution to gym subscription
Pension Plan
Discounted Collective Health plans
Activities organized by our Social Committee #LI-MM1