Associate Director, Integrated Media

Associate Director, Integrated Media – Acadia

Acadia is a modern digital growth agency built around helping brands solve complex marketing and media challenges with clarity, confidence, and measurable impact. We bring together deep expertise in paid media, retail & marketplace strategy, analytics & intelligence, SEO & CRO, and performance creative to drive growth across full‑funnel experiences. Our approach is rooted in real data, strategic thinking, and an integrated lens that bridges audience insight, media planning, and commercial outcomes.

• You are a senior integrated media strategist ready to step into broader ownership and leadership. You have strong hands‑on experience building and delivering full‑funnel media strategies and are comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy—while still benefiting from guidance and partnership from a Media Director.
• You want to grow beyond execution and into true strategic ownership, yet enjoy being close to the work. You are energized by solving complex planning challenges, collaborating with cross‑functional teams, and helping clients make better media investment decisions.
• You see yourself as a strategist who:
  • Owns integrated media strategy for one or more key client accounts or work streams
  • Shapes channel roles, audience strategy, and investment approach
  • Leads client conversations on media strategy and performance with confidence
  • Mentors planners and elevates the quality of work
  • Balances strategic thinking with practical execution considerations
  • Communicates clearly, confidently, and thoughtfully with internal teams and clients
• You are proactive, organized, and curious—comfortable managing multiple priorities while deepening your strategic judgment.

• Media Strategy and Planning:
  • Lead integrated media strategy for assigned client accounts or major work streams
  • Design full‑funnel media programs aligned to client objectives, including:
  • Audience strategy using 1P, 2P, and 3P data
  • Channel roles and mix across CTV, OLV, linear TV, paid social, search, audio, display, and retail media
  • Budget allocation and investment rationale
  • Measurement and learning plans
  • Translate client goals into clear, actionable media strategies and recommendations
  • Partner closely with Media Directors to align strategy across the broader client portfolio
  • Collaborate with Paid Media, Analytics, Creative, and Strategy teams to ensure strong execution alignment
• Client Leadership & Account Ownership:
  • Serve as the primary day‑to‑day media strategy lead for assigned accounts or initiatives
  • Lead client discussions related to media strategy, performance, and optimization
  • Present plans, POVs, and results with clarity and confidence
  • Identify opportunities to expand or evolve media strategy to support client growth
  • Escalate risks, challenges, or strategic questions appropriately
  • Partner with Analytics to define KPIs and success metrics by funnel stage
  • Interpret performance results from attribution, brand lift, incrementality tests, and MMM outputs
  • Refine strategy and inform future recommendations using insights
  • Ensure optimization decisions align with business objectives, not just platform efficiency
• Team Leadership & Development:
  • Mentor Senior Media Planners and Media Planners on assigned accounts
  • Provide guidance, feedback, and quality control on planning deliverables
  • Help junior team members build strategic thinking and planning skills
  • Support proactive workflows and strong internal collaboration
• Media Research & Analysis:
  • Use planning tools and research sources to inform media strategy and audience insights
  • Translate data into meaningful strategic implications
  • Collaborate on advanced analyses related to channel effectiveness, testing, and media mix optimization
  • Encourage thoughtful use of data rather than reliance on “black box” outputs

• Minimum of 6–9+ years of integrated media planning experience at a media/advertising agency or similar environment
• Experience leading or co‑leading media strategy for complex accounts
• Strong working knowledge of cross‑channel media, particularly video ecosystems
• Experience with measurement frameworks such as attribution and…