Associate Director, Creative Strategy – Sports & Entertainment

About this role

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth.

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com.

3135 - Associate Director, Creative Strategy – Sports & Entertainment - UK

Role Summary and Impact

WPP Media is the UK’s biggest media agency network. More clients choose to work with us than anyone else in the UK. This success is delivered via a clear, client centric vision – to be the most trusted growth partner for brands.

WPP Media Sports & Entertainment is our dedicated practice focused on the development of brand partnerships, sponsorships, branded entertainment and socially driven content solutions for brands. We work with the biggest and most impactful brands, platforms, IP, rights holders, talent and creators to drive our work.

We passionately believe that Sports and Entertainment make modern culture. Across sport, music, fashion, gaming and entertainment, they fuel the communities and fandoms that drive audiences and power brand differentiation. The vision of our 100+ dedicated craft experts is simple – We make brands epic in culture.

Overview

As Director, Branded Entertainment you will lead the day-to-day strategic development, delivery, and integration of world-class branded entertainment solutions across WPP Media’s client portfolio. Sitting at the intersection of media, culture, and storytelling, this role ensures our clients’ brands are authentically connected to the biggest platforms, talent, and IP shaping today’s entertainment landscape.

Working closely with senior leadership, WPP agency teams, and external partners, you will lead on responses to complex client briefs, spanning linear and streaming AFPs, social-first series, and talent-led partnerships. You will bridge creative ambition with commercial rigor to build culturally resonant entertainment properties that deliver measurable business impact.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Brief Management

• Drive the implementation of the WPP Media’s S&E Branded Entertainment proposition across agency teams and client accounts.

• Act as the strategic lead on key client briefs, translating brand challenges into innovative, culturally relevant entertainment strategies.

• Identify emerging trends across streaming, the creator economy, gaming, and sports, converting them into actionable opportunities for clients.

Creative & Commercial Development

• Oversee the ideation, pitching, and packaging of entertainment formats, including long-form documentary storytelling, streaming partnerships, and influencer-led digital series.

• Bridge client objectives with external creative partners, studio executives, streamers, and talent to co-develop compelling IP.

• Lead commercial deal structuring, contract negotiations, and rights management to ensure brand investments yield strong value and reach.

Partnership & Platform Relationships

• Cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with key entertainment platforms (Netflix, Amazon, Sky, YouTube, TikTok, Meta, Spotify, etc.), production companies, and distributors.

• Harness WPP’s network scale to secure premium access to talent, IP, and exclusive partnership opportunities.

• Collaborate with internal talent and influencer practices to seamlessly integrate creator and celebrity partnerships into broader campaign architectures.

Cross-Agency Collaboration

• Partner directly with media and creative agency leads and others to embed branded entertainment into core client strategy.

• Act as a subject matter expert and advocate for entertainment as a critical strategic growth lever within broader media plans.

• Implement toolkits, pitch templates, and operational best practices to elevate content standards across the network.

Measurement & Business Impact

• Apply robust measurement frameworks to live campaigns to track audience engagement, brand lift, and business outcomes.

• Partner with data and insights teams to analyze campaign performance, synthesizing learnings to demonstrate ROI and inform future client strategy.

Experience & Skills

• 5 or more years experience in branded entertainment, content partnerships, media production, or creative agency environments.

• Proven track record of managing end-to-end execution of branded entertainment properties with major broadcasters, platforms, or digital creators.

• Strong commercial acumen with experience negotiating content production deals, rights structures, and platform partnerships.

• Deep fluency across the contemporary entertainment landscape—from traditional TV/streaming formats to social video ecosystem dynamics.

• A strong, active network across production companies, media owners, platforms, and talent management agencies.

• Exceptional presentation, narrative building, and client relationship management skills.

• Collaborative mindset with a demonstrated ability to navigate complex matrix organizations.

What Success Looks Like

• High pitch win rate and account growth driven by breakthrough branded entertainment responses.

• Delivery of high-quality, award-contending entertainment work that garners strong client satisfaction.

• Established, trusted relationships with agency leads and key entertainment platform partners.

• Flawless execution of complex content partnerships on time, on budget, and against clear KPIs.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media is powered by our commitment to Be Extraordinary, investing in…