Lead Creative Strategist

Donut Studios is our in-house creative studio, purpose-built to craft high-performing, platform-native, and digital content for the world’s most ambitious brands. As a key part of New Engen’s suite of specialized solutions, alongside offerings like the Acorn Creator Suite - Donut Studios helps unlock breakthrough creative that drives results, fast.

We’re a collaborative group of strategists, content creators, copywriters, editors, designers, account strategists, and more who are all in on helping brands, and each other, thrive. We work hard, stay humble, and build with purpose.

What You'll Do

Develop Performance-Driven Creative Strategy

Build creative and messaging strategies that help brands grow across digital channels, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and display. Develop clear frameworks that guide concept development, ensuring creative work is grounded in performance insights and designed to resonate with target audiences.

Serve as the Creative Strategy Lead for Clients

Participate in client meetings as Donut Studios’ in-house creative strategist for assigned accounts. Provide thoughtful guidance on creative direction, campaign opportunities, and platform-specific best practices while helping clients understand the strategic thinking behind recommendations.

Turn Audience Insights into Creative Direction

Analyze consumer mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors to inform compelling creative concepts. Translate these insights into actionable direction for internal teams, ensuring creative work connects with audiences and supports campaign objectives across the customer journey.

Partner with Media to Drive Creative Performance

Work closely with media counterparts to review campaign performance and identify opportunities to improve results. Use performance data, KPIs, and client feedback to refine creative strategies, optimize messaging, and guide future concept development.

Manage Creative Launch Pipelines

Coordinate closely with media partners to manage launch pipelines for assigned clients, ensuring deliverables are completed, reviewed, and shared on schedule. Maintain visibility into timelines and dependencies to keep campaigns moving forward efficiently.

Lead Creative Briefing and Project Management

Develop clear creative briefs and manage assignments for internal teams using tools like Asana and Slack. Ensure projects are well-scoped, expectations are clear, and teams have the context they need to produce high-quality creative work.

Ensure Quality and Brand Alignment

Review scripts, concepts, and final deliverables to ensure creative output meets client expectations, brand guidelines, and campaign goals. Maintain strong quality control across all deliverables before launch.

Strengthen Cross-Functional Collaboration

Build processes and workflows that support collaboration between creative, media, and client teams. Help ensure ideas, feedback, and performance insights move smoothly across teams so campaigns are executed efficiently and effectively.

What You Bring

• 5+ years of proven experience ideating and developing high-performing direct response and social media creative strategies, ideally at a creative and performance marketing agency.
• Management experience of direct reports and junior team members.
• A background in creating UGC to enhance engagement and reach is a plus.
• Digitally savvy, creative, and knowledgeable about who and what is trending in the digital space on platforms including YouTube, Instagram/Facebook, TikTok, etc.
• A growth mindset, always thinking about how our clients can develop resonant, insightful advertising and what makes content engaging across audiences.
• Strong grasp on culture, with a keen understanding of what is relevant and an eye for upcoming digital trends.
• Excellent performance marketing and creative instincts with a track record of driving new concepts and pioneering new approaches within your company.
• Strong team player, with a passion for collaboration.
• Entrepreneurial spirit with a self-starting attitude and an ability to persuasively communicate strategic insights to the department and to stakeholders.
• Ability to navigate and influence within a fast-paced start-up organization.
• Fluency in Adobe Creative Suite or Figma is a plus.
• Proficiency in A