Retail Brand & Creative Strategy

Are you a visionary creative leader and brand powerhouse who believes financial services can, and should, produce culture-shaping, unforgettable creative work? The SVP – Retail Brand, Creative & Experiential Strategy (C14) is a pivotal role designed for a creative brand superstar with impeccable taste, refined craft, and an uncompromising standard of excellence. Reporting directly to the Director (C15) of Retail Marketing Strategy & Market Activation, you will serve as the central Creative Subject Matter Expert (SME) and brand authority across Retail Banking & Citigold Marketing. In this role, you will have the canvas, budget, and executive backing to challenge conventional category tropes and define how Citi shows up across consumer journeys / touchpoints. You will direct end-to-end creative platform activation, coach teams and agencies on authoring inspiring briefs, partner seamlessly with the Citi Wealth & enterprise brand teams and top-tier global agencies, and weave brand storytelling across physical and digital ecosystems. We are seeking a seasoned creative leader and brand builder—with significant pedigree in leading advertising/creative agencies and world-class consumer brands—who possesses a discerning, critical eye for creative excellence, the gravitas to defend bold ideas, and the passion to make consumers genuinely reappraise and choose Citi.

Creative SME Leadership & Design Governance Creative Authority & Standard Bearer: Serve as the central creative authority across all US Retail businesses, executing on creative guidelines, visual standards, and brand tone-of-voice to elevate Citi’s presence far above standard banking conventions. Design & Visual Governance: Champion uncompromising design craft across every consumer touchpoint, ensuring brand identity, creative direction, and messaging architectures are executed with immaculate precision, modern elegance, and consistency. Critical Eye & Creative Review Rituals: Institute rigorous creative review rituals; evaluate concepts with a sharp, discerning eye to ensure every output is not merely compliant, but strategically resonant, emotionally compelling, culturally relevant, and executed at the highest craft level. Creative Platform Activation & Core Market Growth Translating Strategy into Big Ideas: Direct the activation and localization of the retail creative platforms, translating Retail Banking & Citigold strategic objectives, segment nuances, and core market-building initiatives into imaginative, full-funnel creative platforms. Bold, Attention-Earning Campaigns: Conceive and champion high-impact campaign concepts, and brand narratives that spark organic conversation, capture consumer mindshare, and drive measurable brand reappraisal and consideration. Content Innovation & Dynamic Storytelling: Pioneer fresh content formats, video storytelling, and digital-first narratives tailored to distinct consumer and wealth segments across their financial lifecycles. World-Class Agency Leadership & Briefing Mastery Mastery of Creative Briefing & Coaching: Coach and elevate the entire Retail Banking & Citigold marketing team on the authorship of inspiring, razor-sharp creative briefs that crystallize strategic challenges, unlock fresh consumer truths, and inspire world-class work from creative partners. Agency Ecosystem & Citi Wealth Partnership: Partner closely with the Citi Wealth & enterprise brand team, top-tier external creative, brand, digital, and production agencies. Act as a demanding yet inspiring client partner who challenges agency leadership to produce their most ambitious, award-caliber work. Experiential, Sponsorship & Branch Merchandising Integration Omnichannel Brand Cohesion: Develop and deploy end-to-end brand, creative, and experiential strategies that seamlessly interconnect physical retail environments (branch merchandising and environmental branding) with digital, social, and in-person activation channels. Physical Retail