Creative Strategist

Creative Strategist

About JLB

JLB is a retail business consulting firm dedicated to driving business growth for our clients. We offer Sales, Account Management, Category Management, Consumer Research, Business Insights, Creative Strategy + Experience and Retail Services support for numerous brands at Target. Our team comes from a variety of backgrounds, and we are committed to fostering an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion.

The Role

The Creative Strategist is responsible for identifying and translating market and consumer trends into actionable business opportunities. This role leverages trend research (macro, product, cultural, and behavioral) and industry insights - from global trend resources, trade shows, and digital analysis - to uncover white space that aligns with retailer, merchant, and client strategies.

Partnering with cross-functional stakeholders including Sales, Category Management, Consumer Insights, and Merchants, the Creative Strategist delivers tailored trend reports, consumer mindset updates, and inspiration sessions that drive strategic decision-making.

This role influences assortment planning, product development, and new business opportunities, while also shaping merchandising strategies. The Creative Strategist collaborates closely with Creative Team to bring concepts to life through merchandising, marketing, and showroom displays.

Essential Responsibilities

Research market and product trends: macro, consumer, cultural, and category specific trends. Demonstrates mastery in researching and tracking market trends using trend resources, observational trends from trade shows, market tours, and extensive digital research to gain deep insights to identify retail trends and white space opportunities. Uses trend curve to align findings within company definitions and expectations

• Trend reporting: Using understanding of company strategy and initiatives, connects the dots between observations from the market, trade show analysis, reports from leading trend publications and digital media. Expertly analyzes and applies trend research to create custom trend analysis reports that include macro, consumer, and product trends for a category. Creates and presents impactful reports inclusive of concise yet aspirational storytelling that shape product and merchandising strategies

• Business development: Actively identifies new brands, products, style and new business opportunities that align with company initiatives while understanding the difference between a fad and a long-term trend. Proactively partners with sales and insights leads to ensure continuous focus on outputting trends and white space opportunities for current brand partners that grow share of wallet with the company

• Strategic guidance and inspire action: Lead and inspire clients through trend safaris, brainstorms, workshops, line-review support, and ad-hoc projects. Curate itineraries to inspire new ideas, create ideation plans, prepare stimulus aligned to client needs, highlight innovation and trends to drive new product development, and support seasonal strategy through strategic guidance and trend material

• Relationships: Serves as a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to clients. Responsible for intimately understanding company strategies, brand strategies and the marketplace to help identify opportunities that can best drive business and grow share of wallet. Demonstrates the ability to navigate and balance needs of clients and the company. Able to interact at all levels of clients with comfort and ease

• Lead creative experience: Through the lens of company strategies, directs and inspires the Creative team to bring white space opportunities and merchandising concepts to life in a realistic and meaningful manner both in store and online

Qualifications

• Education Requirements: Bachelor's degree

• Experience Requirements: 6-8 years experience in relevant field (Trend forecasting, product development, strategy preferred)

• Presentation Design Expertise: Advanced proficiency in PowerPoint and visual storytelling, with a strong eye for design, composition, and creating persuasive, client-facing presentations.

• Travel requirement: Some travel expected

Job Will Remain Open Until Filled

The Company is one of North America's leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management, and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers, and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The Company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics, and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

Responsibilities

• Research market and product trends: macro, consumer, cultural, and category specific trends. Demonstrates mastery in researching and tracking market trends using trend resources, observational trends from trade shows, market tours, and extensive digital research to gain deep insights to identify retail trends and white space opportunities. Uses trend curve to align findings within company definitions and expectations

• Trend reporting: Using understanding of company strategy and initiatives, connects the dots between observations from the market, trade show analysis, reports from leading trend publications and digital media. Expertly analyzes and applies trend research to create custom trend analysis reports that include macro, consumer, and product trends for a category. Creates and presents impactful reports inclusive of concise yet aspirational storytelling that shape product and merchandising strategies

• Lead creative experience: Through the lens of company strategies, directs and inspires the Creative team to bring white space opportunities and merchandising concepts to life in a realistic and meaningful manner both in store and online

• Relationships: Serves as a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to clients. Responsible for intimately understanding company strategies, brand strategies and the marketplace to help identify opportunities that can best drive business and grow share of wallet. Demonstrates the ability to navigate and balance needs of clients and the company. Able to interact at all levels of clients with comfort and ease

• Business development: Actively identifies new brands, products, style and new business opportunities that align with company initiatives while understanding the difference between a fad and a long-term trend. Proactively partners with sales and insights leads to ensure continuous focus on outputting trends and white space opportunities for current brand partners that grow share of wallet with the company

• Strategic guidance and inspire action: Lead and inspire clients through trend safaris, brainstorms, workshops, line-review support, and ad-hoc projects. Curate itineraries to inspire new ideas, create ideation plans, prepare stimulus aligned to client needs, highlight innovation and trends to drive new product development, and support seasonal strategy through strategic guidance and trend material

Qualifications

• Education Requirements: Bachelor's degree

• Experience Requirements: 6-8 years experience in relevant field (Trend forecasting, product development, strategy preferred)

• Travel requirement: Some travel expected

Supervisor Responsibility

Direct Reports: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities for direct reports

Indirect Reports: Does not have direct reports, but may delegate work of others and provide guidance, direction and mentoring to indirect reports

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Strategic: demonstrates mastery, self-motivation and expertise in trend research with the ability to connect the dots between multiple resources. Able to identify and triangulate white space/new business opportunities that align with Retailer/Merchant strategies, market opportunities and client strategies to provide actionable insights/recommendations tailored to each client

• Ability to prioritize numerous projects concurrently, ensuring timely completion. Assess the urgency and importance of tasks, allocating time and resources accordingly

• Storytelling - ability to take complex ideas or large amounts of research/data and simplify into understandable and concise stories to influence business decisions and drive new business growth

• Dynamic presentation skills: comfortable presenting to groups of 30 people or more, and upward to senior leadership. Ability to inspire and motivate teams into action

• Strong visual and graphic design skills to make impactful trend presentations using presentation and graphic design tools

• Demonstrates a customer-centric approach with a service mindset. Understands the value of providing exceptional service and fostering trust. Cultivates positive relationships to deliver contributions to the team's success

Environmental & Physical Requirements
Field Requirements: Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work is performed in a retail in-store environment, which may include working in variable temperatures such as refrigerated areas, freezer sections and deli/bakery areas. The position typically requires the ability to spend 66%+ hours each workday performing the following activities: Engage in considerable physical activity, ability to lift, push and pull up to 50 pounds, stand on feet for long periods of time, use consumer goods products, prepare, and serve food and beverages safely as appropriate for the product demonstration.

Additional Information Regarding Job Duties
Field Requirements: Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work is performed in a retail in-store environment, which may include working in variable temperatures such as refrigerated areas, freezer sections and deli/bakery areas. The position typically requires the ability to spend 66%+ hours each workday performing the following activities: Engage in considerable physical activity, ability to lift, push and pull up to 50 pounds, stand on feet for long periods of time, use consumer goods products, prepare, and serve food and beverages safely as appropriate for the product demonstration.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of associates so classified. The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by law.