Sr. Manager, Brand Creative

Be essential at Cars Commerce

At Cars Commerce, we’re fanatical about simplifying everything about car buying and selling. We do right by our customers and consumers to better connect the industry with simplified and tierless technology to enhance, measure and drive local automotive retail. Whether through our No.1 most recognized marketplace, Cars.com, our industry-leading digital experience, Dealer Inspire, our trade and appraisal technology, AccuTrade, our reputation-based digital wholesale auction marketplace, Dealerclub, or our new Cars Commerce Media Network, Cars Commerce is essential for success in the automotive industry.

No one ever travels alone here: at its core, Cars Commerce is collaboration. In fact, it’s built into the very fabric of our shared values. We like to say we Rise Together – putting people at the center of what we do, from consumer to customer to community. Life at Cars Commerce makes it easy when we share the ethos to be Open to All, encouraging open-minded communication because we know diverse thinking yields better outcomes. But critical to our success is Caring to Challengeand Taking Ownership, fueling a competitive spirit in a respectful environment where we think about tomorrow but act today. At our foundation, we have integrity, Doing the Right Thing, even when it’s hard. It’s our shared commitment to these values that makes Cars Commerce a place where growth becomes not only possible, but downright unavoidable.

But don’t take our word for it. As a U.S. News & World Report Best Company to Work For in 2024, we're obsessive about the employee experience. We are among the top 20% being declared “Best” of our industry based on six critical factors that are important to employee wellbeing, like quality of pay, benefits, work life balance and more.

Directly overseeing copywriting and creative development inside the Cars Commerce Brand Creative organization, the Sr. Manager, Brand Creative is responsible for leading the creative vision, messaging, and execution of marketing campaigns to consumers on behalf of Cars.com B2C brand and businesses on behalf of Cars Commerce’s portfolio of B2B brands. The Sr. Manager, Brand Creative is also responsible for leading our Cars Commerce Brand Studio: a specialized creative group dedicated to partnering with OEMs and national advertisers to activate co-branded consumer campaigns and bespoke publishing on Cars.com.

This isn't your typical creative director role. At Cars Commerce, the Sr. Manager, Brand Creative works at the intersection of consumer brand-building, dealer community-building, and automotive industry innovation by leading projects inside a powerhouse internal creative team that has the resources and talent to make big ideas happen. The Director, Brand Creative can strategize on brand messaging and macro-economic trends at 30,000-feet, and still be comfortable rolling up their sleeves to craft compelling narratives for video, digital, social, OOH, audio, and emerging channels. They understand on any given Monday their customer is the enterprise, but their audience is the consumer, the auto dealer, and the national OEM brand — individually, and all at once.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Brand Vision & Strategy

• Define and evolve Cars.com's commercial and editorial brand presence across all channels

• Partner with marketing and creative leadership to translate business objectives into breakthrough creative strategies

• Establish and maintain brand voice, messaging architecture, and creative standards that differentiate Cars.com in a crowded automotive marketplace

• Lead the development of integrated commercial consumer campaigns that drive both brand awareness and business results

Creative Leadership & Execution

• Lead & oversee the creative output of their team’s assigned projects from concept through production—including broadcast/streaming commercials, digital content, radio spots, social campaigns, and experiential activations

• Lead creative development for key initiatives including dealer solutions marketing, OEM partnerships, and consumer-facing brand campaigns

• Champion innovative storytelling approaches that make complex automotive technology and car shopping considerations accessible and engaging

• Partner with Video Prod