Senior Director, Publicity and Media Relations

Summary:
The Senior Director, Publicity and Media Relations leads all facets of the Academy’s public relations, press, and media efforts, from strategy, planning, and proactive pitching to execution, real-time optimization, coverage reporting, and analysis, stretching across all media types, platforms, and categories, including consumer, trade, and B2B. The role supports major annual tentpole live events including the annual ACM Awards and ACM Honors shows and their respective broadcast and streaming distribution plans (currently with Amazon Prime Video and FOX TV), as well as a robust slate of additional events; programmatic initiatives; institutional efforts to preserve and burnish an almost-60 year heritage; industry and community outreach; and organizational needs while spotlighting visibility for both the Academy and philanthropic association ACM Lifting Lives, as well as their leadership teams and Boards. This position is part of the Academy marketing department.

Responsibilities:
Organizational

• Drive macro, brand-driven organizational communications strategy for the Academy at a pivotal moment of growth and innovation. Develop, build, and activate a proactive plan for communications, publicity, and media relations across both national and local Nashville/community trade, industry, and consumer-facing outlets and all media types, to run alongside the existing announcement-driven efforts currently in place and expand exposure, awareness, and engagement.
• Lead efforts to commemorate and maximize impact of major Academy organizational milestones, including upcoming 60th anniversary, leveraging exceptional history and heritage while looking forward and connecting to present/future for relevance and influence.
• Identify and deliver media and visibility opportunities for the Academy brand, historic/heritage content, and key leadership executives year-round, notably including windows outside of major awards cycles. Share and tell stories, trends, and triumphs from the Academy, Nashville community, and Country Music industry in always-on, 360-degree approach. Place big picture features and interviews for key Academy leadership as well as industry thought leaders and influencers to support all things Country. Build on existing Academy ‘in memoriam’ efforts to contribute obituary editorial and historic media in celebration of Country industry legends. Ensure accurate brand references and correct factual errors in reporting.
• Identify new/innovative/pioneering media opportunities for Academy to break out of overcrowded landscapes (Country Music organizations, Country Music awards shows, general entertainment awards shows) and claim independently ownable lane.
• Oversee all organizational submissions to executive recognition lists (i.e. “Power Players,” “X Under X,” etc.) ensuring regular/maximum Academy inclusion, particularly in all-genre groupings
• Develop media opportunities for artists and Country industry talent tied to major organizational events. Work with artist camps and publicity teams to execute and simultaneously meet/surpass both Academy’s and artists’ goals.
• Support philanthropic association ACM Lifting Lives across all their strategic organizational and programmatic efforts, finding fresh ways to support their work and tell their success stories. Partner with association Executive Director to build annual communications strategy. Maximize visibility and tangible touchpoints through consistency, frequency, and in-depth features to claim space in crowded landscape, including tapping the Country Music industry whom the association supports as well as artist ambassadors.

Tentpole Events

• Lead big picture and on-the-ground publicity plans for all major organizational tentpoles and live events, covering announcement/date and venue reveal, pre-sale and public on-sale ticketing, talent bookings, nominations/honorees announce, sponsor and partners support, distribution awareness and tune-in, ratings and performance narratives, etc. Ensure these major events and broadcast components are visible, relevant, and dynamically engaging to key constituencies and audience segments.
• Collaborate with production and distribution partners, as well as internal Academy teams, on all promotional, publicity, and on-site content capture and media servicing, including actively heading all efforts to develop, plan, produce, and activate red carpet/arrivals and backstage (winners walk, press room, etc.) events.
• Book and coordinate all syndicated and wire photographers at all major and internal events, as well as curation and approvals of photo selects for distribution and servicing.
• In collaboration with Marketing head, develop and lead always-on strategy for partnership with Country Radio industry, including producing media junkets in lead-up to major tentpoles, and overseeing radio promotions with labels and station groups around tentpole events. Actively participate in production of syndicated long-form radio specials around major tentpole events, including coordination of artist participation and talent bookings.
• Find fresh and dynamic ways to support key constituent communities, including recording studio musicians and professionals, songwriters, etc.

Daily tasks

• Oversee all day-to-day press material drafting, distribution, and pitching.
• Develop shared quantitative and qualitative internal coverage reporting system, stretching across all media types and coverage, surfacing pull quotes and editorial raves as well as total reach/impressions stats to Academy leadership, staff, and Board members, as well as key constituents. Track quarterly and yearly growth and new demographic/ psychographic segments reached.
• Lead all media training workshops for Academy leadership, staff, and production executives to maximize interview opportunities. Prepare interview prep and talking point documents.
• Drive awards campaigns for Academy-owned media, in collaboration with production companies and distribution partners, for maximum exposure and recognition.
• Place internally-produced, short-form original digital/social content in high-visibility environments to increase visibility, consumption, and engagement.
• Develop opportunities for Academy executives and leadership team in local/industry events, panels, and conversations, to maintain organizational perspective and visibility as well as build profiles for next generation of leadership.
• Lead Academy’s Public Relations task force, comprised of Academy Board members and other industry leaders. Leverage collective expertise and recommendations to steer decision-making and build choruses of consensus amongst influencers.
• Drive forward Academy progressive, welcoming values and strategically participate in larger industry conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Qualifications

• 8-10 years hands-on experience leading communications, publicity, and media relations for major, industry-leading brand in entertainment or media. Knowledge and background growing brand with extensive history and heritage highly valued – celebrating an unparalleled past while also looking ahead and paving a bold and innovative path forward. Familiarity with music industry and Country Music stressed, TV/streaming experience a plus.
• Comprehensive and active network of contacts/connections/working relationships across all major media platforms and types and inclusive of both writers/reporters and editors: national television, local/Nashville television, national morning and late-night shows, daytime and news magazine syndicated shows, national and local print (dailies, weeklies, monthlies), national and syndicated radio, local radio, digital and web, social influencers and thought-leaders, local and industry trades. Experience working with global media in key Country territories a plus.
• First-rate writing, grammatical, and editing skills, experience drafting releases, alerts, and media kits, as well as overseeing a team handling production of press materials. Able to adopt organizational voice and linguistic guidelines while maintaining clear and impactful communications.
• Extensive experience working with creative talent and their camps, inclusive of managers, publicists, and label representation, in all manner of interactions, ranging from casual interactions to high-profile events, live tapings, and fast-paced red carpets.
• Broad, hands-on knowledge in developing, producing, and running red carpets for headliner talent and national media tied to major flagship live events.
• Calm and thoughtful under pressure. A cool demeanor and critical thinker with superior attention to detail. Unflustered and able to identify, analyze, and solve problems and optimize in real-time and high-pressure situations.
• Experience leading teams, working collaboratively and successfully with external partners, clients, vendors, and agencies, plus internally managing and mentoring staff at varying levels of seniority and tenure, delegating and overseeing work while simultaneously tackling projects hands-on.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, always-on entertainment media landscape. Able to respond to needs as news breaks and issues arise.
• Experience working with major broadcast/distribution and production partners valued.
• Able to think two steps ahead and strategically steer conversations and narratives towards intentional results while still maintaining positive relationships and constructive partnerships.

To apply, email your cover letter and resume to [email protected].

Manager, Social Media & Audience Engagement

Summary:
Manage the day-to-day social media efforts as part of the Academy’s high-functioning Marketing department, specifically leading the organization’s high-impact, always-on, sizable social portfolio, from all daily publishing and development, creation/production, and review of all media assets, to community engagement, audience development, and performance reporting. Required experience programming fast-paced branded channels for major national brands/personalities, from both hands-on-keyboards and editorial management perspectives – in other words, able to craft nuanced and detailed strategy, tapping today’s best practices and appetite for tomorrow’s innovation, and then personally activate, optimize, and analyze. Help develop ownable and sponsorable branded short-form content franchises, astutely leveraging in-house creative content and design resources, and nurture from ideation to launch. Experience participating in publishing command centers during tentpole live events, supporting numerous platforms/accounts in real time and simultaneous distribution and roll-out of media.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and oversee all day-to-day social media activity for Academy’s robust portfolio of branded channels with collectively millions of consumer and industry followers, including ideation, calendarization, copywriting and editing, activation, community engagement, reporting, and analysis.
• Develop unique, innovative, and creative editorial and content strategies tied to organizational brand position, aiming to carve out and claim ownable lanes in crowded Country Music and Country lifestyle landscapes, as well as supporting major annual live event tentpoles, organizational and programmatic priorities, philanthropic partner organization, and industry initiatives.
• Collaborate with, steer, and manage external agency currently assisting with daily publishing.
  
• Partner with ACM’s Director, Content and team on maximizing activity at state-of-the-art content capture studio at Academy’s new Nashville HQ, supporting and expanding existing short-form original social content franchises as well as developing and launching new content strands and series, all tied back to organizational brand and strategic plan.
• Own all reporting and analysis across all platforms, both independently and in collaboration with external partners. Track data analytics across owned platforms, maintain active dashboards and identify performance trends. Optimize plans to meet and exceed platform-specific metrics and KPIs, inclusive of follower growth, engagement rates, and content consumption
• Partner with Director, Brand Marketing & Partnerships on all paid social deployments, including campaigns planned and activated in-house as well as in concert with external agency partners
• Collaborate with and pitch creative talent and their representatives/teams on participation with marketing and social/digital projects, ranging from promotional partnerships to content capture. Lead distribution of toolkits of assets, copy, and messaging to artist camps.
• Manage packaging, distribution, and communication of official Academy-branded promotional assets to various partners and platforms, sharing key talking points and deployment instructions
• Collaborate with marketing leadership on brand strategies, from creation of platform-specific audience profiles and segmentation to refinement of macro-brand and micro-account voices, tones, and attitudes that both reflect/celebrate historic organization’s heritage and maintain individuality in competitive space
• Conduct regular landscape audits, tracking against competition set and pacemakers, noting momentous wins, opportunities for innovation, and broad best practices. Identify new and emerging media platforms and promotional partners, and cultivate appetite for innovation and experimentation.
• Manage and fulfill sponsor packages and partner campaigns, from ideation and pitching to activation, paid amplification, and reporting. Ability to understand what clients are looking for from programs and then craft data-driven narratives to share back to meet/exceed needs.
• Serve as additional set of hands-on-keyboards for urgent-turnaround needs, from weekend publishing to high-pressure, all-hands-on-deck moments
• Act as day-to-day point person for internal projects and external partners. Take on special projects as they come up, in collaboration with marketing executives
• Support the day-to-day responsibilities of Academy Marketing department
  
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree required
  
• At minimum 3-5 years of full-time relevant professional experience required, ideally in entertainment/music or media. Knowledge and background growing brand with extensive history and heritage valued – celebrating an unparalleled past while also looking ahead and paving a bold and innovative path forward. Familiarity with Country Music (current and classic artists) appreciated, TV/streaming experience a plus.
• Hands-on experience in social brand channel management, programming, daily publishing, and paid amplification required. Deep experience with platform back-end a plus.
• Firsthand familiarity and prowess with reporting, KPIs, and performance metrics analysis. Appetite for close data analysis, dashboard maintenance, and trend spotting.
• Experience both working closely with external partners and agencies, providing clear instructions and constructive feedback, as well as simultaneously tackling projects independently in-house. Familiarity working with creative talent and their camps, and a working understanding of their needs, timelines, and priorities encouraged, as are existing partner contacts at social platform(s).
• Strong writing and editing skills necessary, including ability to follow organizational brand and style guides. Outstanding attention to detail, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and Google suites and cloud-based storage and distribution tools. Experience with Adobe Creative suite is a plus
• Strong organizational, communication, and project management skills
  
• Calm and thoughtful under pressure. A cool demeanor, unflustered and able to identify, analyze, and solve problems and optimize in real-time and high-pressure situations. Able to work to firm deadlines.
• Must thrive in a fast-paced, all-hands-on-deck environment, particularly around high-profile live events and awards shows and maintain a “can do,” “no job too big or too small” attitude
• Some travel will be required, 1-2 times a year

To apply, email your cover letter and resume to [email protected].

The 2023 internship application is now closed.