Leads U.S. brand strategy, consumer insights, creative direction, merchandising, and brand governance for a bakery café business. Oversees creative team members, integrated campaigns, local marketing materials, global design adaptation, agency and production partners, budgets, asset management, and quality control. Translates research and business priorities into positioning, creative systems, guest experiences, and scalable brand standards while partnering with cross-functional teams and CJ Foodville Korea.
Director Brand Strategy Insights and Creative
Department
Brand Strategy, Insights & Creative
Reports To
CMO
Classification
Full Time Exempt
Location
Buena Park, California
Direct Reports
Senior Graphic Designer and Graphic Designer
Travel
Bakery cafés, vendors and company meetings as required
Effective Date
To be determined
Level
Director
Position SummaryThe Director of Brand Strategy, Insights & Creative leads the development and expression of the TOUS les JOURS brand in the United States. The Director translates business priorities, consumer understanding and marketplace opportunities into a clear U.S. brand strategy and an integrated creative system across campaigns, menu launches, merchandising, digital channels and bakery café touchpoints.
This role leads the U.S. Creative team, provides strategic and creative direction from concept through production, and serves as the principal U.S. partner to CJ Foodville Korea's Global Design team. The Director is accountable for ensuring that global creative is appropriately adapted for the U.S. market while remaining consistent with approved brand standards, visual identity and the brand's Korean heritage.
Key ResponsibilitiesBrand Strategy and Positioning- Develop and maintain the U.S. brand strategy, positioning, value proposition, audience priorities and brand architecture in alignment with company growth objectives.
- Translate the brand strategy into clear creative platforms, messaging principles, visual direction and annual priorities that guide Marketing and cross-functional partners.
- Identify how TOUS les JOURS' Korean heritage and creative point of view should be expressed in a relevant, differentiated and credible way for U.S. guests.
- Partner with Category & Occasion Marketing, Digital Experience & Commerce, Engagement & Communications, Field Marketing and R&D to ensure campaigns and guest experiences reinforce one coherent brand story.
- Evaluate brand implications of new partnerships, collaborations, sponsorships, menu initiatives and market-entry programs.
- Lead the brand's consumer-insights agenda, including brand tracking, segmentation, audience research, occasion research, concept testing and competitive analysis.
- Convert research, guest feedback, cultural trends and business performance into actionable recommendations for positioning, creative, merchandising, media and menu communication.
- Establish clear learning objectives and success measures for major campaigns and creative tests in partnership with Analytics, Finance and agency partners.
- Build and maintain a fact-based view of priority audiences, need states, occasions and barriers to trial, then ensure those insights shape briefs and creative decisions.
- Present concise brand and consumer insights to senior leadership and translate findings into decisions, priorities and next actions.
- Lead, coach and develop the Senior Graphic Designer and Graphic Designer, establishing clear roles, priorities, standards and development plans.
- Set the creative vision and provide actionable direction and feedback across campaigns, seasonal promotions, menu launches, digital content and corporate initiatives.
- Review and provide final creative approval for all work produced by the Senior Graphic Designer and Graphic Designer before release to internal partners, vendors, franchisees or bakery cafés.
- Assign work based on strategic importance, capacity and skill while ensuring timelines, quality and stakeholder expectations are managed effectively.
- Create a disciplined briefing, concept-review and approval process that improves quality, speed and accountability from intake through final production.
- Determine when work should be produced internally or through outside agencies, photographers, production partners, printers or other specialists.
- Build a culture of strong creative judgment, collaboration, constructive challenge and continuous improvement.
- Partner closely with the three Division Field Marketing Managers to develop and review local marketing materials, POP kits, promotional offers, merchandising, grand-opening materials and other bakery café collateral.
- Incorporate Field Marketing input regarding local market relevance, franchisee needs, operational feasibility and bakery café execution before creative is finalized.
- Provide final creative approval for corporate, franchisee and local bakery café collateral developed by the Creative team, while ensuring the appropriate Division Field Marketing Manager has a meaningful role in the review process.
- Establish clear standards and approval processes for local marketing materials so they support business objectives and comply with approved menu offerings, brand standards and visual identity.
- Evaluate requests from corporate and franchise bakery cafés with the appropriate Division Field Marketing Manager to determine whether materials should be approved, revised, standardized or declined.
- Identify recurring local needs that should be converted into scalable templates, POP kits, toolkits or broader system solutions rather than recreated market by market.
- Balance local flexibility with brand consistency so Field Marketing can respond effectively to market opportunities without creating fragmented or off-brand guest experiences.
- Serve as the primary U.S. Marketing liaison to CJ Foodville Korea's Global Design team for brand identity, campaigns, packaging, merchandising and other creative initiatives.
- Review global creative for compliance with approved brand standards and assess whether messaging, imagery, formats and execution are appropriate for U.S. guests, media channels and operating conditions.
- Lead the adaptation of global creative for the U.S. market without weakening brand equity, visual consistency or the strategic intent of the original work.
- Provide clear U.S. market briefs, consumer context and consolidated feedback to Korea, resolving differences through documented standards and business rationale.
- Maintain and evolve U.S. brand guidelines, toolkits, templates and approval protocols in coordination with Korea and Legal.
- Monitor compliance across corporate, franchisee and agency-created materials and direct timely correction of off-brand executions.
- Own the strategic and visual consistency of guest-facing merchandising across bakery cafés, including menu boards, promotional signage, window graphics, displays, packaging touchpoints and visual merchandising materials.
- Develop merchandising principles that improve navigation, communicate menu value, support priority categories and occasions, and maintain a cohesive bakery café experience.
- Partner with Operations, R&D, Food Safety, SCM and Field Marketing to ensure creative is operationally executable, factually accurate and delivered on time.
- Establish standards for photography, image selection, typography, color, composition, materials and production quality across physical and digital applications.
- Conduct periodic bakery café and digital-channel audits to identify inconsistency, outdated materials and opportunities to strengthen brand expression.
- Oversee creative development across print, digital, social, app, web, email, paid media, events, partnerships and internal communications.
- Ensure all creative briefs clearly define the business objective, audience, insight, desired response, channel requirements, mandatories and measurement plan.
- Direct product photography, content production, retouching and asset development to ensure menu offerings are represented accurately and compellingly.
- Oversee production-ready artwork, specifications, vendor coordination, proofing and quality control for printed and fabricated materials.
- Maintain an organized, searchable asset-management system and scalable templates that enable efficient execution by internal teams, agencies and franchisees.
- Protect copyrights, trademarks, licensed assets and talent rights in partnership with Legal and Engagement & Communications.
- Manage applicable creative, research, production and agency budgets, scopes, timelines and performance expectations.
- Select and direct external research, strategy, creative and production partners when specialized expertise or additional capacity is required.
- Partner with Finance and Procurement to develop estimates, evaluate value, negotiate scopes and maintain appropriate financial controls.
- Represent Brand Strategy, Insights & Creative in cross-functional planning, go-to-market and leadership discussions.
- Anticipate risks, resolve competing stakeholder input and escalate decisions that could affect brand integrity, timing, cost or the guest experience.
- Improvement in brand awareness, consideration, differentiation and key brand perceptions in priority markets.
- Consistent application of the approved brand identity across U.S. campaigns, channels, merchandising and bakery cafés.
- Creative effectiveness against defined campaign, engagement and conversion objectives.
- Timely, accurate and on-budget delivery of priority creative and merchandising programs.
- Clear adoption of consumer and occasion insights in strategic briefs, creative decisions and annual planning.
- Productive alignment with Korea's Global Design team and timely resolution of U.S. localization needs.
- Improved team capability, workload management, stakeholder satisfaction and quality of output.
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, brand strategy, design, communications, consumer insights or a related discipline; advanced degree is a plus.
- Eight or more years of progressive experience in brand strategy, creative leadership, consumer insights or integrated marketing, including at least three years leading people or multidisciplinary creative work.
- Experience in restaurants, food and beverage, retail, hospitality, franchising or another multi-location consumer business strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to translate research and business strategy into differentiated positioning, compelling creative and consistent guest experiences.
- Strong understanding of brand identity systems, merchandising, digital and physical production, campaign development and creative operations.
- Experience working across cultures, time zones or global and local teams; ability to influence partners without relying solely on reporting authority.
- Strong presentation, written communication, decision-making and stakeholder-management skills.
- Working knowledge of Asana, Adobe Creative Cloud and modern creative workflow and asset-management platforms; direct design execution capability is helpful but not the primary purpose of the role.
- Ability to travel to bakery cafés, production partners and company meetings as business needs require.
The successful candidate combines strategic discipline with strong creative judgment. This leader is comfortable moving between consumer evidence, business priorities and visual execution; gives clear direction without taking over the team's work; and can protect a global brand while advocating confidently for what the U.S. market requires.
CJ Foodville USA Cerritos, California, USA Office
13359 South St, Cerritos, California, United States, 90703 7308
CJ Foodville USA Commerce, California, USA Office
6832 E Slauson Ave, Commerce, California, United States, 90040 3617
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