ROLE SUMMARY

This essential leadership role within tronc’s Digital Marketing organization is responsible for launching and leading a Membership strategy across our network of award-winning news brands including Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel. This innovator and her/his team will transform our customer dealings from transactional subscriptions to inclusive, immersive, community-based relationships. This important companywide work will include how we engage with our customers, what products we sell them, what additional perks we offer them, and how we always demonstrate our deep appreciation for members’ loyalty. The ideal candidate will have a track record of successful strategic planning, a proven balance of both analytical and creative skills, a strong customer orientation, and a relentless drive to beat goals and continually improve.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Craft and evangelize the definition of and strategy behind “membership” within the organization. This work should seek to transform our subscriber relationships from transactional to inclusive relationships. The end results of this work should include better retention and loyalty, increased revenue per member, and fervent member-to-member advocacy.

• Build and lead a team of collaborative, innovative marketers who facilitate all aspects of membership work.

• Carefully define audience segments and contexts in which to sell our expanding portfolio of products. With a growing suite of digital products – from introductory verticals to niche premium options – our go-to-market strategy will require clear messaging and manageable targeting to maximize consumer response and revenue. Work here should include maximal leverage of upsell and downsell opportunities among the portfolio.

• Amass a pipeline of member benefits from across the organization. These perks can include exclusive access to member-only content and journalist discussions, free gifts from relevant partners and advertisers, VIP or early access to tronc events, discounts for tronc merchandise and events, trial memberships for friends and family, and sweepstakes.

• Lead the development of a communication process for the notification and disbursement of member benefits. This may include website development, email communications, house ads and other communication vehicles.

• In partnership with the Newsroom, Product Development and Business Development teams, participate in audience development activities for new digital products, such as social media and SEO.  These new readers will help to fuel the funnel for future member conversions.

• Develop membership funnels and communication processes with customers who consume our content off of our own platforms, like on Facebook or Apple News. Partnership with these platforms’ representatives should not only facilitate the acquisition of new members in these eco-systems, but should also ensure that all membership benefits extend to them.

• Foster regular and deep engagement of all members, encouraging usage both of the products they have purchased and the perks they have earned.

• Serve as internal advocate for our members across the organization. Ensure that the mindsets we adopt, language we employ, and sentiments we convey are always reinforcing the value of a membership, as well as our appreciation of members.

• Collaborate with internal groups to execute go-to-market strategies – teams like marketing-channel managers, operations, product development and the newsroom. Excellent communication and careful coordination with these colleagues are essential for success.

• Commission, gather, share and leverage competitive intelligence, primary and secondary research, and industry-peer best practices on all relevant membership-related topics.

REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS

• BS/BA in Marketing, Communications, or related field, MBA a plus

• 15+ years experience in a digital direct marketing role, with a preference for experience launching and leading loyalty and retention programs

• Experience with collaborating with third-party news dissemination platforms especially Facebook, Apple News and Google

• Proven track record of successful strategic plan development

• Successful track record of managing a high-performing team and collaborating successfully within a matrixed organization

• Significant problem-solving, communication, negotiation and organizing skills