Q2 Brand & Marketing Hiring Report

June 25, 2025

Brand. Performance. It’s all the same now.

The strongest teams are built with people who can flex across both.

👋 Allow us to re-introduce ourselves.

Creative People is a human-centered search firm building best-in-class marketing, brand creative, product design, and product management teams for both full-time and contract hires.

Executive People, a division of c/p, is dedicated to building leadership teams for the world’s most innovative startups.

Here’s what’s shaping the market right now:

  • Creative leadership is getting sharper → Brands are bringing in senior creatives early to define vision and voice.

  • Retention is back in the spotlight → Lifecycle, Email, and Community roles are getting prioritized to deepen loyalty and boost LTV.

  • Scrappy > seniority → The MVP profile? A full-stack generalist with 5–8 years of experience who can build strategy and execute it.

  • Brand + performance are blending → Titles like “Creative Strategist” and “Art Director, Performance Marketing” are on the rise, reflecting the need for conversion-driving creative.

  • Content is tied to revenue → Social and content roles are being hired to drive conversion, not just engagement. Founder-led, lo-fi, and influencer content is outperforming traditional paid ads.

What we’ve been working on:

Here’s an update on some of our recent placements.

Marketing

Brand Creative

Growing your team? 👇

Candidate Spotlight ⭐️

Below is a curated group of standout full-time candidates who are actively looking for their next role. If you'd like an intro to any of these profiles, just hit reply.

Head of Creative/VP, Creative
Creative exec with experience building and scaling DTC and omni-channel brands
Previously at ByHeart, Dollar Shave Club, One Love Organics

  • Led brand vision, GTM campaigns, and 360 activations in close partnership with founders and C-suite

  • Fuses cultural insight, omni-channel precision, and AI-enhanced innovation to build brand worlds that connect to people and drive conversion

  • Based in NYC and looking for her next Head of Creative or VP role at a brand-first company

Design Director/Associate CD
Brand + systems thinker with deep in-house experience
Previously at Peloton (9+ years)

  • Led design for major product launches (Bike+, Tread, Guide) and global 360 campaigns

  • Built scalable frameworks + systems across brand, product, and marketing

  • Based in NYC and looking for senior design leadership roles at brand-led companies

Executive CD/Head of Creative & Brand
Creative leader with range across brand, social, and performance
Previously at Olipop, Lego

  • Served as VP of Brand & Creative at OLIPOP after 8 years in senior roles at LEGO

  • Career spans founding a digital consultancy to building LEGO’s first performance marketing team

  • Based in Philly/open to hybrid opportunities in NYC. Looking for executive creative roles at high-growth, brand-led companies

Head of Social & Influencer Marketing
Culture-forward social and brand strategist
Previously at El Pollo Loco, Hopdoddy

  • Built influencer campaigns with 4.8x ROI and social strategies that drove 267% growth in IG engagement

  • Led Jack Harlow x KFC and National Cheeseburger Day campaigns that generated $50K+ in incremental sales

  • Based in Austin, TX and looking for a social or brand lead role at a fast-growing brand

Growth Marketing Lead
Full-stack growth marketer with a technical edge and brand fluency
Previously at WITHIN, Young Alfred, Spot & Tango, Hive Brands

  • Scaled global acquisition campaigns at WITHIN and built data pipelines at Young Alfred ahead of its acquisition

  • Brought growth in-house at Spot & Tango owning Meta, Google, attribution, testing, and content creator programs

  • Based in NYC and looking for full-time growth roles at consumer brands with strong creative POVs

Influencer & Affiliate Marketing Lead
Data-driven marketer blending brand storytelling with performance
Previously at Parade, HelloFresh, Hearst Magazines

  • 9+ years building creator, affiliate, and content programs for DTC and enterprise brands

  • Specializes in full-funnel influencer strategy: UGC, affiliate, and community-led growth

  • Based in NYC and looking for senior growth or partnerships roles

If any of these stand out, just reply! We’re happy to set up an intro or send over more info. 😊

Contractor Spotlight ⭐️

Below is a curated list of freelance and contract talent available for short-term or project-based work. If you’d like an intro, just hit reply to this email.

Chris Wiley | Creative Director | Portfolio

  • CA-based creative leader with 15+ years of experience distilling business goals into thoughtful creative that connects

  • Startup-tested (Tecovas, Albertsons) with a strong background in DTC, team building, omni-channel strategy, and creative execution across digital, print, and packaging

  • All-inclusive rate $110/hr, available immediately

Sarita Barrientos | Social Media Manager

  • At Pinterest, she grew their TikTok by 500K+ followers through campaigns like Coachella and Pinterest Predicts, owning content strategy, trend spotting, and reporting

  • At Apple, she launched the Apple Podcasts TikTok, driving 35M views and ~1M engagements

  • Previously at Khoros Agency, she supported community management and social sentiment analysis for brands like Target, VRBO, and more

  • All-inclusive rate $98/hr, available immediately

Erik Kristman | Sr. Copywriter | Portfolio

  • Strong Sr. Writer/Editor and Strategist for global brands like Uber, Instacart, Apple, Adidas, where he sat on marketing + sales enablement teams

  • Background in SEO, landing pages, digital/social/content strategy, brand positioning, UX, channel planning, AI, leading teams and projects

  • All-inclusive rate $150/hr, available immediately

Megan Eckersley | Sr. Art Director/Brand Designer | Portfolio

  • NYC-based, with extensive experience across agencies/clients including Squarespace, Square, Adobe, Arc’teryx, fintech startups, and more

  • Background in creating impactful digital campaigns, brand refreshes, photo shoots, email campaigns, social media strategy, and crafting bespoke brand identities

  • All-inclusive rate $150/hr, available immediately

If any of these stand out, just reply! We’re happy to set up an intro or send over more info. 😊

Any feedback on what you want to see on social or our newsletter?
Reach out to us at [email protected]