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Role Summary and Impact:
OPENMIND is WPP Media’s dedicated agency for Nestlé, built on Mindshare and part of WPP, the world’s largest media investment company. In Vietnam, OpenMind partners Nestlé across its full brand portfolio, from Milo to KitKat and Nescafé to Maggi. We are currently looking for a Strategy Director (Strat Lead – Nestlé) to join OpenMind Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Strategy Director is the strategic centre of excellence for the Nestlé business in Vietnam. The role sets the strategic standard for every integrated proposal, leads the agency-wide adoption of WPP Open, owns the roll-out of first-party-data (1PD) activation and the Brand Building the Nestlé Way (BBNW) process, and builds OpenMind’s reputation through awards and thought leadership.
Reporting to: Agency Lead, OpenMind Vietnam
Works closely with: OpenMind BU teams (planning, digital, performance, commerce), WPP Media Vietnam data & analytics, Nestlé brand and media teams, and platform partners (Google, TikTok, Admicro, Meta)
3 best things about the job:
- Own the strategic agenda for some of Vietnam’s most loved brands – KitKat, Nescafé, Milo, Maggi and the wider Nestlé portfolio – inside a dedicated unit with direct access to senior Nestlé clients.
- Be the agency’s first mover on WPP Open: you decide how AI-powered planning is adopted across every OpenMind BU team, and you train the agency to use it.
- Build a visible industry profile through award-winning case studies (MMA Smarties, Effies, Festival of Media), published thought leadership, and innovation partnerships with Google, TikTok and Admicro.
Measures of success
In 3 months:
- Fully immersed in the Nestlé portfolio, brand plans and the BBNW process, with a working knowledge of each BU team’s briefs and campaign pipeline.
- Certified on WPP Open and have mapped where Open fits into each BU team’s planning workflow.
- Led the strategy on at least one live campaign brief for a key brand (KitKat, Nescafé, Milo or Maggi) and presented it to the client.
- Audited the current year’s work for award-worthy cases and set the awards calendar across MMA, FOMA, FOMG and Effies.
In 6 months:
- WPP Open training programme rolled out to all OpenMind BU teams, with adoption tracked and reported.
- 1PD activation roadmap agreed with Nestlé and platform partners, with the first activation live on a pilot brand.
- BBNW process running consistently across Nestlé brands, with BU teams applying it to every brief.
- First award submissions and case videos delivered; first thought-leadership article or newsletter published.
In 12 months:
- Recognised by Nestlé as the go-to strategic partner, with a visible lift in the quality of integrated proposals across brands.
- WPP Open is the default planning way of working across OpenMind, and 1PD activation has scaled across priority brands.
- Award recognition for OpenMind and Nestlé work at at least one of MMA Smarties, FOMA/FOMG or Effies.
- A strategic capability programme in place with a regular training cadence and a pipeline of strong strategists across BU teams.
Responsibilities of the role:
CORE
Brand strategy leadership. Lead strategy for key brands such as KitKat, Nescafé, Milo and Maggi. Work with the OpenMind BU teams on campaign briefs and guide them to create integrated proposals – from consumer insight and communications strategy to channel and content strategy – and present the strategy to Nestlé clients.
- Interrogate client briefs and translate business and brand objectives into clear strategic platforms and measurable communication tasks.
- Set the strategic standard for integrated proposals and quality-check the strategic thinking in every major BU team response.
- Lead strategy in key client engagements: annual brand plans, quarterly reviews and major campaign presentations.
Agency-wide roll-out of WPP Open. Lead the adoption of Open across all OpenMind BU teams through training programmes.
- Act as OpenMind Vietnam’s Open champion and super-user; design and run the training curriculum for planners, strategists and client leads.
- Embed Open into the day-to-day planning workflow (audience, insight, channel planning, creative and measurement) and define where it adds value in the Nestlé process.
- Track adoption and quality of use across BU teams and report progress to agency and WPP Media leadership.
Innovation and partner solutions. Work with partners such as Google, TikTok, Admicro and others to understand their solutions and ensure relevant adoption in strategies across brands.
- Maintain a working knowledge of partner products, betas and data solutions, and identify where they solve a Nestlé brand problem.
- Run a test-and-learn agenda with BU teams and partners, and codify learnings into planning guidance.
Awards. Lead awards initiatives for OpenMind: work with BU teams to identify and craft case studies, case videos and submissions across MMA Smarties, FOMA, FOMG and Effies.
- Own the annual awards calendar, shortlist candidate work early, and coach BU teams to build the results evidence a winning case needs.
- Write and edit the strategic narrative of each case, and manage case-video production with creative and production partners.
1PD roll-out. Own the project to roll out first-party-data activation for Nestlé.
- Build the 1PD roadmap with Nestlé and WPP Media data & analytics: use cases by brand, data sources, activation channels and measurement.
- Work with platform partners (Google, TikTok, Meta) on clean-room and audience-activation solutions, and take pilots through to scaled roll-out.
BBNW process. Be the main steward of rolling out the Brand Building the Nestlé Way process across Nestlé brands.
- Translate BBNW into the OpenMind planning process and templates, and ensure BU teams apply it consistently on every brief.
- Be the agency’s point of contact for Nestlé on BBNW governance and continuous improvement.
CORE+
Thought leadership. Create thought leadership within the agency and with the client through articles, POVs and newsletters on consumer, category, media and technology trends.
Strategic capability. Improve the overall strategic capability of OpenMind through structured training programmes, coaching and mentoring of planners and strategists.
Join us if you have
- 10+ years’ experience in media, communications or brand strategy at a media agency, creative agency, client or platform, including at least 3 years leading a strategy function or discipline.
- FMCG experience; exposure to Nestlé or a comparable multi-brand food and beverage portfolio is a strong advantage.
- A track record of turning briefs into integrated proposals and presenting strategy with credibility to senior clients.
- Hands-on experience with AI-powered planning and data platforms (WPP Open or equivalent) and the ability to teach others to use them.
- Working knowledge of first-party data, CDPs, clean rooms and platform audience solutions across Google, TikTok and Meta.
- An awards track record: you have written or led winning cases at MMA Smarties, Effies, Festival of Media or equivalent.
- Strong writing and storytelling skills, with published POVs, articles or newsletters.
- Experience designing and delivering training programmes, and coaching and developing strategists and planners.
- A structured, process-minded way of working: you can take a client framework such as BBNW and make it stick across teams.
- Fluent English in both verbal and written form; Vietnamese is an advantage. Deep understanding of the Vietnam or Southeast Asian consumer and media landscape.
Life at WPP Media & Benefits
Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events.
WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
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