The Director of Brand & Digital Marketing is a hands-on marketing leader who sets the marketing strategy and owns the brand vision — and then brings it to life. This role is responsible for professionalizing the brand identity to match the product's proven value and building the repeatable systems that allow the company to scale from founder-led marketing to a full-scale, professional marketing operation.

This is a builder's role: part creative director, part digital operator, part channel marketer.

The role operates in two connected modes.

First, the Director works collaboratively with the founding team — the CMO, CEO, and CSO/COO — to develop and own the foundational strategy and brand architecture: the "House of Brands" structure, the relationship between parent and sub-brands, the brand platform, and the visual and verbal identity systems that flow from it. This is not a hand-off; the Director leads this work with the founders in the room.

Second, once the architecture is set, the Director owns execution across every marketing space — brand, packaging, social, digital, and commercial — bringing the strategy to life consistently across all channels and touchpoints.

Reporting StructureReports to (Founder & CMO): The Director reports directly to the CMO and serves as the owner of marketing strategy and brand vision, developed in close partnership with the founders. This role is the CMO's primary strategic and operating partner — translating founder-led intuition into a defined strategy, then into scalable, repeatable marketing systems and day-to-day output.

Visibility to (Founder & CEO): The Director maintains alignment with the CEO to ensure marketing output supports the overall business vision and fundraising narrative.

Operational Alignment with (CSO & COO): The Director ensures all brand and marketing work is operationally viable — supplier specifications are met, timelines hold, and marketing systems integrate seamlessly with sales and operational workflows.

Pillar 1: Brand Management & IdentityCollaborative Architecture Development: Partner directly with the founding team to build the "House of Brands" architecture from the ground up — working sessions to define the structural relationship between the parent brand and sub-brands, how product extensions leverage master brand equity while maintaining necessary autonomy, and the category "box" the company occupies.

The Director contributes frameworks, pattern recognition, and market perspective to these decisions, then documents the resulting architecture as the company's definitive reference.

Brand Platform Ownership: Develop, maintain, and enforce the core personality of the business — mission, vision, verbal standards, and brand voice — across every touchpoint.

Brand Architecture Support: Manage the structural relationship between parent and sub-brands ("House of Brands" model), ensuring market clarity as product lines extend.

Visual Identity Stewardship: Own the logo and style system — primary/secondary marks, sub-brand variations, typography, and color rules — for universal print and digital application.

Packaging & Physical Formats: Manage the creative process for packaging (boxes, bottles, cases), including the "information layer," visual hierarchy, and customer unboxing experience.AI-Enhanced Visualization: Use AI tools for rapid mood boarding, texture exploration, and high-fidelity 3D packaging renders to secure stakeholder buy-in before production — then translate AI concepts into human-refined, legally compliant production files free of copyright vulnerabilities.

Pillar 2: Social Media Management & DirectionChannel Ownership: Own the full social media function end-to-end — content strategy, calendar, creation, publishing, and community management across all active platforms.

Creative Direction: Direct the look, feel, and voice of all social content, ensuring every post is on-brand and built for the platform it lives on.

Content Production: Produce and/or manage the production of short-form video, static, and story-format content, leveraging AI tools where appropriate to increase output without sacrificing quality.

Community & Engagement: Manage audience engagement, respond within brand voice, and cultivate relationships with creators, partners, and advocates.

Compliance: Ensure all social content meets alcohol marketing standards (TTB, DISCUS, platform-specific age-gating and responsible marketing requirements).

Pillar 3: Digital & Commercial MarketingDigital Marketing Execution: Own email marketing (campaigns, flows, list growth), website content and conversion optimization, and paid digital media (planning, execution, and optimization within compliance constraints).

Commercial & Retail Marketing: Build and execute the marketing that moves cases — sell sheets, retail launch support, distributor-facing materials, shelf and point-of-sale assets, promotional programs, and event marketing.ICP Refinement: Audit and analyze the customer base to identify the highest-converting, most profitable segments, and shift spend and content accordingly.

Integrated Launches: Execute go-to-market plans for new markets, retail wins, and brand milestones — treating each launch as a pipeline-generating event rather than a simple announcement.

Asset Governance: Audit and consolidate all sales enablement and lifecycle communications into one cohesive brand voice, maintaining a single "source of truth" for messaging and value propositions used across Sales, Product, and Customer Success.

Pillar 4: Operations & ReportingSupplier Specifications: Deliver technical hand-off documents for manufacturers and printers — materials, weights, dielines, and finish directions.KPI Ownership: Report on hard metrics — Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), email and social engagement, pipeline velocity, velocity at retail, and brand awareness — connecting marketing spend to measurable outcomes.

Executive Reporting: Prepare marketing performance data and ROI narratives for the CMO to carry into investor and board conversations.

Systems & Process: Build and document repeatable marketing workflows (content calendars, launch checklists, asset management) so the function scales beyond any single person.

Key DeliverablesBrand Architecture Blueprint: Comprehensive documentation of the "House of Brands" structure co-developed with the founding team — parent/sub-brand relationships, extension logic, audience personas, and positioning — serving as the foundation every execution channel builds from.

Brand & Messaging Source of Truth: A single living document covering brand voice, value propositions, and messaging standards for use company-wide.

Social Media Program: A running content calendar, publishing cadence, and monthly performance reporting across all platforms.

Digital Marketing Engine: Active email flows and campaigns, an optimized website, and managed paid media with monthly performance reporting.

Commercial Marketing Library: Current sell sheets, POS assets, distributor materials, and launch kits for every active market.

Visual Style Guide: Master PDF covering logo usage, color palettes, typography, and application rules.

Packaging Design Assets: Production-ready digital files (SVG, AI, PNG) for all brand marks and packaging.

Usage Rights Documentation: Formal confirmation that all assets are original, human-refined, and legally cleared.

Final Production Master Library: A clean, organized library of all "Golden Assets" in industry-standard formats.

Ideal Candidate

Profile6–10 years of marketing experience, with at least 2 in beverage alcohol, CPG, or another regulated consumer category
Proven portfolio spanning brand/creative work and performance digital — not a specialist in only one
Hands-on social media management experience (has personally run channels, not just directed agencies)
Comfortable in a lean team: executes personally, manages freelancers/agencies where leverage makes sense
Working knowledge of alcohol marketing compliance (TTB, DISCUS) or demonstrated ability to operate within regulated marketing rules
Fluent with AI creative tools for concepting and production acceleration