Director, Audience Strategy

About the role

The Director of Audience Strategy is Playboy’s chief architect of video, social, and digital distribution — the creative and operational leader responsible for how the brand shows up, grows, and connects with its audience across platforms. Reporting to the Chief Brand Officer & Editor-in-Chief, this role owns Playboy’s social strategy and production, multi-platform content distribution, podcast strategy, and the brand’s approach to organic creator partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Own Playboy’s social video strategy end-to-end: from concept development and pre production through platform-specific delivery and performance analysis.
• Lead the brand’s social video operation across TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook — building and managing a contract/freelance video team to support high-volume, high-quality output.
• Develop and execute a YouTube strategy that balances longer-form original programming with short-form social-first content, growing subscribers and watch time against defined benchmarks.
• Work directly with talent on set, ensuring video content captures the performances, moments, and assets needed for multi-platform distribution.
• Manage and grow the freelance and contract video production network, building a reliable, scalable creative bench.
• Define and lead Playboy’s platform strategy across its full social ecosystem — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Substack, and future platforms — with distinct, algorithm-informed approaches for each channel.
• Supervise the in-house social media team, setting strategic direction, content priorities, and performance expectations across all owned channels.
• Develop content strategies that maximize engagement and reach on each platform, understanding that the brand experience should be native and platform-appropriate even when the look and feel varies.
• Stay ahead of platform algorithm updates, emerging trends, new formats, and tools relevant to the Playboy audience — and move quickly to incorporate them.
• Identify and evaluate new platforms — including streaming and gaming — and build the case for expansion when audience opportunity warrants it.
• Pitch and develop organic brand partnership concepts with notable creators and cultural figures who are resonating in the ecosystem — building collaborations that feel like culture, not commerce.
• Influence and develop organic brand partnerships with notable creators and cultural figures who are resonating in the ecosystem.
• Develop branded content strategies and executions that feel native, organic, and culturally credible — protecting the editorial voice while delivering results for commercial partners.
• Partner with the commercial and marketing teams to develop and pitch branded content ideas, bringing audience insights and content expertise to partnership conversations.
• Ensure all branded content meets Playboy’s editorial standards and has the potential to drive earned media attention beyond the paid placement.
• Identify and repurpose podcast content as short-form video, clips, and social native formats to maximize reach.
• Integrate fully into Playboy’s editorial workflows — from print magazine to Playboy.com — ensuring video and social strategy reflects, amplifies, and extends editorial priorities.
• Pitch original video concepts, social franchises, and tentpole programming to the CBO/EIC, bringing a proactive creative voice to the editorial calendar.
• Collaborate with the Deputy Editor on content alignment, timing, and social amplification strategy for digital editorial.
• Partner with the Casting Director and Art Director on video and social execution for key talent, cover, and shoot programming.
• Lead, develop, and inspire the in-house social media team, building a culture of creative ambition, platform fluency, and data-driven accountability.
• Manage and direct the contract video team — setting briefs, managing timelines, reviewing work, and maintaining creative standards across all freelance output.
• Oversee the video and social budget in partnership with the operations team, ensuring resources are allocated to maximize impact and ROI.
• Build scalable workflows, production systems, and content processes that grow with the brand and its platform footprint.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise leading social video strategy and production at a major media brand, entertainment platform, or sports media company known for virality and cultural resonance.
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook — including algorithm mechanics, content formats, and platform-specific best practices for organic growth.
• Proven track record of measurable audience growth and engagement across multi-platform social ecosystems.
• Experience running a full-cycle social video operation, from concept and pre-production through editing, delivery, and performance analysis.
• Ability to develop distinct, platform-native strategies for different channels without losing brand coherence or voice.
• Strong instincts for the 25–45 male audience — what they watch, share, follow, and engage with — and an ability to translate those instincts into content that moves.
• Experience in influencer marketing, creator partnerships, and organic brand collaboration — with a nose for what feels authentic vs. transactional.
• Branded content experience: able to make commercial content look, feel, and perform like editorial.
• Comfort and confidence working on set with talent, managing shoots with a social and video lens.
• Strong people manager — able to lead in-house teams and manage freelance/contract creative networks simultaneously.
• Excellent pitching skills; able to develop and sell original ideas, concepts, and tent-pole programming to senior leadership.
• Budget management experience; comfortable working with an operations team on production financials and resource allocation.