Account Director-Experiential

VML · Detroit, Michigan, United States

  • Senior
  • Full-time
  • Posted 2026-09-23
  • Confirmed live on 25 September 2026

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Job description

Who We Are

VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.

VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.

For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on  LinkedIn #WeAreVML.

WHO IS HUDSON ROUGE?

Hudson Rouge is an integrated luxury boutique marketing and communications agency within WPP that works solely on luxury brands and is the exclusive agency of record for the Lincoln Motor Company business across all channels. We combine brand strategy, media strategy, activation, digital, social, earned media, production, and analytics to provide exquisitely crafted creativity. We are a small group of people, spread across several offices — New York, Detroit, Shanghai, Toronto, Mexico City — and we care for each other as much as we care for our clients. We are an agency that prides itself on creating irrational desire for luxury brands, and we look for uniquely talented people who are excited about doing their best work and want to grow with us.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Account Director, Experiential leads overall agency services across experiential marketing accounts, brand activations, and strategic partnerships. This role is responsible for driving account growth, managing agency financial results, and directing the development of client engagement personnel through ongoing coaching in Marketing Excellence, Ownership, Intelligence, and Innovation.

Externally, the Account Director builds and maintains trusted relationships with senior client leadership, establishing Hudson Rouge as an industry leader in experiential marketing. The Account Director must be a proactive champion and innovative thinker for experiential marketing—serving as the practice’s biggest advocate both internally across agency disciplines and externally with senior client partners. Grounded in operational rigor and a deep understanding of the luxury automotive business, they relentlessly pursue creative excellence, shift brand perception, and drive measurable business impact.

What you'll do:

Strategic Client Leadership

• Lead the overall experiential media and activation strategy for a luxury automotive client, ensuring strategic alignment, flawless execution, and strong senior client partnerships.

• Proactively champion the strategic value of experiential marketing to senior clients, pitching innovative, forward-thinking concepts that elevate the brand and deliver superior business results.

• Serve as the primary senior client contact across experiential initiatives, establishing credibility through visionary leadership, sound judgment, and proactive communication.

• Drive account growth by expanding experiential capabilities, introducing emerging event technology, and securing groundbreaking brand partnerships.

• Maintain expert, forward-looking knowledge of the client’s business, luxury consumer behavior, automotive industry trends, and competitive landscape.

Experiential Program Leadership & Vision

• Drive innovative, outside-the-box thinking to conceptualize and execute unique experiential deliverables that achieve client business objectives and shift consumer perception to elevate the brand image.

• Lead the annual Go-To-Market (GTM) experiential strategy and activation roadmap, aligning event programs with Lincoln’s integrated multi-channel campaigns.

• Provide executive oversight across the full lifecycle of complex experiential programs, auto shows, brand partnerships, and high-touch consumer experiences.

• Maintain the highest standards of craft, production value, operational execution, and post-event ROI measurement.

• Proactively present strategic recommendations, new concepts, and activation innovations to senior client leadership.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Integration

• Champion experiential internally, inspiring and aligning cross-functional teams (Creative, Strategy, Media, PR, and Production) to integrate physical activations as a core pillar of brand campaigns.

• Direct vendor and supplier strategy, overseeing contract negotiations, budget compliance, and partner evaluation.

• Lead senior client briefings, inter-agency partner meetings, and executive strategy sessions.

Team Management & Development

• Supervise, mentor, and foster the career growth of account and project management personnel within the experiential

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