---
title: 'Strategy Director, CRM & Loyalty at AKQA'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/strategy-director-crm-loyalty-akqa-melbourne-fcy19fbajxvj'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-12'
---

# Strategy Director, CRM & Loyalty at AKQA

- **Company:** AKQA
- **Location:** Melbourne, Australia
- **Posted:** 2026-10-07
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-12
- **Apply:** https://www.akqa.com/jobs/8102563/?gh_jid=8102563

## Job description

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Our Strategy team helps organisations find new pathways for growth by bringing together customer insight, commercial thinking, creativity and technology. Working across disciplines, we turn complex business challenges into clear strategies, connected experiences and tangible outcomes.

The Strategy Director, CRM and Loyalty will lead and grow AKQA Australia’s CRM, loyalty and customer data strategy offering. You will advise senior client leaders, shape customer value propositions and create CRM and loyalty programmes that strengthen customer relationships and commercial performance. Your work will span programme design, lifecycle strategy, personalisation, data, measurement and transformation.

Beyond client work, you will shape the future of AKQA’s CRM and loyalty capability. You will develop new methods and points of view, guide the quality of our strategic work, grow our people and help convert new opportunities into commercially viable solutions.

## ROLE REQUIREMENTS

- Lead complex CRM, loyalty and customer growth engagements from strategy through to implementation
- Design customer value propositions, loyalty programmes, lifecycle journeys and transformation roadmaps
- Turn customer insight and behavioural data into clear strategies and measurable commercial outcomes
- Define approaches to segmentation, personalisation, measurement and test-and-learn
- Advise clients on first-party data, consent, governance and activation
- Guide CRM, loyalty, customer data and marketing automation platform strategy, working with specialists to turn strategic ambition into implementable solutions
- Bring together multidisciplinary teams to create coherent, executable solutions
- Influence senior marketing, customer, digital, data and technology stakeholders
- Identify opportunities to grow client relationships, shape commercially viable proposals and lead or contribute to pitches
- Mentor strategists and build capability across the wider team

## QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

- Extensive experience leading CRM, loyalty or customer growth strategy in an agency, consultancy or in-house environment
- Deep expertise in loyalty programme design, CRM, lifecycle strategy, personalisation and measurement
- Commercially minded, with the ability to connect customer value to business performance
- Clear and compelling when presenting complex ideas to senior audiences
- Curious about emerging technology, platforms and the responsible use of AI
- Comfortable working through ambiguity and creating direction
- Collaborative, generous and committed to developing others
- Rigorous in thinking, practical in execution and attentive to craft
- Experience with a major CRM or marketing automation platform, with Braze experience highly regarded

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA 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.

## About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit [WPP.com](http://wpp.com/).

## About AKQA

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: AKQA is a creative agency that combines imagination and technology to design and build transformative products, services, and experiences for the world’s most respected brands.
- **Entity Type**: Private subsidiary (owned by WPP plc)
- **Headquarters**: Not explicitly stated on company site; widely reported as London, UK (global presence across 19 countries and 30 locations)
- **Founded**: 1995
- **Founders**: Not publicly available on company site

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Creative agency, digital agency, innovation consultancy, experience design
- **Target customers**: B2B, enterprise clients (global organisations and institutions)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Create a better future” – the company states its primary motivation is to imagine and create what matters next, using imagination, technology, craft and speed to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

## Products & Services
AKQA operates through several specialised companies and practices:
- **Experience Design**: Designing digital products, services, and interfaces that are intuitive, beautiful, and culturally resonant.
- **Brand, Industrial Design and Architecture**: Creating brand identities, physical products, and spatial experiences.
- **App Development (ArcTouch)**: Building mobile and connected applications for clients.
- **Brand Experience and Communications (Made)**: Developing brand storytelling, campaigns, and communications strategies.

In addition, AKQA offers consulting, engineering, and innovation services as part of its core agency offering.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private subsidiary of WPP plc, a public company with a market cap of ~£9B as of mid-2025)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding not applicable (subsidiary); revenue not publicly disclosed for AKQA standalone. WPP’s Global Integrated Agencies segment (which includes AKQA) reported £12.3B in revenue for 2024.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Parent company WPP plc; long-term clients include many of the world’s most prestigious organisations (specific names not listed on site).
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 83 Agency of the Year awards
  - 616 Cannes Lions won in the last decade, including multiple Grand Prix awards (Innovation 2025, Glass 2024, Digital Craft 2023, Design 2021)
  - Ranked 9th Most Loved Workplace in the World by Newsweek
  - Named Campaign’s 2023 Digital Agency Global Network of the Year
  - Winner of Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards (2021, 2022, 2024)
  - Led Gartner’s independent evaluation of Global Marketing Agencies for four consecutive years

## Competitive Advantages
- **Award-winning creative culture**: Consistently recognised at the highest levels of global creative competitions (Cannes Lions, D&AD, Webby Awards).
- **Global scale with local depth**: 30 studios across 19 countries, enabling seamless cross-border collaboration – over 70% of clients work with teams in multiple regions.
- **Long-term client relationships**: Trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, with a focus on enduring partnerships rather than project-based work.
- **Multidisciplinary expertise**: Combines strategy, design, engineering, and communications under one roof, allowing for integrated, end-to-end solutions.
- **Culture of innovation**: Emphasis on disciplined experimentation and “zero-to-one” breakthroughs rather than incremental change.

## Strategic Focus
- **Continuing to lead at the intersection of imagination and technology**, with a strong focus on AI, digital craft, and emerging technologies.
- **Becoming the employer of choice** in the creative and innovation industry, as stated on the company’s careers page.
- **Driving growth for society, clients, people, and values** – the company describes itself as “ambitious, growth-oriented” with a commitment to sustainability and equity.
- **Expanding its global footprint** and deepening capabilities through its specialised companies (ArcTouch, Made, etc.).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture highlights**: Recognised as a Great Place to Work and a Best Workplace for Innovators by Fast Company. Newsweek ranked AKQA the 9th Most Loved Workplace in the World.
- **Employee Resource Groups**: Active communities including WE (Women’s Empowerment), BOLD (LGBTQIA+), MIND (mental health), API (Asian & Pacific Islander), and a DEI Council.
- **Learning and development**: AKQA Insight platform offers talks and courses from internal and external experts; formal training programs and WPP Professional Development are available.
- **Mental health and physical wellbeing**: Resources include yoga, meditation, self-care resources, and a focus on disease prevention and resilience.
- **Remote/hybrid policy**: Not explicitly stated on site; the company has physical studios worldwide and emphasises in-person collaboration, though some flexibility may exist depending on role and location.
- **Purpose-driven work**: The company’s stated goal is to “create a better future,” and it backs this with sustainability initiatives and community engagement (e.g., Future Lions competition, Future Academy internship program).
- **Diverse and inclusive environment**: The company is committed to “fostering a varied and equitable work environment” and takes active steps toward equity and representation.

## Sources
1. [AKQA Careers Overview](https://www.akqa.com/careers/)
2. [Working at AKQA](https://www.akqa.com/careers/working-at-akqa/)
3. [AKQA Companies](https://www.akqa.com/companies/)
4. [AKQA Culture](https://www.akqa.com/culture/)

## Other roles at AKQA

- [Senior Designer - Freelance](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-designer-freelance-akqa-new-york-prb97byfpdtf) — New York, NY
- [Group Strategy Director - Freelance](https://feeny.ai/job/group-strategy-director-freelance-akqa-new-york-b5yk4bm6meyr) — New York, NY
- [Group Account Director](https://feeny.ai/job/group-account-director-akqa-seattle-sjmw34656hrs) — Seattle, WA
- [Creative Director (Copywriter)](https://feeny.ai/job/creative-director-copywriter-akqa-london-pe339bb05jtw) — London, United Kingdom
- [Design Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/design-lead-akqa-atlanta-t5ytn6jgptvn) — Atlanta, GA
- [Writer, Finance - Freelance](https://feeny.ai/job/writer-finance-freelance-akqa-new-york-mm43xf9mexcf) — New York, NY
- [Design Lead, Design Systems - Freelance](https://feeny.ai/job/design-lead-design-systems-freelance-akqa-san-francisco-ftt75cvbrvbq) — San Francisco, CA
- [Studio Assistant](https://feeny.ai/job/studio-assistant-akqa-london-1fvqwtv71wzb) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-designer-akqa-gothenburg-sweden-stockholm-n3f7pqxztx2b) — Gothenburg Sweden Stockholm, Sweden
- [Associate Design Director, Product](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-design-director-product-akqa-amsterdam-0gvzhay0nytc) — Amsterdam, Netherlands