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Director, Promotions and Loyalty Strategy

Dentsu · Chicago, IL · $113,000–$145,000 a year · Full time

Posted Sep 21, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a loyalty program you designed or redesigned. How did you measure whether it worked?

What they are checking: Whether they can show loyalty strategy delivered incremental value, not just member counts.

Tell me about presenting a strategy to a senior client stakeholder who was skeptical.

What they are checking: Whether they can make others believe in an idea and follow it through to execution.

How do you lead and develop strategists on your team?

What they are checking: Whether they can grow strategic thinking in others, not just do the work themselves.

What trends in loyalty and promotions are you paying attention to right now?

What they are checking: Whether they keep current and can bring fresh, relevant ideas to clients.

What would you do

A client wants to add more tiers and perks to a program that is already confusing members. What do you advise?

What they are checking: Whether they can push back with customer insight and data rather than simply adding complexity.

How do you work with technology and analytics teams to make sure a loyalty strategy can actually be built?

What they are checking: Whether they ground strategy in what the loyalty platform and data can support.

About the work

How do you think about loyalty program economics, like the cost of rewards against incremental spend?

What they are checking: Whether they understand liability, breakage and incrementality, which decide whether a program pays off.

How would you design a promotion that drives new behavior without just discounting what customers would have bought anyway?

What they are checking: Whether they can target promotions to drive incremental results instead of subsidizing existing behavior.

What legal and compliance issues do you plan for with sweepstakes, contests or gamified promotions?

What they are checking: Whether they understand rules, registration and disclosure requirements that carry real legal risk.

How do you use first-party data from a loyalty program to personalize experiences?

What they are checking: Whether they connect loyalty data to segmentation and personalized customer journeys.

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The full job description

As published by Dentsu.

Job Description: We welcome remote candidates based in the continental United States Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The agency’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive people-based marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. We are champions for meaningful progress and we strive to be a force for good—for our people, for our clients, for the industry and for our society. We keep our people at the center, creating space for growth, understanding and learning so they can thrive. We embed diversity, in our mindset, in our solutions and in our teams to empower an inclusive, equitable and culturally fluent environment. Building this culture within our teams makes us better collaborators with each other and with our clients, driving better outcomes for all. Merkle is an agency of dentsu. Job Description: The Director, Loyalty and Promotions Strategy will lead in designing next generation, interactive loyalty that enable our clients to build strong, enduring relationships with their most valued consumers. By combining marketing expertise, business analysis, and problem solving you will set the strategic direction and program definition for clients that include leading global brands across a variety of verticals, including retail, CPG, restaurant, finance, regulated industries, and travel. You will work collaboratively across a team of strategy colleagues and cross-functional team members in delivering comprehensive consulting engagements across dynamic portfolio of clients. You will be joining an innovative and growing team that uniquely combines the strategic acumen of a consulting firm with the creative flair of a marketing agency. We are passionate about delivering great work that is actionable and valuable to clients and this role will play significant role in driving our continued growth and leadership in the market. Responsibilities: • Lead consulting engagement delivery in partnership with a cross-functional team across phases that include discovery, strategy, program design, user experience, business case, and road-mapping • Utilize your expertise and experience across disciplines of loyalty marketing, retention marketing, customer engagement, customer experience, customer strategy, and CRM to deliver significant client value • Focus on defining strategies that create moments of engagement across the customer lifecycle that drive sustainable, emotional connections between the consumer and brand • Utilize data and analytics to inform program opportunity, define the business case, and outline success measures • Create strong internal partnership with cross-functional team members – building collaboration that spans the disciplines of creative, technology, data insights, and account management • Develop strong client relationships and establish influence with key client decisions makers • Build and maintain subject expertise across the loyalty domain - including trends, best practices, and thought leadership Qualifications: • 7+ years of experience in a strategic role at a management consulting firm, strategic marketing agency, or in marketing strategy / customer strategy leadership for a Fortune 500 company • Demonstrated experience and expertise in a combination of the following disciplines: loyalty marketing, retention strategy, customer experience management, customer engagement, customer strategy, and CRM • Strategic thinker able to derive and synthesize insights to provide comprehensive analysis and actionable recommendations for impactful client-facing deliverables • Accomplished in combining creativity and critical analysis to storyline recommendations to marketing leaders - leveraging well-developed PowerPoint skills to create compelling presentations with a strong narrative and effective communication skills to engage senior clients • Demonstrated analytical approach – with strong quantitative skill set to derive data-driven recommendations, inform the financial business case, and evaluate program performance • Highly collaborative, with strong leadership ability -- combining the toolset and presence to lead both engagement team and clients alike • Proven growth mindset – eager and fast to learn, adept in taking on new challenges, and committed to enabling continuous improvement • Diligent, disciplined, and accountable - comfortable in performing at a high-level in a dynamic, sometimes ambiguous, deadline-driven environment The annual salary range for this position is $113,000-$145,000. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law. Benefits available with this position include: • Medical, vision, and dental insurance, • Life insurance, • Short-term and long-term disability insurance, • 401k, • Flexible paid time off, • At least 15 paid holidays per year, • Paid sick and safe leave, and • Paid parental leave. Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For further details regarding Dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com. To begin the application process, please click on the “Apply” button at the top of this job posting. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and qualified candidates will be contacted for next steps. #LI-LE1 #LI-MERKLE #LI-REMOTE Location: Detroit Brand: Merkle Time Type: Full time Contract Type: Permanent Dentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color , national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Dentsu is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to, among others, individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to search and apply for a career opportunity with us, please send an e-mail to  ApplicantAccommodations@dentsu.com  by clicking on the link to let us  know the nature of your accommodation request and your contact information. We are here to support you.

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