Vice President, Brand
Cirque du Soleil · London · hybrid
***Le poste étant basé en Angleterre, la description de poste est disponible uniquement en anglais.***
***As this position in based in England, the job description is available in English only.***
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Vice President, Brand
Sales, Marketing and Communications
Full-Time Position
Role Purpose
The Vice President Brand owns Cirque du Soleil's brand as a commercial asset. The role exists to ensure the brand is not a set of principles, guidelines, or presentations — but a governed, operable system that drives desirability, demand, pricing power, audience growth, and long-term enterprise value.
The VP Brand sets brand strategy and architecture for the masterbrand and the full show portfolio, builds the governance and creative capability required to execute it at global scale, and holds joint accountability with commercial peers for the demand outcomes the brand is supposed to produce.
This is a leadership role, not a stewardship role. Success is measured in market performance, not in brand health scores alone.
Reporting line
Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer
Peer leadership team:
VP Marketing & Sales
VP Growth & CRM
VP Communications
Direct reports (indicative):
Brand Strategy & Architecture Lead
Brand Governance & Playbooks Lead
Creative Studio Lead
Hub Design Leads (Americas / ROW)
Brand Operations Lead
Works in close lockstep with:
Growth / Performance Marketing · Communications & PR · Ticketing / Revenue Management · Audience Experience · Show GMs · Content / Creation leadership · Sponsorship & Partnerships
Core mandate
The VP Brand is accountable for closing the gap between brand strategy and commercial reality by:
Ensuring brand strategy drives demand and revenue, not just meaning
Making the brand operable inside real go-to-market systems
Protecting brand discipline while increasing urgency and cultural relevance
Connecting brand, pricing, communications, ticketing, and audience lifecycle
Building and leading the enterprise brand function — strategy, governance, and in-house creative capability
Key responsibilities
1. Brand → demand → revenue (critical)
Translate brand positioning into clear demand-generation strategy across the portfolio
Ensure brand choices support pricing power, reduced promo dependency, and conversion uplift
Set joint brand–commercial guardrails with VP Growth & CRM covering pricing architecture, discount governance, and how premium positioning is protected in market
Ensure "premium" is experienced, not just claimed, across the whole Marcomms & Guest Experience system
Own brand's role across the entire selling cycle (pre-on-sale, peak, sustain, close)
Carry shared accountability with VP Marketing & Sales for show-level demand outcomes
This role is expected to understand and be measured against ATP, occupancy, conversion, and repeat attendance.
2. Portfolio strategy, architecture & show differentiation
Own brand architecture in motion — masterbrand, show brands, formats, and franchises
Ensure every show has a distinct cultural role, a clearly defined audience, and a differentiated narrative and visual expression
Prevent "Cirque sameness" in messaging, campaigns, tone, and codes
Act as final arbiter when masterbrand vs show-brand tension arises
Advise on brand implications of new IP, formats, licensing, and portfolio investment decisions
3. Demand-led brand planning
Lead brand input into annual and multi-year go-to-market planning
Own the brand runway for show launches, 12–18 months pre-opening
Ensure brand activity is anticipation-led, not reactive or promoter-driven
Embed brand thinking into media strategy, content planning, and PR/influencer activation
Set the brand investment case: what long-term brand building requires, and what it is expected to return
4. Cultural relevance & communications partnership
Partner with VP Communications so the brand actively participates in culture and is visible well beyond paid media
Shape creator collaborations, cultural moments, and partnership activation from a brand-first perspective
Ensure brand-side standards for sponsorship and partnership fit, so commercial partnerships build rather than dilute equity
Ensure Cirque builds urgency, not just esteem
5. Audience lifecycle & relationship strategy
Ensure the brand is expressed consistently across first-time audiences, repeat visitors, and high-value/proximity audiences
Work with CRM and growth teams to translate brand into retention, cross-sell, and loyalty pathways
Build long-term emotional affinity, not just transactions
Ensure brand meaning compounds over time rather than resetting with every show
6. Governance, discipline & decision-making
Act as brand decision partner, not brand police
Ensure brand stretch is intentional, trade-offs are explicit, and short-term wins do not erode long-term equity
Own the governance model across agencies, promoters, partners, and internal teams — including standards, sign-off thresholds, and escalation paths
Own agency roster strategy, scopes, and brand-side budget for the function
7. Creative capability & internal enablement
Build and lead the in-house creative studio and hub-embedded design capability, balancing speed, cost, and craft against external agency use
Operationalise the brand for Show GMs, regional teams, and marketing/comms squads through playbooks, toolkits, and asset systems
Own internal brand education, clarity, and alignment
Ensure teams know how to use the brand to win, not just how to comply
What success looks like (12–24 months)
Clear differentiation between shows in market
Reduced reliance on promotions to drive volume
Stronger pricing confidence aligned with brand promise
Earlier and stronger demand build-up ahead of launches
Brand conversations happening outside Cirque channels
Brand respected internally as a commercial tool, not an abstract ideal
A high-performing brand function with clear roles, faster creative throughput, and lower avoidable agency spend
Profile & experience
Essential
12–15+ years in brand roles with direct commercial accountability, including experience leading and building teams at enterprise scale
Track record operating at or near executive level, with credibility in front of an executive committee and board-facing forums
Experience working at the intersection of brand strategy, demand generation, communications, and cultural relevance
Proven ability to operationalise brand strategy across complex, multi-market organisations
Strong commercial literacy: pricing, yield, funnels, and marketing metrics
Comfortable challenging creative, commercial, and executive stakeholders — and holding the line when it matters
Strongly preferred
Entertainment, culture, fashion, luxury, or premium experience sectors
Multi-brand or portfolio environments, including masterbrand/sub-brand architecture decisions
Experience running in-house creative capability alongside external agency ecosystems
Experience working alongside ticketing/revenue, performance marketing, and data/CRM teams
Multi-market or global remit spanning resident and touring/rotating formats
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible and inclusive workplace. Proud ambassador of equality in employment, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is committed to eliminating discrimination based on age, skin color, origins, religion, sex, sexual orientation and any other characteristic. Neutral and inclusive writing is now preferred for all new job postings.