Marketing Director.

Location: London, UK
Employment Type: Full-time, permanent
Working Pattern: Fully office-based
Industry: International Exhibitions and Conferences
Team: 10-15 direct and indirect reports
Client: Confidential

The Opportunity

Our client is seeking an experienced Marketing Director to lead the global marketing strategy for one of the international events and exhibition industry.

This is a demanding, high-profile leadership role carrying responsibility for global brand positioning, audience acquisition, campaign performance, stakeholder engagement and the leadership of an established marketing team.

The successful candidate will be an experienced exhibition-marketing leader with the presence, pace and commercial judgement required to operate at the highest level. They must be comfortable leading complex international campaigns, managing significant budgets and delivering against ambitious visitor, delegate and commercial targets.

This is not a role for someone looking to step into their first senior marketing position. It requires a proven Marketing Director or highly accomplished Head of Marketing who has already led the marketing of a major international exhibition, conference or large-scale business event.

Key Responsibilities

Marketing Strategy and Leadership

• Develop and lead the complete global marketing strategy for a major international exhibition and conference.
• Translate the event’s commercial objectives into a clear, measurable and integrated marketing plan.
• Take overall responsibility for brand, audience, content, communications, digital and campaign performance.
• Establish annual marketing priorities, budgets, timelines and performance targets.
• Provide strategic marketing counsel to the event leadership team and other senior stakeholders.
• Ensure marketing activity supports visitor acquisition, delegate revenue, exhibitor performance, sponsorship value and long-term event growth.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of the international market and the audiences represented by the event.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the event’s market position, global reach and competitive advantage.
• Create a disciplined, data-led marketing function with clear ownership and accountability.
• Maintain high standards of delivery within an intense, fast-moving and commercially demanding environment.

Global Brand Positioning

• Lead the strategic positioning and continued development of a major international event brand.
• Ensure the event maintains a strong and differentiated position within the global conference & exhibition market.
• Develop clear messaging for government, executive, technical, commercial and investor audiences.
• Protect brand consistency across campaigns, content, partnerships, digital platforms and live-event delivery.
• Ensure creative output reflects the scale, authority and international standing of the event.
• Oversee the development of campaign concepts, key messages, creative assets and marketing collateral.
• Work with senior leadership to evolve the event proposition in line with industry developments and audience expectations.
• Monitor competing international events and identify opportunities to strengthen the brand’s position.

Audience Acquisition and Growth

• Own the strategy for visitor, delegate and wider audience acquisition.
• Develop segmented campaigns targeting senior decision-makers, government representatives, executives, technical specialists, investors and other priority groups.
• Establish clear acquisition, engagement, conversion and retention targets.
• Use audience data and market intelligence to identify underrepresented sectors, regions and job functions.
• Lead the development of personalised customer journeys across email, digital, content and partner channels.
• Optimise registration and delegate-conversion performance throughout the campaign cycle.
• Develop retention and re-engagement strategies for previous attendees and customers.
• Ensure audience quality remains as important as overall registration volume.
• Monitor campaign performance closely and intervene quickly when results fall below expectations.
• Provide accurate forecasts and regular updates on progress against audience targets.

Delegate and Conference Marketing

• Develop and execute the marketing strategy for paid conference participation.
• Work closely with conference, content and commercial teams to translate programme themes into compelling audience propositions.
• Create targeted campaigns for executive, strategic, technical and specialist conference audiences.
• Support delegate revenue objectives through effective segmentation, pricing communications and conversion activity.
• Develop marketing journeys for different pass types, audience groups and stages of the buying process.
• Use speaker announcements, programme launches and industry content to create campaign momentum.
• Monitor delegate sales performance and adjust activity to address conversion gaps.
• Ensure exhibition and conference marketing strategies are closely integrated.

Exhibitor and Sponsor Marketing

• Work closely with sales leadership to support exhibitor acquisition, retention and account growth.
• Develop marketing campaigns and commercial materials that communicate a clear value proposition to exhibitors and sponsors.
• Provide exhibitors and partners with effective promotional tools that increase their visibility and engagement.
• Support lead-generation activity across priority international markets and industry sectors.
• Ensure marketing activity delivers measurable value to sponsors, exhibitors and strategic partners.
• Develop appropriate campaigns for country pavilions, international delegations and specialist event features.
• Use customer insight to improve exhibitor marketing services and identify new commercial opportunities.
• Ensure sponsor commitments and contracted marketing deliverables are fulfilled accurately and on time.

Digital Marketing and Performance

• Lead the digital strategy across paid media, search, social media, email, web, content and campaign automation.
• Ensure digital investment is targeted, measurable and aligned with commercial priorities.
• Establish clear performance measures covering acquisition cost, conversion, engagement and return on investment.
• Oversee the continuous optimisation of event websites and registration journeys.
• Use testing and performance analysis to improve campaign effectiveness.
• Ensure marketing technology, CRM and automation platforms are used consistently across the team.
• Work with data and digital specialists to improve audience segmentation, targeting and personalisation.
• Maintain strong oversight of external agencies and digital suppliers.
• Ensure campaign reporting is accurate, timely and commercially meaningful.

Content and Thought Leadership

• Develop a year-round content strategy that strengthens the event’s authority and maintains audience engagement between editions.
• Work with conference, research and editorial teams to identify important themes, stories and market developments.
• Oversee the creation of high-quality reports, interviews, articles, videos, webinars and campaign content.
• Ensure complex subjects are communicated clearly and credibly to different audience groups.
• Use content to support audience acquisition, commercial lead generation and stakeholder engagement.
• Develop executive and thought-leadership opportunities for senior event representatives.
• Ensure content is distributed effectively across owned, earned and partner channels.
• Measure the contribution of content to engagement, conversion and brand performance.

Communications, Media and Partnerships

• Lead the event’s communications, media-relations and industry-partnership strategy.
• Build relationships with international media organisations, trade publications, associations and relevant industry bodies.
• Develop campaigns that generate meaningful international coverage and strengthen market credibility.
• Oversee press releases, media briefings, announcements and senior spokesperson activity.
• Establish mutually valuable partnerships that expand reach and improve access to priority audiences.
• Coordinate communications across international markets and major event milestones.
• Prepare appropriate communications plans for sensitive, high-profile or fast-moving situations.
• Ensure external communications are accurate, consistent and aligned with the agreed brand position.

Government and Senior Stakeholder Engagement

• Support engagement with government bodies, ministries, national organisations and international institutions.
• Develop appropriate communications and marketing plans for VIPs, executive audiences and official delegations.
• Work with internal stakeholder teams to ensure high-profile partners receive appropriate visibility and support.
• Maintain discretion and sound judgement when handling sensitive announcements or relationships.
• Ensure senior stakeholder participation is reflected effectively across marketing and communications activity.
• Coordinate messaging across internal teams, external partners and international stakeholders.

International Campaign Management

• Lead marketing activity across multiple countries and geographic markets.
• Adapt campaigns to different regional priorities, market conditions and audience behaviours.
• Coordinate international agencies, partners and internal offices against a consistent global strategy.
• Develop market-entry and audience-growth plans for priority regions.
• Ensure international campaign activity remains locally relevant while protecting the central event brand.
• Monitor regional performance and reallocate investment where necessary.
• Undertake international travel to support campaign activity, partnerships and live-event delivery.

Team Leadership

• Lead, manage and develop a multidisciplinary marketing team of 11.
• Establish clear responsibilities, priorities and performance expectations.
• Build a high-performance culture based on pace, accountability, collaboration and commercial focus.
• Ensure the team is structured appropriately to meet the demands of a complex international campaign.
• Set objectives and conduct regular performance and development reviews.
• Coach senior and emerging marketing talent and strengthen succession capability.
• Maintain effective workload and resource planning across the complete event cycle.
• Address underperformance promptly and constructively.
• Promote close collaboration with sales, conference, operations, finance and event leadership teams.
• Lead calmly and decisively during periods of intense pressure and competing priorities.

Budget and Supplier Management

• Prepare and manage a substantial global marketing budget.
• Allocate expenditure according to commercial priorities, audience opportunities and expected return.
• Track commitments and performance throughout the campaign cycle.
• Maintain accurate forecasts and identify potential budget variances at an early stage.
• Evaluate campaign effectiveness and redirect investment when required.
• Lead relationships with creative, media, digital, research and communications agencies.
• Establish clear scopes, deliverables and performance expectations for external suppliers.
• Ensure procurement and supplier appointments follow appropriate commercial controls.
• Negotiate effectively while maintaining the quality required of a leading international event.

 Data, Insight and Reporting

• Establish a clear marketing-performance framework linked to the event’s strategic and commercial goals.
• Use customer, campaign and market data to guide planning and investment decisions.
• Produce regular reports covering audience acquisition, delegate conversion, engagement, digital performance and budget.
• Present complex marketing information clearly to event leadership and senior management.
• Identify emerging risks and implement recovery plans before performance is materially affected.
• Lead post-campaign analysis and translate findings into practical improvements.
• Improve the quality, consistency and accessibility of marketing data.
• Ensure the team moves beyond activity reporting to provide meaningful commercial insight.

Live-Event Delivery

• Maintain senior oversight of all marketing, communications and audience-experience activity during the event.
• Ensure signage, branding, media areas, content capture and sponsor deliverables are executed to a high standard.
• Lead the marketing team throughout build-up, live days and breakdown.
• Coordinate closely with operations, sales, conference and stakeholder teams.
• Manage fast-moving priorities and resolve issues calmly during live delivery.
• Ensure content and communications activity captures the scale and impact of the event.
• Begin retention, rebooking and post-event engagement activity immediately following the event.
• Lead the post-event review and establish priorities for the next campaign cycle.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be a heavyweight exhibition-marketing leader with a demonstrable record of delivering complex, high-profile and internationally focused campaigns.

They will bring strategic ability, operational discipline and genuine commercial instinct. They must be capable of setting the direction for a flagship event while remaining close enough to campaign performance to identify issues, challenge assumptions and drive corrective action.

This role requires significant personal resilience. The environment is intense, expectations are high and the campaign operates at considerable international scale. The successful candidate will be comfortable making decisions quickly, managing competing senior stakeholders and maintaining consistently high standards under pressure.

They will also be an accomplished people leader who can challenge, motivate and develop an established team while creating greater clarity, accountability and performance.

Essential Experience

• Significant senior marketing experience within the exhibitions, conferences or large-scale business-events industry.
• A proven track record as a Marketing Director, Group Marketing Director, Portfolio Marketing Director or highly experienced Head of Marketing.
• Experience leading the marketing strategy for a major international exhibition or conference.
• Demonstrable success delivering ambitious visitor, delegate and commercial targets.
• Experience managing complex, multi-market and international marketing campaigns.
• Strong commercial understanding of the exhibitions business model.
• Proven responsibility for substantial marketing budgets.
• Experience leading, restructuring or developing a large multidisciplinary marketing team.
• Advanced knowledge of audience acquisition, segmentation, CRM, digital marketing and campaign automation.
• Strong experience marketing paid conferences or other delegate-led products.
• Experience supporting exhibitor, sponsorship and commercial revenue objectives.
• Proven ability to work effectively with Event Directors, Portfolio Directors and other senior leaders.
• Experience managing international agencies, media partners and external suppliers.
• Strong analytical capability and confidence using performance data to make decisions.
• Excellent executive communication, influencing and presentation skills.
• Willingness to work full-time from the London office.
• Availability for international travel and extended hours during critical campaign and event periods.

Preferred Experience

• Experience marketing global conferences and exhibitions within the infrastructure, technology, or industrial sectors.
• Strong understanding of international conference & exhibition markets and their senior stakeholder communities.
• Experience engaging government representatives, national organisations and C-suite audiences.
• A strong network within the international exhibitions and conferences sector.
• Experience managing an event that moves between international host markets.
• Exposure to membership, executive networking or invitation-only event programmes.
• Experience leading the marketing of co-located exhibitions, multiple conference streams and specialist event features.
• A record of successfully repositioning or accelerating the growth of a mature event brand.
• Experience working within a large, matrixed international organiser.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or a related discipline.
• A recognised postgraduate or professional marketing qualification would be advantageous.
• Additional leadership or commercial-management qualifications would be beneficial.

Key Competencies

• Global marketing strategy
• Exhibition and conference marketing
• Senior team leadership
• Audience acquisition and growth
• Delegate marketing
• Brand positioning
• Commercial judgement
• Digital and performance marketing
• Data-led decision-making
• Content and communications strategy
• International stakeholder management
• Budget ownership
• Agency and supplier management
• Executive-level influencing
• Decisive leadership
• Resilience under pressure
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