Director, Audience Activation (Agencies)
NielsenIQ · New York, NY, United States · Posted Jul 7, 2026
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About this job
The Director, Audience Activation will be a key player in leading the sales initiatives for MRI-Simmons to grow our Advanced Advertising business, with solutions including data enrichment and audience activation. The ideal candidate will work collaboratively with the Media, Brand and Agency verticals to develop new sales opportunities, lead or participate in Advanced Advertising presentations, assist in developing new Advanced Advertising product initiatives, and finalize negotiations and contracts in relation to closing new business. This position will lead our engagement and penetration of Agency holding companies, specifically with Investment, Programmatic, Video and Activation teams, while supporting our relationships with their Client teams.
Responsibilities:
Revenue Growth & Deal Leadership
Identify, develop, drive new business and upsell existing opportunities focused on audience activation, enrichment and data enablement.
Manage end‑to‑end customer engagement, including strategy, discussions, proposal and presentations development, negotiation, and contracts where necessary
Own commercial discussions and manage deal terms and conditions in partnership with internal stakeholders to ensure audiences meet customer needs to drive utilizations
Client & Partner Engagement
Leverage strong, preferably existing, industry relationships across advertising and media agencies, and at times brands, and ad tech partners, with a strong focus on stakeholders in programmatic, digital, video, investment, and account teams
Lead advanced advertising, audience activation, and other data‑driven proposals and presentations that clearly articulate the value of MRI‑Simmons audience intelligence
Act as a trusted advisor to customers by aligning MRI‑Simmons audience solutions to customer business, media, and campaign activation objectives
Requires approximately 25% travel; in-agency presence expected.
Product & Go‑to‑Market Collaboration
Partner closely with Commercial, Marketing, Operations and Product teams to provide client feedback and input that informs audience development and utilization prioritization
Support the development of new data enablement and activation initiatives, partnerships, and go‑to‑market strategies
Serve as a subject matter expert for advanced advertising and audience‑based activation, use cases, both external with customers and internal guiding sales colleagues on cross-team opportunities
Coordinate outreach and engagement where needed with internal sales colleagues across all verticals
Operational Excellence
Manage internal sales and audience revenue tracking processes; ensure tracking sheets, audience taxonomies, and CRM accuracy
Support revenue collection team where necessary, aligning communication with all stakeholders
Collaborate with Operations and Account Management teams when needed define data, technical, and delivery requirements
Ensure client reporting requirements contractual obligations are met.
Bachelor’s degree required
5–10+ years of experience in sales or business development within advanced advertising, programmatic, addressable, data enablement, audience data, or ad tech
Proven success driving audience activation initiatives within agencies or brands
Strong ad tech industry network across agency stakeholders, including programmatic, activation, investment, and digital teams
Deep understanding of the advanced advertising, programmatic activation, and audience data ecosystem, including planning/insights, activation, and measurement/attribution solutions for digital video and CTV
Demonstrated ability to communicate the value of audience and data‑driven solutions in a clear, compelling way
Experience applying syndicated audience data to activation, planning, and partnership opportunities preferred
Exceptional relationship management and executive‑level communication skills
Strong negotiation skills with experience navigating complex commercial agreements
Highly collaborative, proactive, and self‑directed
Seller Profile
Consultative, self-directed seller and evangelist with a “hunter” mindset and the ability to create opportunity where none previously existed
Comfortable leading complex, multi‑stakeholder communication efforts, connecting silos in an enterprise environment like a large agency holding company
Familiarity with Challenger sales methodology and MEDDICC frameworks preferred
Strategic thinker who proactively identifies new use cases and growth opportunities
Strong agency presence is preferred with hands-on experience operating within ad agencies, leading educational programming, thought leadership initiatives, and events for agency planning and buying teams
#LI-Hybrid
US Benefits
Comprehensive healthcare plan (medical, Rx, dental, and vision).
Flexible spending accounts and a Health Savings Account (including company contributions).
Life and AD&D insurance.
401(k) retirement plan including company matching contributions.
Disability insurance.
Tuition Re…