Director of Media Strategy

About GaiaGaia, Inc. is seeking a Director of Media Strategy to lead a full-funnel, audience-led media strategy that drives measurable member growth and lifetime value. This is a senior leadership role for a strategic thinker who believes media should do more than generate impressions — it should intentionally connect audience intent, content engagement, and brand health + performance driven subscription outcomes.As a leader within Gaia's marketing organization, you will architect integrated media strategies that accelerate subscriber acquisition, retention, and brand affinity. You will translate business objectives into privacy-safe, data-informed, future-ready media plans that scale nationally. This role partners closely with our Publishing, Creative Studio, Data & Analytics, Marketing Technology, and external agency partners (Brand and Performance both) to ensure media investments drive meaningful business impact.What You'll Do Audience & Journey StrategyDevelop and evolve audience segmentation frameworks aligned to Gaia's core member personas and growth prioritiesDesign cross-channel consumer journeys that reflect how audiences discover Gaia, engage with content, and convert into long-term subscribersLead first-party data activation strategies leveraging behavioral signals, lifecycle insights, and platform intelligenceIdentify key intent moments across the funnel and define how media influence drives subscription conversion and lifetime valuePartner with in-house Lifecycle Marketing and Creative Studio teams to align paid media with retention, upsell, and re-engagement strategiesIntegrated Media StrategyOwn omnichannel strategy across paid search, paid social, programmatic display, online video, CTV, affiliate, and emerging platformsAlign paid, owned, and organic efforts to ensure cohesive messaging, sequencing, and measurable outcomesTranslate business goals into actionable plans including budget allocation, channel roles, testing roadmaps, KPIs, forecasting, and measurement frameworksLead planning, pacing, optimization, and performance governance across US campaignsDefine channel sequencing and creative alignment based on audience intent and lifecycle stageBrand Health and Performance GrowthBuild scalable media strategies that drive efficient subscriber acquisition while protecting long-term brand equityOptimize toward KPIs including CPA, ROAS, LTV:CAC ratio, retention contribution, and engagement depthIdentify opportunities to increase conversion efficiency through audience refinement, landing experience insights, and creative testingPartner with Agencies and Analytics to ensure media performance is tied to downstream conversion, engagement and retention metricsInnovation & Platform LeadershipEstablish standards for testing, experimentation, and media quality across platformsLead incrementality testing, lift studies, creative testing, audience validation, and attribution experimentsEvaluate emerging platforms, targeting capabilities, and AI-driven media tools to improve scale and efficiencyCollaborate with agency partners to pilot new features and translate innovation into scalable growth initiativesMeasurement & Strategic NarrativePartner with Marketing Technology and Analytics to support privacy-compliant measurement, attribution modeling, and executive dashboardsCreate compelling performance narratives that connect media inputs to subscriber growth, engagement, and revenue outcomesTranslate insights into optimization strategies, budget reallocations, and long-term growth opportunitiesLeadership & Cross-Functional InfluenceServe as a senior strategic advisor within the marketing organizationInfluence cross-functional teams across Growth, Creative, Content, Product, and Analytics to ensure cohesive go-to-market executionMentor and elevate media team capabilities, fostering a culture of experimentation, accountability, and performance excellenceWhat You Bring8+ years of experience in paid media, integrated marketing, and/or audience strategy within subscription, DTC, or digital media environments from either in-house Brand or top tier Agency.Deep expertise in full funnel orchestration, rapid test and learn, and measurementStrategic fluency in platforms including Google Ads, Meta, YouTube, TikTok, Demand Gen Display, Audio, leading DSPs, and subscription-focused growth channelsStrong analytical literacy including GA4 interpretation, attribution modeling, incrementality testing, KPI development, and forecastingExperience activating first-party data, building segmentation models, and mapping full-funnel audience journeysProven ability to architect scalable media plans with clear budget allocation, channel mix rationale, testing agendas, and measurable business outcomes working in tandem with our agency of recordUnderstanding of how creative, messaging, and content strategy intersect with audience behavior and platform contextExceptional storytelling skills with the ability to translate complex performance data into executive-ready insights and solutions.Experience driving measurable growth within subscription, streaming, wellness, lifestyle, or mission-driven brands is strongly preferred