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Creative Research Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

AllSTEM Connections

Brand Manager

Redwood City, CA · On-site

$118K/yr

As part of the Brand Management team, you will collaborate cross-functionally with Sales & Marketing, Creative, R&D, Supply Chain, Insights, and Legal/Regulatory teams to execute brand strategies and ...

Single Grain

AI Creative Strategist

Los Angeles, CA · Remote

You will own the path from research and concept through brief, production direction, testing, and learning. This is not a prompt-only role. You need strong creative judgment, current platform ...

Pearl West

Performance Creative Strategist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$120K - $180K/yr

Research customers, competitors, market trends, and winning ad formats * Develop new concepts ... Review creative performance with media buyers and identify why ads win or lose * Iterate quickly on ...

Playbook Media

Creative Strategist

Carlsbad, CA · On-site

$60 - $70/hr

The Role You'll own creative strategy for a portfolio of clients end to end: research, concepting, briefing, directing editors through revisions, and then getting on camera with the client to explain ...

New

TubeScience

Associate Creative Strategist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$60K - $85K/yr

TubeScience.com The Role As a key member of our strategy team, you will harness data, creative insights, and market research to craft compelling performance ads aimed at driving client revenue growth.

TubeScience

Associate Creative Strategist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$60K - $85K/yr

TubeScience.com The Role As a key member of our strategy team, you will harness data, creative insights, and market research to craft compelling performance ads aimed at driving client revenue growth.

TubeScience

Associate Creative Strategist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$60K - $85K/yr

Utilizing data, research, and creative insights to formulate effective creative strategy * Collaborating with Post-Production, Production, and your Strategy Lead to produce videos * Analyzing the ...

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How much do creative research jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 6, 2026, the average hourly pay for creative research in California is $28.86, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $25.62 and $30.14 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a creative researcher?

A Creative Research job involves gathering insights, trends, and data to inspire and inform creative projects. Professionals in this role explore cultural, social, and market trends, analyze audience behavior, and curate information to support creative teams in fields like advertising, design, media, and entertainment. Their work helps generate fresh ideas, shape brand strategies, and ensure that creative outputs are innovative and relevant. Strong analytical skills, curiosity, and an understanding of artistic and commercial trends are essential for success in this role.

What types of projects or tasks can I expect to work on as a creative researcher?

As a Creative Researcher, you'll typically work on projects such as audience analysis, trend forecasting, concept development, and competitive benchmarking to support marketing, advertising, or product teams. Your daily tasks may involve gathering and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, conducting interviews or surveys, developing visual reports, and presenting research findings to stakeholders. Collaboration with designers, strategists, and project managers is common, ensuring your insights are integrated into creative processes. This dynamic role offers opportunities to impact campaign direction, contribute to innovation, and grow within the broader fields of marketing, branding, or product development.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the creative research position, and why are they important?

To excel in Creative Research, you need strong analytical abilities, creative thinking, and a background in fields such as marketing, design, media, or communications. Familiarity with data analysis tools, research databases, and presentation software is often expected, and certifications in market research or data visualization can be beneficial. Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills help Creative Researchers effectively convey insights and work with cross-functional teams. These competencies are essential for uncovering actionable trends, generating innovative ideas, and informing decision-making in creative industries.

What are the most commonly searched types of Creative Research jobs in California?

The most popular types of Creative Research jobs in California are:

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For Creative Research jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

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Creative Research jobs near you
Infographic showing various Creative Research job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 1% As Needed, 82% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 83% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 13% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $60,038 per year, or $28.9 per hour.

Senior Creative Strategist

On Board Experiential

Los Angeles, CA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 20 days ago

Job description

About On Board Experiential (OBE)
OBE is a global marketing agency that brings brands to life through culture-shaping experiences. For more than 30 years, we've partnered with iconic brands - including Nike, the NFL, JPMorganChase, Meta, Sephora, Starbucks, and Converse - to build community, create cultural relevance, and drive measurable business impact. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London, we activate globally. OBE is also a founding member of The ADD Collective, extending our reach and resources while staying true to our core capabilities.
We've been recognized by Event Marketer as one of the best places to work in events - and we couldn't agree more.
The most important part of our business is our people. They are hardworking, imaginative, and make genuinely remarkable things happen. But behind every great activation is a human who deserves rest, connection, and a life outside of work. That's why we invest in recovery days, company offsites, happy hours, and the kind of friendly-but-competitive fitness challenges that bond teams for life.
We show up for each other - in open conversations that heal, inspire, and bring us closer. We want to hear about your lived experiences, your unconventional ideas, and the perspectives only you can bring. Being unapologetically yourself isn't just welcome here. It's part of the job.
SUMMARY OF POSITION
The Senior Creative Strategist is a critical member of the Creative team, driving the insight-based foundation of all our Creative work and demonstrating our success in meeting client objectives. The Senior Creative Strategist is an expert in developing cut-through insights from targeted research and deftly navigates client conversations to the heart of each brief. They love to dig into the details of diverse brands, audiences, and industries to uncover nuggets of insight that are both surprising and simple.
The Senior Creative Strategist heroes experience-led thinking as they guide strategy development through upstream parts of the Creative process, then serve as the anchor to that strategy throughout execution. They take a channel-agnostic approach to solving client challenges while understanding the unique value experiential marketing offers as part of the client's marketing mix. They excel at guiding a project through periods of ambiguity by using smart strategic planning, including leaning on various research methods, collaborative exercises, and other tools to find the right path forward.As a natural storyteller, the Sr. Creative Strategist uses a variety of techniques and formats to spark creativity, ideate, curate, and deliver compelling strategies and ideas. They know when to pull in various resources to craft holistic concepts and have great intuition on how to approach each deliverable, interweaving expertise from cross-functional contributors when and where they're needed.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
BRIEF CREATION & DISSECTION
  • Review client briefs and participate in client briefing conversations / kick-offs to clarify the ask, determine the underlying objectives, and define success for both the clients and OBE.
  • Identify opportunities for unconventional, elevated and results-driving work.
  • Collaborate with Account team to determine initial approach.

RESEARCH & INSIGHTS
  • Create targeted research plans to inform project strategy that include a variety of resources and techniques to gather relevant data, including primary research (e.g., focus groups, surveys, interviews) and secondary research (e.g., search engine articles, databases, industry sites, etc.)
  • Develop powerful insights from research that inform and fuel creative brainstorms.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT (Project & Pitch)
  • Develop measurable objectives and Key Performance Indicators to help ground and guide overall concept and proposal development.
  • Identify key insights for creative concepting and brainstorms.
  • Lead internal brainstorms and idea rakes, independently and/or in partnership with Senior Creative team members (Director-level and above).
  • Develop big, brave creative ideas as part of RFP responses and Concept Development phases of won business independently and/or in partnership with Senior Creative team members.
  • Craft well-articulated plans and points of view, including comprehensive pitch decks for select opportunities and projects that include clear insights, strategies, and creative concepts in a thoughtful, compelling, and cohesive storyline.
  • Collaborate with Design team members to create cohesive and visually inspiring presentations that lead to client buy-in.

MEASUREMENT & ROI
  • Develop Measurement Plans for new and ongoing proposals and projects, discerning measurable objectives and related Key Performance Indicators, as well as identifying data collection methods for capturing data related to each KPI.
  • Supporting the Account team in collecting and analyzing KPI-related data in efforts to calculate ROI/ROE.
  • Build data-based project recaps / post-project analyses that clearly articulate ROI, highlight our successes, provide recommendations for improvement, and convey optimization opportunities for the future.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
  • Partner with Account team to uncover organic growth opportunity with assigned client accounts and develop strategies to mine and realize those opportunities.
  • Manage multiple stakeholders as part of RFP / proposal development processes, supporting the organization and creating concept decks, monitoring, and collecting content deliverables from across the cross-functional team.
  • Participate in select client pitches.
  • Proactively research client brands and industry trends to support Creative and Account teams in building organic and new business opportunities.

OBE MARKETING SUPPORT
  • Support Awards submissions for assigned client projects and/or agency-wide recognition.
  • Monitor industry trends to share out internally as well as contributing to external agency thought leadership.
  • Assist Marketing and New Business teams in creating targeted capabilities presentations for specific clients by leveraging case study library and capabilities overview.
  • Contribute to OBE Social Media presence in collaboration with Marketing team.
  • Support internal communications in collaboration with People team, as needed.

ADDITIONAL TASKS COULD ALSO INCLUDE:
  • Overall Strategy & Creative team support
  • Participating in client meetings.
  • Architecting and presenting capabilities.
  • Copywriting support for both internal and project-specific deliverables (i.e., email marketing copy, signage copy support, etc.).
  • Contributing to and/or leading internal groups, initiatives, and task forces.
  • Participating in and leading Strategy Development sessions.
  • Participating in and/or leading Creative Department meetings.
  • Contributing to agency-wide Key Learnings and Best Practices.
  • Participating in new hire recruitment and interviews.

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Marketing, Strategy, Branding, Advertising, Communications, Business Administration or related field.
EXPERIENCE
  • Minimum of three-five years agency experience.
  • Experience building overarching strategies and generating ideas for innovative brand marketing campaigns and experiences, including but not limited to experiential, social media, digital and content.
  • Advanced education degrees will be considered to supplement candidate's work experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
  • Superior skill in conducting research and developing compelling insights.
  • Strong copywriting and presentation skills.
  • Deep understanding of brands and omnichannel marketing strategies.
  • Adept at selecting, utilizing and/or building relevant strategy tools, techniques, and frameworks to convey information easily and effectively.
  • Comprehensive understanding of Creative process, with an ability to drive progress across all Creative functions.
  • Stays up-to-date on current media, industry and consumer trends.

OTHER QUALITIES AND SKILLS
  • Inclusive work ethos that brings people in and along.
  • Hunger to learn and teach.
  • Strong work ethic and ability to thrive in and enjoy a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.
  • Excellent organizational, time and project management skills.
  • Entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to work as part of a team as well as independently.
  • Ability to travel and work non-traditional hours (nights and weekends) as needed.

Compensation Range: $95,304 - $125,304 annually. This is the pay range OBE believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the level of experience, relevant skills, professional certifications, market pay, and demand for the role. OBE reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. For this role, Benefits include medical/dental/vision insurance, employer-paid basic life and personal accident insurance. Also included: Annual Profit Sharing/Bonus Plan based on the company's performance and your individual performance, 401(k), Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, PTO, STD/LTD insurance benefits.
On Board Experiential is An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age, or any other federally protected class.

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