# Nik Poon

**Creative Strategy Director** — San Francisco, CA, United States

> Product marketing and brand strategist with 15+ years positioning complex technology products and building go-to-market campaigns. AI-native operator who builds with AI daily.

Career Archetype: **Launchpad Summiteer** (HS-DX) — One of the first Launchpad Summiteers on Saywise

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nikpoon
- Portfolio: https://nik-poon.squarespace.com/

## Experience

### Strategy Director (on assignment at Google), Factor (on assignment at Google Cloud) (2025-03 – 2026-06)
San Francisco Bay Area · Owned positioning, messaging architecture and launch narrative for Gemini Enterprise across executives, business decision makers, IT/security leaders and developers. Built a custom competitive intelligence system in Google AI Studio tracking ~21 AI competitors to set messaging priorities and inform campaign strategy. Paid customers grew 40% quarter over quarter in Q1 2026.

### AI Business Fellow, Perplexity (2025-01 – 2025-01)

### Brand Strategy Director, Goodby Silverstein & Partners (2023-07 – 2025-02)
San Francisco, CA · Led product launch and brand strategy for BMW i5/5 Series Super Bowl 2024 campaign with Christopher Walken, achieving #1 iSpot effectiveness rating and +267% configurator builds. Repositioned Mountain Dew around its outdoors equity for Baja Blast launch, generating 17B+ earned impressions and +553% search lift. Mapped BMW USA's omnichannel customer journey and led integrated agency partners across CRM, website, social and dealer communications.

### Director of Strategic Planning, Arrivals + Departures (2020-11 – 2023-01)
Toronto, Canada · Led brand and integrated campaign strategy across Pet Valu, Mydoh, OXY, Twisted Tea and SkipTheDishes while mentoring a team of five. Launched Mydoh, RBC Ventures' fintech product, into an unknown category with +15% awareness, +13% consideration and +314% branded search. Repositioned Pet Valu around its Animal Care Experts platform, driving +21% year-over-year sales and No. 1 market share.

### Strategy Director, Saatchi & Saatchi (2018-04 – 2020-11)
Toronto, Canada Area · Led strategy for Toyota Canada, translating global brand positioning into regional integrated campaigns and cultural programs including Tokyo Olympics, electrification and Corolla Cross. Drove electrified sales +30.5% year-over-year and overall Toyota Canada sales +6% year-over-year through strategic positioning and campaign execution.

### Senior Strategist, Havas (2016-08 – 2017-12)
New York, New York · Led strategy for a competitive category challenge, breaking through against larger competitors. Achieved 87% lift in unaided awareness and 4x year-over-year sales growth, moving the brand from #6 to #3 market share.

### Strategist, AKQA (2014-06 – 2016-08)
New York, New York · Led experience strategy for Verizon's national retail and My Verizon app redesign, aligning physical and digital journeys across 113M customer footprint and improving profitability by 10%. Led brand and content strategy for 1912 Pike, Starbucks' first owned brand-content platform for coffee culture.

### Strategist, Idea Couture Inc. (2013-10 – 2014-06)
Toronto, Canada

### Strategist (freelance), McCann London (2013-07 – 2013-08)
London, United Kingdom

### Product Marketing Manager | Product Strategist, TAB (The App Business) (2012-04 – 2013-04)
London Area, United Kingdom

### Strategy Intern, TBWA\Media Arts Lab (2011-10 – 2012-04)
London, United Kingdom

### Strategy Apprentice, Bond Brand Loyalty (2010-11 – 2011-06)
Toronto, Canada

### Brand Strategy & Product Marketing, Various agencies (TBWA\Media Arts Lab, The App Business, Bond Brand Loyalty) (2010-01 – 2014-12)
London, UK & Toronto, Canada · Started at TBWA\Media Arts Lab supporting Apple's iPhone, Siri, App Store, iPad and iPod product positioning and marketing. Led product marketing for native mobile experiences including Mercedes-Benz AR and The X Factor companion app, which generated 130K+ fan-created video submissions and 40K downloads.

## Education

### B.Com in Commerce, University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

### Summer Exchange in Mandarin, Beijing Language and Culture University
Improved my Mandarin and knowledge of Chinese culture in and outside of class. Also taught English to local university students.

### Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing/Marketing Management, General, University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

## Skills

App Marketing, Brand Building, Marketing Campaign Strategies, Creator Economy, Consumer Culture, Product Adoption, Skills Analysis, Brand Health Tracking, Social Media Marketing, Commerce, Product Launch, Positioning (Marketing), Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Product Launch Planning, Go-to-Market Strategy, B2B Marketing Strategy, Integrated Marketing, Product Marketing, Economic Analysis, Customer Insight, Marketing Strategy, Strategic Planning, Brand Management, Creative Strategy, Brand Strategy, Quantitative Research, Econometric Analysis, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Cross-functional Collaborations, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Market Analysis, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Qualitative Research, Research Design, Presentations, Business Planning, Management, Strategy, Photography, Microsoft Office, Marketing Briefs, Data Analysis, Consumer Behavior, User Insight, Competitive Analysis, Storytelling, Narrative Development, Cross-Functional Partner Advising, Enterprise Marketing, Consumer Marketing, AI Prototyping

## Credentials

- **Become an AI Leader** — Section (issued 2025-04)
- **Foundations of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging** — LinkedIn (issued 2023-12)

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Source: https://saywise.com/member2961 (last modified 2026-10-06T11:09:08.602Z)