Juan Herrera

Creative Director | Brand & Marketing Leader

📍 Chicago, IL | 📱 (847) 644-1136 | 📧 herrera.juanm@gmail.com

PROFILE

Creative Director with deep experience leading high-performing in-house and agency teams across healthcare, CPG, and lifestyle brands. Expert in integrated brand storytelling, experiential activations, and building impactful partnerships—from global sports leagues to niche influencers. Proven success driving brand transformation, campaign effectiveness, and operational excellence. Known for blending creative vision with business strategy to build brands that resonate and perform.

CORE EXPERTISE

  • Creative Leadership

  • Campaign Development 

  • Sports & Sponsorship Marketing

  • In-House Agency Management 

  • Experiential Strategy

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Brand Identity 

  • Digital & Social

  • Team Building & Operations

EXPERIENCE

In-House Creative Lead,
Wolf Point Distilling – Chicago, IL | 2019 - 

  • Shaped and evolved the overarching creative narrative that ties the distillery’s product stories to Chicago history, ensuring consistent voice and aesthetic across packaging, label design, website, and in-house experiences to strengthen brand recognition.

  • Led the ideation and execution of product packaging and label concepts that reflect the brand’s unique historical stories and intricate illustration style, collaborating with designers and illustrators to maintain quality and distinctiveness in a crowded craft spirits market.

  • Oversee the cohesion of creative output across channels — digital (social media, website), physical (tasting room signage, events, merch), and experiential (tours, tastings) — ensuring all touchpoints reinforce the brand’s craft, local, and narrative-driven positioning.

  • Coordinate with co-founders, distillers, marketing partners, and external creative vendors to translate strategic objectives into compelling creative work that supports product launches, seasonal releases, and community engagement initiatives.

Senior Creative Director (contract),
rEvolution Marketing – Chicago, IL | 2025 - 2025

  • Pitched and developed a new marketing campaign for Continental Tire overseeing creative development and media buys across broadcast, digital, experiential and social

  • Led strategic execution of experiential experiences for Continental Tire at MLS games in key markets across the United States  including activations at the MLS All Star Game, Audi Cup, and BMW and Porsche Car Club events

  • Directed partnership usage with MLS and its athletes as well as BMW CCA and the ECNL to further advance Continental Tire across key audiences nationwide. Senior Creative Director (contract),
    rEvolution Marketing – Chicago, IL | 2025 - 2025

  • Pitched and developed a new marketing campaign for Continental Tire overseeing creative development and media buys across broadcast, digital, experiential and social

  • Led strategic execution of experiential experiences for Continental Tire at MLS games in key markets across the United States  including activations at the MLS All Star Game, Audi Cup, and BMW and Porsche Car Club events

  • Directed partnership usage with MLS and its athletes as well as BMW CCA and the ECNL to further advance Continental Tire across key audiences nationwide.

Associate Director, STRATEGIC MARKETING
Horizon Therapeutics – Deerfield, IL | 2021 – 2024

  • Built Horizon’s internal creative agency, delivering 100+ cross-functional campaigns and generating $7MM+ in annual savings through operational efficiency. Led brand, digital, and partnership strategy—elevating corporate visibility and patient-centric storytelling.

  • Spearheaded the full creative execution and oversight of Horizon’s $25MM+ global sports partnerships, including most Chicago sports teams and PGA tour golfers, delivering world-class brand activations across digital, print, and live experiences worldwide.

  • Led creative development for experiential and hospitality concepts including in-stadium signage, broadcast content, hospitality branding, and athlete-led social campaigns within the sports partnerships to engage internal stakeholders, HCPs, and investors at major sporting events, aligning with Horizon’s values and therapeutic focus areas.

  • Negotiated new partnership opportunities and helped shape the creative vision for activation strategy, ensuring consistency across consumer and corporate brand touchpoints.

  • Launched Horizon’s first corporate campaign with integrated assets across TV, OOH, digital, and social, collaborating closely with Comms, Legal, and C-Suite stakeholders.

Associate Creative Director
Jack Morton – Chicago, IL | 2018 – 2020

  • Reimagined 20+ branded destinations across U.S. markets for Molson Coors brands including Miller Lite, Coors Lite, and Vizzy while developing a holistic look and feel for each brand ensuring consistency across the country.

  • Built immersive consumer experiences around music and sports partnerships, aligning brand tone across live events and digital experiences.

  • Worked cross-functionally with client leadership to elevate the presence of challenger brands such as Peroni, Blue Moon Light Sky and Vizzy.

Associate Creative Director
The Escape Pod – Chicago, IL | 2017 – 2018

  • Conceptualized and executed the digital launch campaigns for Skil and Skilsaw, pioneering the first-ever consumer tool launches exclusively with Amazon. 

  • Was the creative lead for Fireball Whisky’s debut marketing campaign driving $1MM+ in multi-channel ad spend and leveraging digital influencer strategies to amplify reach.

Senior Art Director
Cavalry/Y&R – Chicago, IL | 2016 – 2017

  • Directed social and digital strategies for The Laughing Cow’s Cheese Dippers, streamlining content creation processes and leveraging Instagram and Pinterest influencers for impactful, snackable content.

  • Led the strategic development and execution of Hillshire Farm’s integrated “Closer To The Farm Than You Think” campaign, ensuring seamless process alignment across channels.

Art Director
Digitas – Chicago, IL | 2012 – 2016

  • Developed Miller Lite’s social presence into a best-in-class brand. Led creative initiatives to enhance national campaigns achieving Super Bowl-level impressions at a fraction of the cost.

  • Elevated Miller Lite’s Twitter strategy, establishing a brand voice that positioned it as the #1 beer on the platform.

  • Spearheaded cross-agency collaborations to enhance Agency of Record work, including "It’s Miller Time" and activations at SXSW and ACL.

EDUCATION

Miami Ad School – Creative Direction & Advertising

The Ohio State University – B.A., Political Science & International Relations

SKILLS

Adobe Creative Suite • Creative Strategy • ClickUp & Project Management

Sponsorship Activation • Google Analytics • Fluent Spanish • Proficient French