Marketing Activation Manager
The Role
We’re building a restaurant brand that wins in the real world, not just on Instagram. The Marketing Activation Manager owns turning marketing into foot traffic at the store level. This is the person who shows up, works with operators, and activates the brand in local markets. If you’ve ever been frustrated that great marketing ideas die the second they hit the field, this role exists to fix that.
You’ll be the connective tissue between corporate brand strategy and what actually works in stores. Your job is to drive local awareness, new customer trial, repeat visits, and community presence market by market.
What You’ll Own
Plan and execute local market activations that drive real traffic to stores
Support new store openings with on-the-ground launch playbooks and events
Partner directly with franchisees, GMs, and operators to execute promotions and community marketing
Build repeatable field activation playbooks that can scale across markets
Coordinate local partnerships with gyms, schools, offices, apartment complexes, events, and community groups
Run sampling programs, street teams, pop-ups, local sponsorships, and guerrilla-style marketing efforts
Train store teams on how to activate locally, not just rely on corporate campaigns
Be in the field validating what’s working and what’s not, then feeding insights back to corporate
Track performance of activations (traffic lift, sales lift, conversion, cost per activation)
Help franchisees and operators execute consistently without killing local creativity
Partner with social and digital teams to turn great field activations into content
Own regional calendars tied to promotions, LTOs, and brand initiatives
What Success Looks Like
New stores launch strong and don’t stall after the opening buzz
Local markets feel the brand in the community, not just on billboards
Operators trust you because you help them make more money
Activations become repeatable playbooks instead of one-off stunts
Field insights shape corporate marketing decisions
You can point to traffic and sales lift tied to what you executed
Who We’re Looking For
3+ years in field marketing, experiential marketing, local store marketing, or multi-unit operations
Restaurant, franchise, hospitality, retail, or QSR experience strongly preferred
Comfortable being on-site in stores, events, and local partnerships
Knows how to work with franchisees and operators without corporate ego
Highly organized but scrappy in execution
Can build structure without killing speed
Comfortable traveling and being in-market regularly
Strong communicator who can influence without authority
Data-aware enough to measure what works, but not paralyzed by dashboards