Senior Brand Manager

Marimed, Inc. is a Multi-State Operator (MSO) operating both retail and wholesale across several states and growing rapidly. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and evolve at a rapid pace the Senior Brand Manager is a critical role focused exclusively against building strong brands with national recognition. For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to grow your career within a growth oriented company operating in an expanding industry.

The Senior Brand Manager will drive the annual plan, grow brand share and increase brand equity for select MariMed wholesale brands. This role works closely with the Research & Development, the Creative team, our Trade Marketing team and our Sales team to bring a comprehensive brand plan and execution together annually. Ultimately, this role is responsible for delivering the annual operating plan for assigned brands.

Key Responsibilities:

Brand & Segment Strategy

• Lead the creation of a brand position for the segment and measures for relevance & success on an annual basis
• Takes into consideration the following to create the strategy: trends, market feedback from our Sales & Retail teams, consumer understanding & insights, and market opportunities & market performance.
• Defines the brand portfolio/assortment strategy by segment and state.
• Develops Sub-brand architecture and priorities to build the brand. This task defines critical elements of the mix: proposition, product, packaging, pricing, promotion/communication and retail strategy.
• Works closely with cross-functional teams including R&D, Operations, Sales, Procurement & Finance to ensure full alignment on existing and new commercialization plans.

Communications & Media Planning

• Lead strategic development of the brand marketing and communications strategy to ensure the brand creates consumer relevancy and drives top-line and bottom-line growth.
• Lead commercial programs and track brand goals (P&L, marker share).
• Lead agency management, briefings, execution and evaluation.
• Lead the development, approval, and execution of content (advertising, promotions) and connections (media plan) for the brand.
• Develop and implement new creative - launching large, fully-integrated consumer campaigns (advertising, PR, POS, digital, e-Commerce etc.)
• Develop marketing calendar, ensuring campaigns across channels are on-brand and structured to achieve the greatest reach, buzz, and cut-through amongst the target audiences

Innovation & Product Development

• Creates strong innovation ideas based on consumer understanding and insights.
• Ensures innovation is building brand equity and growing the overall business.
• Ensures all activations and annual plans are executed at the highest level across all marketing and media channels.
• Communicates and collaborates with Executive Leadership, Sales & R&D to align innovation plans
• Ensures full delivery from consumer & market research to in-market delivery of innovation through program and team leadership.
• Works closely with the cross-functional teams to deliver all the relevant launch plans and launch materials on an Annual & Quarterly basis

Annual Plan Development

• Leads the creation of the annual brand plans
• Is accountable for delivering all elements of the annual plan throughout the year
• Jointly owns the plan's performance and takes action (cross-functionally or within his/her team) to ensure all possible measures are taken to ensure the plan's delivery or over performance

Knowledge and Experience

• 7 years of brand management and brand building experience preferably related to the CPG industry and/or specifically Food & Beverage.
• A preference for individuals who have worked with premium brands and/or high volume products.
• A strong track record of developing and implementing innovative marketing strategies that have consistently met or exceeded planned goals
• Experience with managing budgets, working with creative agencies and developing new packaging.
• A solid ability to understand analytics and market data and translate learning into insights and actions.
• Up-to-date on marketing trends, new media platforms and benchmarking with other industries
• Understanding consumer insights and aligning all strategies to feed these needs
• Excellent presentation and communication skills
• Analytical skills- identify the full story and define implications from data analysis
• Forward thinker, who proactively seeks opportunities and proposes solutions.
• Positive attitude and influence.
• Ability to lead and manage projects with cross-functional teams across the company and our distributor network.
• Team oriented player that thrives in a collaborative environment.
• Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Bachelor's degree in marketing or related field (required); advanced degree (preferred)