Associate Brand Manager

SEGA OF AMERICA INC•Burbank, CA

1d•$78,000 - $102,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Brand Manager is an important global marketing role that is integral to the continued growth of the Sonic the Hedgehog brand across various businesses – gaming, entertainment, consumer products and live events. The role will support the strategic development, execution and management of Sonic brand initiatives to drive growth, strengthen fandom and build brand equity. The Associate Brand Manager position will help support the development and execution of the global marketing strategies & campaigns for the Sonic the Hedgehog brand – celebrating the Sonic IP and entertaining, engaging, and educating new and existing audiences worldwide. The role requires a balance of strategic thinking, creativity and analytic expertise to deliver marketing programs that help achieve larger business & franchise goals. The role requires knowledge and experience in the following: brand building, style guide creation, campaign development, creative production of marketing assets, social media, PR and experiential / event management. This role will interface closely with teams in Burbank (CA), Orange County (CA), England and in Japan. Our team is composed of thoughtful, innovative, flexible, supportive, collaborative, and most importantly respectful people. We are looking for a team member who will be a positive addition to this type of team environment. Working in-office is an essential function of this position. This requirement of face-to-face interaction is in place to ensure effective supervision, collaboration, and teamwork. In-office attendance is required for the following reasons: For effective supervision of employees and our work product, which includes ensuring all employees have necessary oversight of their work and access to supervisory assistance, which includes meetings to review work product, deadlines, and status. To foster communication and collaboration among team members, which includes the following: allowing for spontaneous brainstorming sessions and exchanges of ideas, quick access to team members to enable collaborative problem-solving, and stronger cohesion among co-workers and within teams. To enhance the sharing of information necessary to effective job performance and product creation. To enhance understanding of our stakeholders’ work and business needs, facilitate a more seamless and organic workflow, and ultimately increase efficiency and successful outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in the field.
Minimum of 3+ years of brand and marketing experience.
Proven track record of producing highly creative campaigns for major global brands, showing strong results and achieving business goals.
Experience with domestic and international marketing that supports the entire brand ecosystem across entertainment, games, animation, consumer products and more.
Ability to drive global campaigns end-to-end, from research & positioning, through go-to-market and post-launch.
Strong written & oral communication skills, as this role is central in interfacing with cross-functional teams, executive stakeholders, and external partners.
Project management experience with a proven ability to work with multiple teams as you coordinate execution of plans within budget, set timelines, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment with a high attention to detail.
Ability to leverage quantitative analytic measures, build business cases to support initiatives and focus on KPI / ROI metrics.
Experience managing budgets and contracts together with Accounting & Legal teams, and some P&L experience is a plus.
Understands the media landscape, recognizes opportunities, and demonstrates knowledge of creative development and effective media campaigns.
Independent worker with little or no supervision required, and willingness to proactively navigate areas of unfamiliarity working in a global environment.
Positive, professional, and curious attitude.
Willing to work overtime and conduct meetings with Europe and Japan at off hours.
Occasional work over the weekend and travel may be required.
Ability to work in office 3 days a week (in-office days are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday).

Nice To Haves

Experience with game publishers, entertainment studios, creative agencies and/or consumer products is a plus.
Microsoft Suite (Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word).
Creative Development (including Key Art and trailer development).
Project Management tools (such as Trello, Asana, Monday, Notion, etc.)
Digital and Traditional marketing (including Performance Marketing, Print and OOH).
Video game industry knowledge a plus

Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Campaign Development: Collaborate on the development of annual brand campaigns that are aligned with company objectives, leveraging consumer insights and category trends.
Brand Expansion & Stewardship: Champion and evolve the voice of the Sonic the Hedgehog brand for our core audience and the next generation of fans.
Campaign Management: Manage the annual marketing calendar, ensuring consistent & timely execution across campaigns, activations and promotions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the point person and drive collaboration across various internal Sonic teams including Licensing, Partnerships, Product Marketing / Gaming, Animation, Social/Community, PR and global brand teams.
Creative Execution: Support the creative development of key assets for brand collateral, promotions and activations (key art, logos, trailers, social content, digital assets, etc).
Agency / Partner Management: Manage creative agency, event agency, and promotional partner onboarding and communication.
Performance Analysis & Reporting: Track brand performance metrics and provide actionable insights.
Consumer Research & Insights: Support various consumer research and business data analysis projects to intelligently develop marketing strategies & franchise planning.
Financial / Budget Management: Ensure business plan goals are met and budget management is achieved while maximizing global campaign effectiveness.
Performs other duties as assigned