Marketing Lead, Local Market Activation

GEICO•Bethesda, MD

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

GEICO is seeking an execution-focused Lead, Local Market Activation to help drive customer acquisition and retention through high-impact experiential programs across priority local markets. This role is responsible for planning and delivering consumer-facing experiences, including sports events, trade shows, mobile tours, and community activations—that translate broader marketing priorities into tangible, in-market engagement. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in experiential marketing and event execution, with the ability to manage complex programs, operate cross-functionally, and deliver high-quality activations at scale.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in experiential marketing, event marketing, or field activation
Proven experience executing consumer-facing events, tours, or large-scale activations
Strong project management skills, including timelines, budgets, and vendor coordination
Experience managing agencies, production vendors, and on-site execution
Ability to translate strategic inputs into well-executed experiential programs
Experience working on multi-market or national experiential programs
Background in sports, entertainment, or large-scale event environments
Experience integrating experiential with media, PR, and social campaigns

Responsibilities

Support development of market-level activation plans grounded in business opportunity, audience insights, local culture, and key moments
Identify opportunities to extend national campaigns into tangible, in-market experiences that drive engagement and memorability
Develop scalable experiential concepts that can flex across markets
Lead the end-to-end execution of experiential activations including events, pop-ups, mobile tours, and community-based programs
Build and manage comprehensive activation plans inclusive of timelines, run of show playbooks, staffing plans, asset development, fabrication, logistics, and on-site execution
Oversee on-site execution readiness, including final production checks, staffing alignment, inventory management, and team coordination
Manage on-site delivery, troubleshooting issues in real-time and maintaining brand standards
Serve as the project manager across experiential programs, including development of cross functional workback schedules, milestone tracking, budgets and dependency mapping across functions (creative, production, influencers, site operations)
Lead cross-functional alignment across internal teams and agency partners to ensure all deliverables are scoped, approved, and delivered on time
Proactively identify risks, gaps, and operational challenges; implement mitigation plans to ensure seamless execution
Manage day-to-day program communications, including stakeholder updates, status reports, and escalation of key issues when needed
Ensure consistency and quality across activations by building and applying standardized tools, templates, and workflows
Manage experiential agencies, production partners, and vendors responsible for fabrication, logistics, and staffing
Oversee vendor timelines, deliverables, and on-site execution quality
Ensure all elements are delivered on time, on budget, and to spec
Manage activation budgets at the program and market level, including tracking costs across production, staffing, travel, fabrication, and vendor costs
Partner with internal stakeholders to ensure budget alignment with approved investment levels and business priorities
Build and maintain budget trackers, reconcile estimates vs. actuals, and ensure accurate forecasting across activation workstreams
Work with agencies and vendors to scope projects appropriately, review estimates, and identify opportunities for cost efficiencies without compromising experience quality
Ensure all activations are delivered on budget, with clear visibility into cost drivers and trade-offs
Track performance of activations including engagement, leads captured, and experience quality
Deliver post-event recaps with key learnings and recommendations
Clear, actionable post-event insights that improve future execution
Partner with analytics to evolve measurement of experiential effectiveness