Senior Manager, Paid Brand Media

Ariat International•San Leandro, CA

About The Position

We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Senior Paid Brand Media Manager to oversee planning, execution, and optimization of select upper-funnel paid media campaigns. This role will focus on driving brand awareness, consideration, and demand across both eCommerce (DTC) and wholesale/retail channels. As our Senior Manager of Paid Brand Media, you'll shape how millions of people discover and connect with our brand — across TV, streaming, OOH, audio, programmatic, and beyond. You're not just running campaigns. You're building brand momentum. This role will manage traditional brand media (TV, streaming TV, out-of-home, audio) as well as emerging and ancillary digital channels (programmatic display, Reddit, audio streaming, and more). The ideal candidate will be adept at translating brand strategy into effective, multi-channel media campaigns that engage target audiences and build brand equity. You'll work at the intersection of strategy and execution, partnering with creative, eCommerce, wholesale, and brand partnerships teams to bring cohesive, high-impact media to life across both DTC and retail channels.

Requirements

6–8+ years of experience in paid media planning and buying, with expertise across both traditional and digital channels.
Deep expertise in upper-funnel brand media with a track record of driving real awareness and demand.
Experience managing large media budgets and agency relationships.
Familiarity with brand lift studies, MMM, and other measurement tools for upper-funnel campaigns.
Ability to balance brand-building with performance goals, supporting both DTC and wholesale growth.
Strong communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Proven ability to evaluate and test emerging media opportunities.
A genuine curiosity about where media is going and a history of acting on it early — whether that's a new platform, format, or audience approach.
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field (MBA a plus).

Responsibilities

Leading planning and execution of upper-funnel paid brand media campaigns across TV, streaming TV, radio/audio, billboards/OOH, programmatic display, and ancillary channels.
Building integrated campaign plans that align paid media flighting and timelines with organic, PR, influencer, and key brand moments like product launches and seasonal pushes.
Developing audience strategy and segmentation frameworks, translating brand personas into precise media targeting parameters across channels.
Supporting media planning and execution tied to brand partnership activations, ensuring co-branded and sponsorship-related media is integrated, on-strategy, and measured effectively.
Partnering closely with the creative team to develop channel-specific briefs, manage ad specs and versioning, and ensure assets are built to perform in each format and placement.
Managing external media agencies and platform partners, ensuring campaigns deliver on performance metrics, budget efficiency, and brand goals.
Analyzing and reporting on campaign effectiveness, leveraging brand lift studies, reach/frequency, and media mix modeling to optimize spend.
Staying ahead of media industry trends, pilot new opportunities, and evaluate new platforms to expand reach and relevance with key audiences.
Monitoring competitive media activity, share of voice, and category trends to continuously sharpen our strategy and identify whitespace opportunities.
Partnering with Sr. Director to manage budgets, forecasts, and reconciliations with precision.
Being a resource and mentor for cross-functional partners, raising the bar on brand media thinking across the org.