senior marketing manager, Experiential (Seattle or New York)
About The Position
The Senior Marketing Manager, Experiential leads Starbucks’ experiential marketing vertical on the Brand Activation team. The role creates immersive, high-impact brand moments that deepen customer connection and reinforce Starbucks as a cultural icon. It calls for strategic and creative leadership across live brand activations, cultural moments, tentpole events, pop-ups, partnerships, and integrated cross-channel experiences, with a focus on innovation, craft, operational excellence, and cultural fluency. The role develops experiential strategies, frameworks, activation playbooks, and a multi-year roadmap aligned with brand priorities, cultural moments, customer insights, and enterprise initiatives. It owns activation development from strategic brief and creative concept through execution, amplification, and measurement; connects experiences across marketing, social, PR, media, digital, retail, and partner channels; and leads agency and cross-functional teams. The manager also oversees budgets, timelines, prioritization, and measurement frameworks, using performance insights to improve programs.
Requirements
- 5+ years of experience in experiential marketing, brand activation, event marketing, cultural partnership, or related roles.
- Deep expertise in experiential strategy, creative development, production, and activation.
- Ability to turn customer and cultural insights into compelling brand experiences.
- Strong strategic, creative, operational, and financial acumen.
- Ability to influence senior leaders and mobilize cross-functional teams.
- Strong people and agency leadership.
Responsibilities
- Identify and communicate key responsibilities and practices to promote clarity, positivity, and accountability within the team.
- Lead the development, oversight, and approval of experiential marketing strategies, frameworks, and activation playbooks.
- Provide vision and inspiration to agency partners, creative teams, cross-functional stakeholders, and internal leaders.
- Establish a multi-year experiential roadmap aligned with brand priorities, cultural moments, customer insights, and enterprise initiatives.
- Represent experiential marketing across the broader marketing and go-to-market ecosystem.
- Serve as a subject-matter expert in experiential marketing, cultural trends, innovation, and emerging technologies.
- Partner with integrated marketing, social, PR, media, brand, product, retail, and store design teams.
- Lead agency and production partners to deliver high-quality work.
- Translate brand priorities, customer insights, and cultural opportunities into experiential strategies and brand experiences.
- Own end-to-end activation development, from strategic brief and creative concept through execution, amplification, and measurement.
- Connect activations across marketing, social, PR, media, digital, retail, and partner channels.
- Identify where and how the brand can participate in culture with relevance and impact.
- Lead agency partners and cross-functional teams to deliver creative, innovative, operationally excellent work.
- Own budgets, timelines, and prioritization across multiple programs and agency investments.
- Establish measurement frameworks and use performance insights to continuously improve programs.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Basic and supplemental life insurance and other voluntary insurance benefits
- Short-term and long-term disability
- Paid parental leave
- Family expansion reimbursement
- Paid vacation from date of hire
- Accrued sick time
- Eight paid holidays and two personal days per year
- 401(k) retirement plan with employer match for eligible partners
- Discounted company stock program (S.I.P.)
- Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock)
- Incentivized emergency savings and financial well-being tools
- Upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan
- Student loan management resources and access to other educational opportunities
- Backup care
- DACA reimbursement
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
