Softgoods Category Marketing Manager Full Time

The Breakdown:

The SoftgoodsCategory Marketing Manageris responsible fordeveloping the Softgoodscategory marketing strategy, defining product positioning, and shaping go-to-market (GTM) plans that drive consumer engagement and business growth. This role works cross-functionally with Merchandising, Integrated Marketing, and Creative teams to ensure that product stories and category priorities are effectively brought to life across all consumer touchpoints. 

The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with a deep understanding of consumer insights, market trends, and product storytelling. They will drive alignment across teams, ensuring that category strategies translate into compelling and impactful marketing activations. 

What You’ll Get To Do: 

Category Strategy & GTM Development 

• Develop the Softgoods category marketing strategy in alignment with Merchandising, Masterbrand objectives, and consumer trends.
• Define annual and seasonal marketing plans, outlining Softgoodsfocus areas, hero products, and KPIs.
• Lead GTM strategy development, ensuring clear product positioning, messaging frameworks, and audience engagement strategies.
• Partner with Merchandising to ensure strategic alignment between product roadmaps and marketing priorities.
• Work closely with the Integrated Marketing team to ensure the strategy translates into high-impact campaigns and activations across all consumer touchpoints. 

Product Positioning & Storytelling 

• Define product positioning and messaging frameworks, ensuring consumer relevance, competitive differentiation, and emotional appeal.
• Shape the category storytelling strategy, identifyingkey consumer moments and product narratives that build excitement and engagement.
• Partner with Creative and Content teams to bring product stories to life, ensuring a consistent and compelling brand voice.
• Collaborate with Integrated Marketing to ensure that campaign messaging is executed effectively across channels. 

Category Asset Creation & Ownership 

• Lead the development of category-specific assets, including product copy, sell-in tools, and product shot guidance, ensuring alignment with category marketing strategies and consumer engagement needs.
• Partner with Creative and Integrated Marketing to ensure consumer-facing category assets (such as product storytelling, educational content, and digital assets) are tailored for key category moments and retail needs. 

Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnership 

• Act as the strategic bridge between Merchandising, Integrated Marketing, Creative, and Regionalteams to ensure Softgoodspriorities are reflected in marketing activations.
• Provide clear strategic direction to Integrated Marketing, ensuring successful execution of category campaigns.
• Work closely with Sports Marketingto ensure athlete, ambassador, sponsorship, and event initiatives are effectively integrated into category marketing strategies. 
• Leverage Sports Marketing assets and athlete-driven storytelling to enhance product positioning and drive consumer engagement across key activations.
• Collaborate with Data & Insights teams to identifykey consumer behaviors, market trends, and performance data that inform category strategy.
• Ensure transparency and collaboration within workflows, facilitatingalignment between global and regional teams. 

Performance & Optimization 

• Establish success metrics and KPIs to measure category growth and marketing impact.
• Partner with the Insights team to track campaign effectiveness, consumer engagement, and sales impact, using data to refine strategies.
• Foster a culture of agility, empowering teams to adapt and optimizestrategies based on real-time performance insights. 

What You’ll Bring To The Team:

• 5-8+ years of experience in category marketing, product marketing, or brand management, preferably within a consumer-driven or lifestyle brand.
• Proven experience in developing and driving category marketing strategies that influence product positioning and market growth.
• Strong track recordof collaborating with cross-functional teams, including Merchandising, Creative, and Integrated Marketing.
• Expertisein GTM planning, product storytelling, and consumer engagement strategies.
• Ability to translate data and insights into compelling marketing strategies.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communicationand leadership skills, with the ability to influence and align teams.
• Passion for snowboarding, outdoor sports, or lifestyle brands is a plus. 

Key Competencies 

• Strategic Leadership: Shapes category marketing strategies that drive brand growth and consumer connection.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Effectively aligns teams around shared category priorities and marketing plans.
• Storytelling & Messaging: Crafts compelling product narratives that resonate with consumers.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Uses insights to refine category strategies and measure impact.
• Consumer-Centric Thinking: Understands market trends and consumer behaviors to inform category planning.