Manager of Performance Marketing -Crecera

Manager of Performance Marketing

Reports to: General Manager, Sports Business Unit
Type: Full Time
Location: Bloomington, Minnesota, Hybrid

About the Company

Crecera Brands is the driving force behind Sportsman’s Guide, Salt Strong, The Golfer's World, Play Baseball and Play Softball, five of America’s leading retailers of outdoor gear, fishing equipment and technology, sporting goods and golf equipment. For nearly 50 years, our companies have been dedicated to helping our customers enjoy the fun, freedom, and traditions of the great outdoors. From hunting and fishing to playing ball and hitting the links, the companies of Crecera Brands deliver the gear you need to succeed. Our websites include sportsmansguide.com, saltstrong.com, tgw.com, playbaseball.com and playsoftball.com.

Position Summary

The Manager of Performance Marketing is responsible for driving customer acquisition, paid traffic growth, and profitable revenue through data-driven marketing investments. This role owns paid media strategy, acquisition performance, affiliate and partnership programs, and marketing measurement across the Sports Business Unit.

The Manager develops and executes acquisition strategies across search, shopping, paid social, video, affiliate, influencer, live shopping, and emerging channels while optimizing customer acquisition cost (CAC), marketing return on ad spend (MROAS), and new customer growth. This role is responsible for maximizing the impact of marketing investments through audience development, attribution analysis, testing, and continuous optimization.

As a key member of the marketing team, the Manager partners closely with Ecommerce, CRM, Merchandising, Brand, Content & Creative, Analytics, and external agency partners to accelerate growth, improve marketing efficiency, and expand the customer base.

Success in this role is measured by profitable customer acquisition and business growth, including MROAS, customer acquisition cost (CAC), new customer growth, paid traffic performance, and partner-driven revenue.

Key Responsibilities

Paid Media & Customer Acquisition

· Own paid media strategy, budget allocation, and monthly flighting across search, shopping, paid social, video, affiliate, and emerging acquisition channels.

· Develop and execute customer acquisition strategies that drive profitable growth while meeting CAC and ROAS targets.

· Manage media budgets and optimize performance against customer acquisition, traffic, conversion, and revenue goals.

· Lead audience development strategies, including prospecting, remarketing, lookalike audiences, and customer segmentation initiatives.

· Partner with Brand, Content & Creative teams to develop creative briefs, testing plans, and high-performing campaign assets.

· Develop and test emerging acquisition channels, including live shopping, creator-led commerce, social selling, and platform-native shopping experiences.

· Partner with Brand, Content & Creative teams to develop live shopping events, creator partnerships, and performance-driven content that drive customer acquisition and conversion.

· Evaluate the effectiveness of live shopping, influencer commerce, and social commerce initiatives and scale programs that demonstrate positive acquisition economics.

· Monitor channel performance, attribution trends, and competitive activity to identify optimization opportunities and inform investment decisions.

· Evaluate and test new channels, technologies, and acquisition strategies to drive incremental growth.

AI Search & Emerging Discovery

· Develop strategies to improve brand visibility across AI-powered search experiences, answer engines, and emerging discovery platforms.

· Partner with Brand, Content & Creative and Ecommerce teams to improve content discoverability and brand presence within AI-generated experiences.

· Monitor changes in customer discovery behavior across search engines, AI assistants, social commerce, and emerging platforms.

· Evaluate new technologies, tools, and methodologies that improve discoverability and customer acquisition.

· Pilot innovative acquisition channels and measurement approaches that support future growth.

Partnerships, Influencers & Affiliate Marketing

· Lead affiliate, influencer, and strategic partnership programs that drive profitable customer acquisition.

· Identify, recruit, and cultivate relationships with affiliates, publishers, creators, industry organizations, and strategic partners.

· Negotiate promotional opportunities, co-marketing programs, sponsorships, live shopping partnerships, and partnership agreements.

· Manage partner performance and optimize programs against traffic, revenue, customer acquisition, and profitability objectives.

· Ensure partnerships align with brand standards, customer acquisition goals, and business priorities.

· Evaluate new partnership opportunities that expand reach and generate incremental growth.

Analytics & Performance Management

· Establish reporting frameworks and dashboards that provide visibility into acquisition performance, channel effectiveness, customer growth, and marketing returns.

· Analyze customer acquisition trends, attribution performance, media efficiency, conversion behavior, and revenue contribution.

· Develop testing roadmaps and execute experiments that improve marketing effectiveness and customer acquisition efficiency.

· Partner with Analytics and agency partners to strengthen attribution capabilities and marketing measurement methodologies.

· Present performance insights, recommendations, and growth opportunities to marketing and business leadership.

· Leverage customer, market, and competitive data to identify emerging trends and optimization opportunities.

Team Leadership & Partner Management

· Lead agency relationships and hold partners accountable for performance, innovation, and execution.

· Oversee affiliate, influencer, and partnership programs while ensuring alignment with acquisition objectives.

· Collaborate closely with Ecommerce, CRM, Merchandising, Brand, Content & Creative, Analytics, and Finance teams.

· Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, and accountability across agency and partner relationships.

· Foster a culture of accountability, experimentation, continuous learning, and data-driven decision-making.

Qualifications

Required Experience

· Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Analytics, or a related field.

· 5+ years of experience in performance marketing, growth marketing, customer acquisition, or digital marketing.

· Experience managing significant paid media budgets across search, shopping, paid social, video, affiliate, and influencer channels.

· Demonstrated success driving customer acquisition, reducing CAC, improving ROAS, and growing revenue.

· Experience managing agency relationships and external marketing partners.

· Experience managing affiliate programs, influencer partnerships, creator commerce initiatives, or strategic partnerships.

· Strong understanding of attribution models, audience development, testing methodologies, and marketing analytics.

· Experience with Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta Ads, Google Analytics, Google Merchant Center, and related marketing technologies.

· Proven ability to translate performance insights into actionable business recommendations.

· Strong analytical, communication, project management, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $90,000 - $130,000 annually, plus eligibility for annual incentive compensation. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and geographic location. The salary range listed represents the Company's good-faith estimate for this position at the time of posting.

Benefits: Eligible employees may participate in the Company's comprehensive benefits programs, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings and flexible spending accounts; life and disability insurance; 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match; paid time off; paid holidays; employee merchandise discounts; and other wellness and employee assistance programs.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and to maintaining a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified individuals with disabilities and for applicants throughout the hiring process. If you need assistance or accommodation, please contact Human Resources.