Hybrid Marketing Manager – Community & Experience

at Exploding Kittens, Inc.

• Job title: Marketing Manager – Community & Experience
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: $100,000 - $120,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, United States

About the role

• Marketing Manager at Exploding Kittens overseeing community engagement and event strategies. Focused on turning casual players into superfans through innovative marketing initiatives.

Responsibilities

• IRL Community Engagement and “Out of Box Partnerships”: Strategize, coordinate, develop KPIs and execute domestic events including festivals, conventions, hobby store game nights, seasonal retailer activations, in-store and pop-up demos.
• Grassroots Marketing, Sampling & Outreach: Identify and connect with event organizers, hire agencies and influencers (beyond social media and gaming spaces), reach out to bars, cafes, hobby stores, and other venues to get our games in front of new audiences, develop KPIs and gather data.
• Leading the TikTok Shop strategy and execution and collaborating with internal Sales, CS, Logistics teams and external Shop contractors & UGC creators, ensuring launches and priorities align with broader Marketing Team goals.
• Digital Community Engagement: Strategize, manage and nurture connections with fans through email newsletters, live streams, and organic UGC initiatives across lifestyle/parenting/entertainment (not just gaming) and more.
• Hobby Store Marketing Partnerships: Support and grow relationships with hobby stores; manage event kits, samples, giveaways, and special promotions.
• Brand Representation: Act as the friendly, energetic external face of the EK marketing team at every activation, ensuring we leave a lasting positive impression. Able to lead conversations and drive results with a wide variety of personalities (including EK executives).
• Performance and Budget Tracking: Manage post-event follow-up and reporting including internal and external budgets, lead reporting, thank-you emails, ROI analysis and performance summaries.
• Support initiatives: by coordinating product sampling campaigns, and community event activations. As well as strategizing long term revenue and marketing implications of the campaign.

Requirements

• 4-6 years of marketing, community management, or event coordination experience (or equivalent hustle in volunteer/grassroots work).
• Strong people skills (you can strike up a conversation with anyone).
• Experience planning and running events, from small meetups to large-scale activations.
• Comfortable traveling, working nights/weekends as needed for events.
• A passion for games and a willingness to learn the EK brand inside and out.
• Highly organized with the ability to juggle multiple events and outreach efforts at once.
• Strong knowledge of social media and ability to activate content and digital communities.
• Experience working with hobby/game stores or in the tabletop gaming industry.
• Existing network within the board game, hobby store, or events scene.
• Openness to travel and be on site for activations