The Marketing Manager will handle community engagement and marketing activations, coordinating events, managing social media, and nurturing fan connections to boost brand presence and sales.
Exploding Kittens is a leading game and entertainment company with a mission to inspire people to connect, laugh, and play fun games in the physical world. After initially seeking to raise $10K through Kickstarter, the Exploding Kittens campaign raised $8.7M in 30 days from 219,000 backers. To date, Exploding Kittens is the #1 most-backed project in Kickstarter history and has sold over 20 million games.
Started by former Xbox game designer Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s founder Matthew Inman, Exploding Kittens and its family of games seek to reshape traditional game night into an entertaining person-to-person experience. Today, there are over 30 games available for purchase, an exclusive Exploding Kittens mobile game for Netflix subscribers, a free-to-play app, Kitty Letter, and an Exploding Kittens mobile app available iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch as well as an animated Netflix series titled ‘Exploding Kittens’ currently out now! Check it out and join us in the truly belly-aching laughs.
We're looking for a people person and problem solver with hustle, creativity, and a knack for turning casual game-players into superfans. As our Marketing Manager, Community & Experience, you'll be the face of the Exploding Kittens marketing team out in the wild. You have a natural instinct for what works across digital and IRL spaces, creating memorable in-person experiences, and making sure our games find their way into the hands of players everywhere.
This is a roll-up-your-sleeves role for someone who thrives in social settings, isn't scared of ambiguity and balancing physical events with scalable digital initiatives. You can play many roles, know how to stay organized and keep several balls in the air. You will be supporting the team's larger marketing goals through physical and digital community activations.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Community Engagement & Field Work Responsibilities
- Collaborate seamlessly with the Community Operations Manager and Associate Director of Marketing to ensure a consistent brand experience across all activations and touchpoints
- Strategize, coordinate, and execute IRL activations including festivals, conventions, hobby store game nights, seasonal retailer activations, in-store and pop-up demos
- Plan and execute activations at non-traditional venues: college campuses, breweries, bookstores, coffee shops, family entertainment centers
- Run grassroots marketing, sampling, and outreach programs to reach 'people who love games' beyond traditional gaming audiences — identify and connect with event organizers, hire agencies and influencers, and reach out to bars, cafes, hobby stores, and other venues to get our games in front of new audiences
- Support retail partners (Target, Walmart) with in-store demos and seasonal activations
- Execute hobby store marketing partnerships: game nights, sampling events, giveaways, and special promotions
- Attend and activate at conventions and gaming events (important, but not the sole focus)
- Develop KPIs and frameworks for what success looks like across field activations
- 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)
- Marketing Support & Digital Community Responsibilities
- Own Instagram Broadcast channel and other social media community channels
- Identify and evaluate emerging community platforms and channels; pilot new opportunities that align with audience behavior and brand goals
- Help shape and execute TikTok Shop affiliate and community strategy in partnership with Sales and Marketing; coordinate with external contractors and UGC creators to support launches and priorities
- Manage UGC creator relationships across lifestyle/parenting/entertainment verticals (not just gaming)
- Host influencer events and orchestrate Lives across multiple content categories
- Digital Community Engagement: Strategize, manage and nurture connections with fans through email newsletters, live streams, and organic UGC initiatives
- Gather customer insights from field touchpoints and all activations to inform broader marketing strategy
- Support product launches with experiential components
- 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
WHAT WE NEED:
- 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
We believe that we become stronger and more competitive as a company by employing people with different backgrounds and experiences and from different cultures. As an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, we are committed to complying with all applicable laws providing equal employment opportunity to applicants and employees regardless of sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), race (including protected hairstyles such as dreadlocks, braids, and twists), religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, gender (including gender identity, gender expression and/or the fact that an individual is transgender, transitioning, or transitioned), color, ancestry, national origin, possession of a driver’s license, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information/trait/condition, marital or familial status, family care or medical leave status, registered domestic partner status, age, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, membership in military reserves, political affiliation, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation. We consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local, state, and federal “ban the box” and “fair chance” laws.
Top Skills
Email Newsletters
Social Media
Tiktok
Exploding Kittens Los Angeles, California, USA Office
1800 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90036
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