Job Description
Job Description
JOIN THE PLAYA BOWLS TEAM
DIRECTOR OF FIELD MARKETING
JOB DESCRIPTION
Department
Marketing
Reports To
Chief Marketing Officer
Location
Atlanta, GA Metro area preferred
Work Arrangement
Hybrid
Employment Status
Exempt
Travel
Up to 50%
Role Purpose
The Director of Field Marketing is responsible for leading and executing a best-in-class localized marketing strategy across all restaurant locations, including company-owned and franchised locations, bridging national brand strategy with local market execution to ensure each restaurant maximizes relevance, traffic, and community engagement.
Playa Bowls is a growth brand, and this role requires a wide skill set that can serve established markets, growth markets, and new entry markets alike. In established markets and select DMAs, a successful track record in digital media, local events, cross-promotional opportunities, sponsorships, clubs, local PR, and influencer campaigns is familiar and second nature.
For new entry markets, where brand awareness is low, owning and optimizing comprehensive 18-month marketing plans for new store openings is equally important to the brand. These plans require building phased strategies that span early market entry, pre-opening awareness, launch execution, and sustained post-opening growth. To accomplish these goals, the Director of Field Marketing and their team will work directly with Playa Bowls franchise partners to build and execute a calendared plan that drives brand recognition, establishes community presence, and generates trial and repeat visitation through a coordinated mix of PR, influencer engagement, partnerships, events, and localized digital media campaigns.
This leader manages and develops a high-performing field marketing team while overseeing a network of external partners, including creative agencies, public relations firms, influencers, and event activation vendors, and requires strong cross-functional collaboration with Operations, Brand, Digital, Media, Finance, IT, and Executive Leadership to ensure alignment, scalability, and seamless execution across all markets.
Key ResponsibilitiesLocal Shop Marketing
- Develops and oversees localized marketing strategies that drive traffic, sales, and brand affinity at the shop level.
- Partners with Operations and franchise owners (where applicable) tailor marketing initiatives to individual market needs.
- Establishes frameworks and toolkits that empower local teams to execute effectively while maintaining brand consistency.
New Shop Opening Marketing
- Owns and leads the development and execution of the “18-Month Epic Wave” brand marketing plan for each new market entry, ensuring a phased, high-impact approach from pre-opening through sustained growth.
- Leads end-to-end marketing strategy for new shop openings, including pre-opening buzz, grand opening events, and post-opening sustainment plans.
- Coordinates cross-functional efforts to ensure successful launch execution.
- Identifies and leverages local insights to maximize awareness and initial customer acquisition.
Local PR Strategy
- Builds and executes localized public relations strategies to generate earned media coverage.
- Develops relationships with local media outlets and journalists.
- Creates scalable PR playbooks for regional execution while supporting high-impact local storytelling opportunities.
Local Influencer Strategy
- Designs and implements a local influencer marketing program to drive brand awareness and engagement.
- Identifies, vets, and manages relationships with relevant influencers across markets.
- Establishes measurement frameworks to evaluate effectiveness and ROI.
Local Partnerships & Event Activations
- Identifies and cultivates strategic partnerships with local businesses, organizations, and community groups.
- Plans and executes impactful local events and activations that enhance brand presence and community connection.
- Develops scalable partnership models that can be adapted across multiple markets.
Local Social Strategy
- Defines and executes a localized social media strategy that complements national efforts.
- Enables local teams with content guidelines, tools, and best practices.
- Monitors and engages with local audiences to build strong community relationships.
Local Loyalty Strategy
- Drives adoption and engagement of loyalty programs at the local level.
- Develops targeted campaigns that incentivize repeat visits and increase customer lifetime value.
- Leverages customer data to inform localized marketing efforts and personalization.
- Develops a localized loyalty strategy that cross-promotes with other local brands, sports teams, events, non-profits, and community organizations to enhance the value of membership, strengthen “club” identity, and deepen the brand's connection to the local community.
Local Marketing Innovation
- Identifies emerging trends, tools, and technologies to enhance local marketing effectiveness.
- Pilots and scales innovative programs that differentiate the brand at the community level.
- Fosters a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.
Local Marketing Creative & Content
- Oversees development of localized creative assets and content that resonate with diverse audiences.
- Ensures alignment with brand standards while allowing flexibility for local relevance.
- Collaborates with internal and external partners to produce high-quality, impactful content.
Key Relationships
Internal Partners
Chief Marketing Officer & Executive Leadership
Marketing Leadership Team
Operations
Brand Marketing
Digital, Media & Public Relations
Finance & IT
External Partners
Creative & PR Agencies
Influencers & Ambassadors
Local Media Outlets
Community Partners & Local Businesses
Event Activation Vendors
Loyalty & CRM Platform Partners
Measures of Success
- New shop opening impact: A material improvement in new shop opening volumes.
- Program consistency: A well-orchestrated, consistently executed 18-month program that delivers results above current baseline.
- Program validation: New local shop marketing programs are successfully tested, validated, and scaled.
- Loyalty growth: Material improvement in top-of-funnel loyalty enrollment and post-enrollment engagement frequency.
- Partnership impact: High-impact partnerships, ambassador programs, and event activations that produce both sales results and genuine brand preference.
- Guest experience: Engaging in-store experiences that increase traffic, conversion, and brand affinity.
- Team culture: Strong team culture and creative output.
Experience & QualificationsRequired
- 10+ years of marketing experience, with a strong focus on field or local marketing in the restaurant or retail industry.
- 5+ years of experience in restaurant marketing specifically.
- Proven success managing multi-unit or franchise marketing programs.
- Strong leadership and team development skills.
- Experience managing agencies, vendors, and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
- Proven experience creating, building, and scaling local marketing strategies.
- Experience with partnerships, ambassador programs, experiential marketing, and/or retail merchandising.
- Demonstrated experience creating and owning local store marketing calendars.
- Ability to operate strategically while executing in fast-paced environments.
- A demonstrated competitive drive that has produced innovative solutions through an innate desire to do big things and win.
Preferred
- Experience in high-growth or multi-brand environments.
- Familiarity with loyalty platforms, CRM systems, and local marketing technologies.
- Strong network of media, influencer, and community contacts.
- Existing network of external creative, content, social, influencer, and event partners.
- Experience with video, social media, podcasts, and multimedia storytelling.
- Familiarity with marketing automation and content platforms.
- Experience in experiential or event marketing.
Role-Specific Expertise <