Brand Manager in Columbus, Ohio at Marussia Beverages USA

About Marussia Beverages USA

At Marussia Beverages USA, we share a passion to build and grow brands that consumers love, leveraging a legacy of exploration, risk taking, and striving for each day to be better than the last. Our portfolio includes Watershed Distillery, Mozart Chocolate Liqueur, Hatozaki Japanese Whisky, Torabhaig Single Malt Scotch, and Akashi-Tai Sake, alongside a range of international craft brands. We are a versatile team that thrives on ownership and trust, and we are here to do the best work of our careers, together.

About the Role

The Brand Manager turns the brand strategy set by the Head of Brand into plans, campaigns, and programs that win in market. Reporting to the Head of Brand, this is a hands-on role and the day-to-day lead for the Watershed Distillery brand home: you run the brand calendar, manage agencies and creative delivery, partner with Sales, and lead the Distillery Experience Manager to make the Homeplace (distillery, tours, bottle shop, and events) the best expression of the brand. You will help modernize and scale Watershed into its next chapter of growth.

Purpose of the Seat

Bring the Watershed brand strategy to life across every touchpoint, building consumer love and profitable growth through excellent planning, execution, and a standout Homeplace experience.

Core Accountabilities

1. Brand Planning & Execution. Build and deliver the annual Watershed brand plan and a single marketing calendar that aligns launches, seasonal moments, partnerships, Homeplace events, and in-market programs, translating the positioning and strategy set by the Head of Brand into clear priorities so every touchpoint works as one consumer journey.

2. Campaigns & Creative Delivery. Manage campaigns, storytelling, and content across consumer, trade, digital, social, and PR, briefing agencies and moving work from brief to launch so the brand shows up consistently on packaging, point of sale, and distributor tools. Maintain the Watershed brand guidelines and act as day-to-day steward of the brand voice and identity.

3. Homeplace Experience. Lead the Distillery Experience Manager to deliver tours, tastings, events, and bottle shop programming that reflect the brand, delight visitors, and contribute to revenue. Build local partnerships, sponsorships, and community initiatives that strengthen Watershed’s place in the community.

4. Commercial Partnership. Partner with Sales to build programs that drive distribution, velocity, trial, and repeat purchase, and that distributor and field teams can execute at scale. Be able to state both the consumer reason to buy and the trade reason to sell.

5. Performance & Budget. Manage the brand marketing budget and track performance against the brand P&L owned by the Head of Brand, reporting on brand health, campaign effectiveness, and return on investment, and running post-mortems on major campaigns and launches.

6. Innovation. Support the Head of Brand on new products, packaging, and limited releases, managing projects from brief to launch.

Key Activities

• Annual brand plan and calendar development

• Agency briefing and creative project management

• Campaign, content, and social planning

• Oversight of Homeplace tours, events, and bottle shop programming

• Regular market visits with Sales, distributors, and retailers

• Consumer, competitive, and market insight analysis

• Budget tracking, KPI reporting, and QBR preparation

• Review of marketing materials for brand guidelines and TTB and advertising code compliance

Who You Are

• A builder. You want to help take an established craft brand into its next chapter, and you bring energy and fresh ideas to the work.

• Creative and curious. You understand today's consumers, care about great creative, and know what makes a brand culturally relevant. You use data to improve decisions without letting measurement replace creative judgment.

• Commercially minded. You connect brand work to sales results and understand how distribution and depletions drive the business.

• A hands-on leader. You coach and develop your team, stay close to the work, and lead by example.

• An owner. You take ownership of plans and results, move with speed, and are upfront about risks and trade-offs.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry with working knowledge of the three-tier system and distributor partnerships is required

• 5 to 7 years in brand or marketing roles, including experience owning brand plans and budgets

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications, or a related field, or equivalent experience

• Experience managing agencies and leading integrated campaigns

• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills

• Ability to travel to markets and attend occasional evening and weekend events

Preferred

• Hospitality, experiential marketing, or brand home experience

• Experience launching new products, packages, or brand refreshes

• On-premise channel experience with bars and restaurants

• Knowledge of TTB labeling and alcohol advertising compliance requirements

Location

• This role is based on-site in Columbus, OH

Compensation & Benefits

Marussia Beverages USA offers a competitive compensation package, including performance-based bonuses, medical, dental, and vision coverage, a Simple IRA with company match, and paid time off and company holidays.

Equal Opportunity & Accommodations

Marussia Beverages USA is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you need reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact your recruiter.

Marussia Beverages USA participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm authorization to work in the United States.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide individual feedback on applications.