Associate Manager, Brand Strategy & Activation - Wheels

Associate Manager, Brand Strategy & Activation - Hot Wheels

Join to apply for the Associate Manager, Brand Strategy & Activation - Hot Wheels role at Mattel, Inc.

$/yr - $/yr

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day.

We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

We have multiple openings for Associate Marketing Managers across the Hot Wheels Core and Hot Wheels Adult teams. In these roles, you will drive day‑to‑day brand activations in partnership with internal cross‑functional teams and external agencies. Depending on team placement, you will help shape strategies that expand brand awareness, support key launches, and grow the full franchise. For our Hot Wheels Adult team, this includes developing and executing initiatives specifically designed to engage and accelerate the rapidly growing adult fan business.

• Brand Strategy
  • Partner with Toy and Franchise Marketing to ensure brand consistency across product, experiences and retail
  • Develop content in partnership with Mattel Studios to ensure brand objectives and alignment
  • Serve as the cross‑functional integrator between content, product, experiences, retail, and marketing
• Brand Activation
  • With leadership, plan brand “moments” (anniversaries, entertainment launches, retail programs) that support all businesses at retail and work with commercial partners to ensure flawless execution
  • Translate brand strategy into campaigns, content, and activations
  • With leadership, plan integrated marketing plans (digital, retail, social, influencer, events, PR) and work with commercial partners to execute
  • Ensure media strategy is executed well across regions, and manage day‑to‑day creative production
  • Ensure creative execution stays consistent with brand positioning (via brand guardrails) and product highlights
  • Ensure brand stories are executed well to drive demand generation, brand love, and consumer loyalty
  • Manage day‑to‑day execution of agency scope in partnership with brand creative
  • Track & report on campaign performance (awareness, engagement, conversion)
  • Track & report on franchise health through consumer engagement, sales performance, and cultural impact.

• 5+ years (3 years with MBA) experience in brand marketing (on brand or agency side), franchise management/marketing, content marketing, or purpose‑driven strategy/marketing.
• Experience managing a portfolio spanning multiple categories (toys, apparel, publishing, etc.).
• Self‑starter who is detail oriented, driven, focused, pro‑active and collaborative.
• Strategic thinking. Ability to define brand vision and multi‑year roadmaps.
• Consumer insights & research. Strong understanding of consumer psychology, brand equity drivers, and cultural trends. Ability to synthesize data and pull insights to create recommendations.
• Thorough understanding of marketing mix and KPIs.
• Portfolio management. Balancing toys and non‑toy CP categories under a unified brand.
• Cross‑functional leadership. Skilled at influencing Design, Product, Marketing, and Franchise teams without direct authority.
• Financial acumen. Experience with P&L at the brand or category level.
• Communication skills. Excellent at storytelling, presentations, and influencing senior leadership. Strong PowerPoint creation and presentation skills, proficiency in Outlook, Word and Excel.
• We offer competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential.

• We collaborate:
  Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process…