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Activation Manager Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Target

Strategy Activation Lead

Minneapolis, MN · Hybrid

$95K - $171K/yr

As a Strategy Activation Lead, you will help bring Target's enterprise strategies to life by enabling the work required to move from choice to progress. You will partner with Enterprise Strategy ...

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Activation Manager information

What is an activation manager?

Activation Managers are professionals responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing marketing campaigns or brand activations. They work closely with clients, creative teams, and vendors to ensure that marketing initiatives are delivered effectively and on time. Their role often includes developing strategies to engage target audiences, managing budgets, analyzing campaign performance, and optimizing future activations. Activation Managers play a key part in bringing brands to life through memorable experiences and ensuring that marketing goals are met.

What skills and qualifications are needed to be an activation manager?

To thrive as an Activation Manager, you need expertise in project management, marketing strategy, and event execution, often backed by a degree in marketing or business. Familiarity with CRM platforms, digital marketing tools, and analytics systems like Salesforce or HubSpot is typically required. Strong organizational skills, creativity, and effective communication help drive cross-functional collaboration and deliver impactful campaigns. These abilities are crucial for ensuring seamless campaign rollouts that meet client objectives and maximize brand engagement.

What challenges do activation managers face when launching new campaigns?

Activation Managers often encounter challenges such as aligning cross-functional teams, managing tight deadlines, and ensuring campaigns resonate with the target audience. Coordinating between creative, sales, and digital teams requires strong communication and organizational skills. Additionally, adapting to last-minute changes in client objectives or market trends can test flexibility and problem-solving abilities. Successfully navigating these challenges allows Activation Managers to execute impactful campaigns and demonstrate their value to both clients and internal stakeholders.

What is the difference between Activation Manager vs Marketing Coordinator?

AspectActivation Manager
Primary RoleOversees brand activations, experiential marketing campaigns, and event execution to engage consumers directly.
Required SkillsProject management, event planning, vendor coordination, marketing strategy, communication skills.
Work EnvironmentOften works on-site at events, in marketing departments, or with agencies.
Common CertificationsMarketing certifications, event management credentials, project management certifications.

While both roles involve marketing activities, an Activation Manager focuses on executing live brand experiences and events, whereas a Marketing Coordinator handles broader marketing tasks, including campaign support and administrative duties. Activation Managers typically lead specific experiential projects, requiring specialized event skills, while Marketing Coordinators support overall marketing strategies across channels.

What are popular job titles related to Activation Manager jobs in Minnesota?

For Activation Manager jobs in Minnesota, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Activation Manager jobs in Minnesota look for?

The top searched job categories for Activation Manager jobs in Minnesota are:

What cities in Minnesota are hiring for Activation Manager jobs?

Cities in Minnesota with the most Activation Manager job openings:

Activation Manager jobs near you
Infographic showing various Activation Manager job openings in Minnesota as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, 12% Part Time, 2% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 81% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 17% Remote job distribution.

Senior Shopper Marketing & Brand Activation Manager

ZURU

Minneapolis, MN • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 22 days ago

Job description

Own End-to-End Shopper Marketing for Fast-Growing CPG Brands
This position reports to Max, SVP of ZURU Edge North America.
About ZURU
ZURU is on a mission to disrupt industries and challenge the status quo through innovation and automation. Our brands reflect this vision: ZURU Toys re-imagines play, ZURU Tech leads the next building revolution, and ZURU Edge creates modern CPG brands for today's consumers.
Founded in 2003 by EY Entrepreneur of the Year brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray, ZURU has grown to over 5,000 team members across 30+ international locations.
As one of the world's largest toy companies, our award-winning brands include Bunch O Balloons, Mini Brands, XSHOT, Rainbocorns, and Smashers. Our CPG portfolio features MONDAY Haircare, Rascals, NOOD, BONKERS, Gumi Yum Surprise, and more.
For more information, visit www.zuru.com.
Position Overview
We are looking for a high-ownership Senior Shopper Marketing (Brand Activation) Manager with exceptional project management capability and strong creative judgement to lead the planning and execution of in-store activation across our largest retail partners, including Walmart, Target and key Grocery/Drug customers. You will translate brand strategy into retail-ready execution; owning displays and point-of-sale programs end-to-end so our brands show up with speed, consistency, and impact at shelf.
This role spans multiple ZURU Edge brands, from highly design-forward consumer brands such as DAISE Beauty, MONDAY Haircare and Millie Moon, to other fast-growing categories across our portfolio. It's a rare opportunity to bring beautifully built brands to life in-store, at scale, and with real visibility.
Position Impact
You will play a pivotal role in how ZURU shows up at retail - turning brand vision into powerful in-store moments of connection that influence shopper behaviour and drive conversion. You'll champion the consumer at the point of purchase, ensuring every activation is consumer-led and creatively excellent, while driving timelines, stakeholders, and details through to flawless execution. Your work will strengthen retailer partnerships and accelerate growth across ZURU Edge's consumer goods brands in key markets.
Roles & Responsibilities
  • Lead in-store shopper activation across key U.S. retail partners (Walmart, Target, and key Grocery/Drug customers), translating brand strategy into high-converting retail experiences.
  • Own end-to-end project management for secondary displays / shippers / floorstands and in-store POS-from briefing and concepts through vendor quoting, retailer approvals, production, deployment, and post-activation reviews.
  • Drive activation planning across the path to purchase, including in-store POS, sampling, promotions, endcaps, seasonal programs and other moments of connection.
  • Be the day-to-day activation partner to the account team, building customer-specific activation plans that align to brand objectives and delivering against timing, budget, and quality expectations.
  • Own trade show and experiential activation execution, including project plans, budgets, timelines, vendor coordination, and on-site delivery for priority events (e.g., trade shows, pop-ups, and brand activations).
  • Act as the key activation contact for retailers and external partners on shopper programs-supporting sell-ins/presentations, leading display development, and delivering clear post-program learnings.
  • Partner with internal Design to brief, review, and deliver best-in-class creative assets with clear communication hierarchy and strong shelf impact. This role includes creative approval authority within brand guidelines and the ability to use design tools/software to execute required changes (e.g., resizing, layout adjustments, hierarchy tweaks) to keep projects moving at pace.
  • Manage external agencies and vendors (e.g., display houses, printers, merchandisers) to ensure quality, compliance, and speed-pushing for better solutions and continuous improvement.
  • Own activation budgets for your programs, ensuring disciplined spend management and flawless delivery against deadlines.
  • Track performance and extract learnings from activations (e.g., compliance, execution quality, and commercial impact where measurable), recommending improvements and codifying playbooks for future programs.
  • Maintain working knowledge of retailer marketing ecosystems (e.g., Roundel, Walmart Connect, Kroger Precision Marketing) to ensure activations integrate effectively with retailer requirements and opportunities.

Skills & Experience
  • 5+ years' experience in shopper marketing / retail activation / trade activation / customer marketing, ideally within CPG (or similarly fast-paced consumer brands).
  • Proven experience delivering programs with major retailers such as Walmart, Target, and/or leading Grocery/Drug customers.
  • Exceptional project management capability-able to run complex, multi-stakeholder programs end-to-end, hit deadlines, and drive issues to closure.
  • Strong creative judgement and design sensibility with the ability to approve shopper-facing assets within brand guidelines.
  • Ideally hands-on design capability: comfortable using design tools/software to execute quick updates (e.g., resizing, layout/hierarchy tweaks, light production adjustments) to keep projects moving at pace.
  • Clear, confident communicator with strong cross-functional collaboration skills (Sales, Design, Supply, vendors, and retail partners).
  • Comfortable leveraging data and in-market observations to improve activations over time.
  • Comfortable managing external partners (display houses, printers, agencies); vendor/agency management experience is a plus.
  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).

LIFE@ZURU
At ZURU, we have cultivated a high-performing culture that encourages excellence. Our team works towards ambitious goals, learning, performing, and improving together, all while having fun. We empower talented individuals to do their best work every day.
At ZURU, you get out what you put in. You are responsible for driving your own career and we provide the platform to achieve it. As ZURU is on such a fast growth trajectory, there are opportunities here that you won't find anywhere else.
We recognise that ZURU's success stems from our people and you can only be at your best when you are looking after yourself. ZURU encourages all our team members to invest in their wellbeing by providing an array of benefits and tools.
ZURU - Tomorrow Reimagined
ZURU.com
#LI-FR1

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