Help Wanted - SignShop Manager / POS Marketing Manager Position Description

Some OnTrak Background

Increasingly we, here at OnTrak Software, are working with distributors’ sales and marketing managers — in many cases we’re working with company vice-presidents and senior vice-presidents. We’re finding these individuals are asking us to add features to our software that will increase our applications’ ability to track and measure additional aspects of point-of-sale (POS) marketing campaigns. 

Sometimes the reason for our customers’ requests for enhancements are simply to improve upon the distributor’s ability to better track POS costs. This certainly makes sense to us as we have seen, these past many years, a sharp increase in POS spending. Additional tracking and measuring features however, are also an indication there are new requirements being placed upon POS marketing managers, merchandisers and the graphics and design teams responsible for POS campaign production. 

Building a Brand

National beverage alcohol suppliers — and a growing number of regional breweries, too — work hard and often spend lavishly to build their brands’ image. Increasingly, breweries, distilleries and wineries work diligently to leverage their existing brands and launch new ones. These suppliers spend huge sums of money to launch new brands and promote existing brands and brand extensions. Of course, the spending doesn’t stop with the suppliers. Authorized wholesale distributors are also expected to substantially invest in marketing at-retail programs. These initiatives may seem to simply take the form of printing-off signs and placing them in the wholesale distributors’ customers — the retail tier — at the point-of-sale. 

The POS Marketing Function

Although the POS function within beverage alcohol wholesale distributors includes printing and placing signs, today there is much more to it than that. Wholesale distributors are expected to account for (i.e., report on) and coordinate with national at-retail promotional schedules and to leverage the appropriate variety of seasonal, regional and local versions of national ad campaigns.  
What we’re seeing is the growing importance and transformation of what used to be simply called “the sign shop” into what is sometimes called the retail promotions or retail marketing department. 

Point-of-Sale Marketing Manager

In light of the growing importance — and budgets — of beverage alcohol distributors’ retail marketing departments and to keep myself abreast of current hiring trends, I recently started reviewing the position descriptions now being posted (on several employment web sites) for beverage alcohol distributors’ “Director of Retail Marketing,” “Director of Point-of-Sale Merchandising,” and “POS Marketing Manager” (and other similar titled) positions. What I noticed was how Wholesale distributors’ descriptions for POS Directors, etc., have become more like what I would have expected from beverage alcohol suppliers’ position descriptions — what this suggests, of course, is the increasing importance beverage alcohol wholesale distributors are placing on their (the middle-tier’s) role as marketers, in addition to their obvious place in the supply-chain. The following, is an amalgam of several position descriptions. I have named this position “Point-of-Sale Manager”.

Position Description

TITLE: Point-of-Sale Marketing Manager
COMPANY: Super Eagle Enterprises
LOCATION: City, TX
INDUSTRY: Wholesale distribution
TYPE: Beer
CLASSIFICATION: Marketing
REPORTS TO: Director of Marketing and Merchandising

The Super Eagle Enterprise’s Point of Sale Manager is responsible for the overall management of the company’s point-of-sale (POS) materials which includes: program planning, concept development/coordination with national marketing initiatives, design, production, permanent POS and purchasing. This position will collaborate with Super Eagle’s brand team leaders and merchandisers, sales management, sales teams, breweries, and other external suppliers coordinating a range of promotional and advertising projects while ensuring timely delivery with budget. The ideal candidate has an entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for creative marketing, and a demonstrated ability to manage processes and direct multiple projects.

Additionally, this individual will work closely with the permanent POS Warehouse Manager and strive to improve order tracking processes and finished product placement. As we are constantly adding new suppliers and brands and we are also acquiring new distribution locations, this position offers a tremendous opportunity for future growth at Super Eagle.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OVERVIEW:

• Utilize understanding of Super Eagle’s brand portfolio and collaborate with marketing management and sales to develop and ensure consistent at-retail point-of-sale campaigns
• Integrate with our marketing and sales teams and suppliers to develop an understanding of short and long term promotional needs and establish Super Eagle as the premier POS marketing provider to meet those challenges
• Manage the production process and department budget 
• Gather competitive information, attend trade shows, review available materials and explore at-retail locations to gather data with the goal of leading the planning, development and implementation of “in the aisle” marketing programs and materials
• Collaborate with the permanent POS Warehouse Manager to monitor permanent POS and POS enhancer inventories to prevent shortages while managing the relationship between ordering POS materials and their carrying costs
• Provide concise and regular status updates to Super Eagle’s marketing and sales teams
• Develop insights and processes from both internal and external sources to review, analyze and implement an improved POS tracking and management process
• Become the at-retail marketing expert for Super Eagle; translate shopper insights and marketing and merchandizing concepts into a POS strategy which will be incorporated into the strategic plans for Super Eagle

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience:

• Passion for Super Eagle’s brands
• Creativity in the design-language for beer marketing campaigns; an understanding of contemporary style, social media platforms and current social and cultural trends
• Bachelor's degree (Marketing major a plus) or commensurate experience in related job field
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a related field; beverage alcohol industry experience would be a plus
• Strong organizational and managerial skills, attention to detail; entrepreneurial experience would be a plus
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, notably via email and telephone
• Demonstrated broad range of computer skills, experience using graphics software is required
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite programs especially PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook
• Strong initiative, accountable, ability to work with Super Eagle management team without supervision

COMPENSATION:

• Super Eagle offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience and an industry leading benefits including a stock option program for our Management Team.

Now that we have described Superman or Superwoman, we'd like briefly talk about the importance of Point-of-Sale (POS) Marketing and how OnTrak can help.

The Growing Importance of At-Retail Marketing

What these POS manager position descriptions underscore is the recognition of the growing importance beverage alcohol distributors’ top managers and executives are placing on their company’s marketing efforts and the distributors’ role, beyond logistics, in the supply chain. Also, it stands to reason, these distributors recognize the importance of elevating retail marketing to departmental status to be more accountable to both suppliers and stakeholders.

Clearly, the post-prohibition “sign shop” has come a long way. Today, for a growing number of distributors, the “Director of POS Marketing” understands and supports the distributor’s retail shopper insights, merchandising and pricing principles, and even product mix to help create both retail strategies and tactics for the business. 

OnTrak now offers a suite of five applications to track, measure and manage your POS Marketing and Line Cleaning activities and operations. These digital tools are being used by beverage alcohol distributors across the United States. Some of them may be your friends and some might be your competitors. Either way, there is something you can learn from both.

To learn more about our tools for POS Tracking and Line Cleaning Software, please click the following link: >> POS Tracking and Line Cleaning Software