Brand Manager - Licensing

BUILDING BRANDS THAT WIN ON CAMPUS & BEYOND

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Do you fill out multiple March Madness brackets? Are your Saturdays better with a game on? Can you hold your own in conversations about collegiate rivalries, NIL deals, or last weekend's upset?

If those questions excite you, this role may be for you.

We're looking for a strategic and driven Brand Manager – Licensing to lead the marketing strategy and expression of our licensed brands across collegiate and approved properties. This role serves as the primary marketing owner for our Licensing division (Blue84 Licensed, Zephyr Licensed, Elite) and is responsible for elevating our brand presence across the collegiate space.

You'll collaborate closely with Sales, Product, Creative Directors, and external licensing partners to ensure our brands show up clearly, compliantly, and competitively - whether that's in catalogs, store-within-a-store concepts, retail activations, or campus-driven opportunities.

This role blends strategy with hands-on execution and offers the opportunity to define what best-in-class licensed brand marketing looks like for our business as we grow and evolve.

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm

Join us and be a part of a company that values teamwork, innovation, and making work enjoyable every day! The wage range for this position is $75,000-$95,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications, with flexibility for exceptional experience in collegiate licensing.

 

Open to onsite or remote. To be considered for remote you must reside in one of the following states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KA, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NV, NY, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WI

 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS | Strategize + Activate + Collaborate + Elevate

• Brand Strategy Leadership: Own and evolve the brand strategy, voice, and positioning for licensed brands including Blue84 Licensed, Zephyr Licensed, and Elite
• Market Presence: Build and strengthen our brand presence across the collegiate and licensed space, identifying opportunities to differentiate and elevate
• Licensing Approvals: Manage submission and approval processes with third-party licensors (Disney, Marvel, Warner Bros., Hello Kitty, collegiate licensors, etc.), ensuring compliance with brand guidelines prior to launch
• Catalog Ownership: Lead licensed catalogs end-to-end including timeline management, content direction, messaging, and cross-functional approvals
• Content Direction: Define storytelling, content direction, and messaging to ensure our materials resonate within the collegiate marketplace
• Sales Collaboration: Partner with Sales to understand growth opportunities, prioritize requests, and ensure marketing tools align with business goals
• Request Management: Review and prioritize incoming marketing requests through established workflows (e.g., Monday.com), ensuring clarity and alignment
• Store Within a Store Development: Collaborate on and help define "store within a store" concepts, merchandising experiences, and branded environments within collegiate retail settings
• Onsite Activation & Events: Partner on developing and evolving onsite activations, campus events, and experiential marketing opportunities; help define execution standards and success metrics
• Trade Show Partnership: Collaborate with the broader marketing team on licensing-related trade show presence and materials; serve as a strategic partner (this role does not directly oversee trade shows)
• Social Media Influence: Influence and help guide the direction of future licensing-focused social media efforts
• NIL & Influencer Awareness: Support exploration of NIL opportunities and understand how to activate athletes or influencers within licensing guidelines (experience in this space is a plus)
• Performance Insight: Help define how we measure effectiveness of activations, catalogs, and marketing initiatives within the licensing channel
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work in close partnership with Creative Directors to ensure visual execution aligns with brand strategy, while respecting product design ownership
• This role does not: design products, manage SKU setup or inventory processes, oversee website management or DTC execution, directly manage tradeshows, or function solely as a production-level project manager

 

QUALIFICATIONS | Strategic Thinker + Sports Mindset + Brand Builder

• Bachelo