Director, Trade Marketing
Description
Cronos Group is an innovative global cannabinoid company with international production and distribution across five continents. Cronos Group is committed to building disruptive intellectual property by advancing cannabis research, technology, and product development. With a passion to responsibly elevate the consumer experience, Cronos Group is building an iconic brand portfolio. Cronos Group’s portfolio includes PEACE NATURALS™, a global health and wellness platform, and adult-use brands, Spinach™ and Lord Jones™
At Cronos Group, we hire talented people who thrive on solving difficult problems and give them the opportunity to hone new skills and approaches. If you want to play a part in shaping an innovative industry and help build a historically significant company, we want to meet you.
The Director of Trade Marketing NA will lead and inspire the creation and execution of the company’s Annual Trade Marketing strategy in NA focused on driving significant business growth, brand advocacy and brand awareness ultimately contributing to the organization’s financial targets. Leading the Trade team in North America, you will own the development and implementation of all strategic plans and Trade initiatives across all sales channels, and the analysis and reporting on KPI’s. In collaboration with Marketing, you will lead the development of the Visual Merchandising strategy across the Cronos portfolio of brands and products in all North American distribution channels, adult use and medical and manage the execution of the VMS across all retail banners with a focus on improving customer experience and driving sales with executional excellence. As part of the sales leadership team, you will own the design, implementation, and development of KPI’s and associated performance tracking tools to develop a best-in-class promotional calendar and deliver on business building programs.
This position is based out of Remote, Canada
What you’ll be doing:
- Lead and inspire the creation and execution of the company’s Annual Trade Marketing strategy /plan, which will increase shopper engagement and influence them to “buy more” while complying with the regulations and aligning to specific customer needs by unique sales channel
- Create and implement key steps and timelines for developing the Annual Commercial Plan in North America, which includes but not limited to leading the identification of Trade opportunities to ensure that brand impact is maximized
- Own the creation of all trade marketing campaigns while establishing budgets for POS that align directly to customer needs by unique sales channel
- Design key business strategies for all sales channels within North America that will enhance the position of our brands by leveraging a superior understanding of customers, and consumers, market dynamics, shelf sets, and best in class merchandising strategies
- Lead all negotiations with vendors and identify sustainable long-term strategy for creation and distribution of all Trade materials and in store assets for NA business. (3PL identification and contract negotiation, PAR levels for trade assets, fulfillment portal development, budget requirements, user access/permissions etc.)
- Own relationship with 3PL
- Work with customer teams and finance to identify, quantify, and reconcile opportunities and Trade promotions focused on delivering sustainable ROI
- Head up the optimization and efficiency of trade spends within NA focused on ROI and significant business growth
- Work with sales analytics, sales leadership, and supply chain across NA to set annual gross revenue targets against promotions and ensure these are captured in demand planning initiatives (URD, S&OP)
- Accountable for developing formalized process to ensure all sales forecasts are inclusive of promotional initiatives throughout NA
- Effectively use research data (where available), to develop actionable insights to drive better retail strategies related to the 4 P’s with an emphasis on promotion
- Curate and implement all retail marketing materials and display vehicles for North America
- Own the management and communication of agency and in house Creative teams relationships for POS materials including accountabilities to writing briefs
- Evaluate ROI on all shopper/trade initiatives and provide regular feedback to direct reports and sales leadership
- Own the post program review process of all Sales/Trade led promotions and activations by sales channel focused on continuous improvement, enhanced ROI and general sales performance metrics: new distribution, retention of distribution, product velocity etc.
- Actively participates and delegates accountabilities within the Trade team within our commercialization and project management PODs on behalf of the sales department
- Own the creation of trade elements for new product launches: including path to launch, product samples, listing information and submissions, sell sheets, sales decks, POS, and all required educational tools for customers and sales team
- Develop and evolve our perfect launch program, intended to support best in class commercialization
- Create reporting tools supported by Reporting and Analytics team to review post promotion evaluation analysis and report back to all key stake holders the KPI results, key success factors and opportunities to improve effectiveness
- Support National Accounts team with sales pitches for new products, capturing customer insights and developing programs and tools satisfying buyer objections
- Create a best in class learning and development platform for NA sales team focused on features, benefits, selling stories, RTB’s etc
- Develop and implement training programs for field sales managers and sales representatives to continuously improve their skills and knowledge about the products and the market.
- Client Feedback Integration: Gather customer feedback through field teams and sales management and integrate that information into the sales process and promotions to improve service offerings and sales strategies.
- Grow and maintain an in-depth knowledge of the retail industry, competition, and shopper/trade trends/insights to influence and maximize program impact
- Cultivate best in class relationships with customers at every level across all sales channels and establish Cronos as Licensed Producer of choice
- Sales Onboarding: Ensure that new hires in the field sales organization are onboarded effectively, with the right tools, resources, and mentorship to succeed quickly.
- Lead direct reports effectively by clearly communicating roles and responsibilities, expectations, and deliverables
- Ad hoc duties as required
You’ll need to have:
- 8+ years of senior level experience with Trade/Shopper Marketing in CPG, Cannabis, Alcohol or Tobacco
- Experienced people manager with multiple direct reports
- University education combined with training in Marketing, Business Management and Trade/Shopper Marketing
- Strong familiarity with the sales channels within the Cannabis or Beverage Alcohol industry across NA preferred
- Deep understanding of sales processes, methodologies, and performance metrics.
- Excellent at building relationships with customers and key stakeholders, ensuring customer needs are met and exceeded.
- Innovate Sales Practices: Champion innovative ideas and approaches to sales execution, keeping the team ahead of competitors and responsive to industry changes.
- Set agenda and chart course forward in a lean team environment
- Experienced in navigating through a highly regulated & competitive industry
- Knowledgeable on industry procedures and regulations, Advertising Standard Council (ASC) codes and Provincial/State regulations governing Cannabis marketing and promotions
- Experience managing a budget & P&L
- Excellent communication & time management skills to manage multiple stakeholders effectively while working with little supervision
- Proven track record in brand/category/portfolio management
- Excellent leadership capabilities with strong presentation and interpersonal skills
- Proven ability to lead, coach, develop and inspire a team
- Computer literacy: Microsoft Office software (Excel, Power Point, Word, Outlook).
- Read/analyze consumer research and syndicated data and trends
- A confident, data driven problem-solver with exceptional analytical skills
- Travel 15% of the time
We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, and we welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and people with diverse backgrounds, identities, and cultures. For candidates with disabilities, accommodations are available upon request in all phases of the selection process.