Manager, Media Strategy

Mars United℠ Commerce is a global commerce marketing practice that aligns people, technology, and intelligence to make the business of our clients better today than it was yesterday. Our worldwide capabilities coalesce into four key disciplines — Strategy & Analytics, Content & Experiences, Digital Commerce, and Retail Consultancy — that individually deliver unmatched results for clients and collectively give them an unparalleled network of seamlessly integrated functions across the entire commerce marketing ecosystem. These disciplines are powered by our industry-leading technology platform, Marilyn®, which helps marketers understand the total business impact of their commerce marketing activation, enabling them to make better decisions, create connected experiences, and drive stronger, measurable results.

About the role

Mars United Commerce is seeking a Manager, Commerce Media to support our Grocery business, with a primary focus on Kroger and secondary support for Publix and The Home Depot. This role is responsible for RFP’ing, briefing, execution, and management of managed service media. This role will also brief and partner with the self-service media team to review, optimize, and report on media executions.

Candidates must reside within commutable distance to one of our offices in Chicago or Cincinnati for a hybrid work schedule. This role requires regular in-person engagement with client teams, with a minimum of one day per week, increasing to two days per week in alignment with broader Publicis in-office expectations. These are minimum expectations and may increase based on business and client needs.

Responsibilities

• Kroger Retail Media Network (Primary Focus)
  • Lead activation recommendations within Kroger’s managed service ecosystem, including Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) and 84.51.
  • Apply strong working knowledge of Kroger Ad Platform (KAP), Prism, and CAAM.
  • Own strategy and executional focus for Targeted Onsite Ads (TOAs) as a primary driver, with secondary emphasis on offsite display and paid social executed through Kroger-managed service platforms.
  • Ensure campaign setup, targeting, creative specifications, pacing, and measurement are compliant with retailer requirements and optimized for performance.
• Cross-Retailer Support (Secondary Focus)
  • Provide secondary retail media support across Publix (including experience via The Goodway Group) and The Home Depot, including Orange Apron Media.
  • Apply cross-retailer learnings while accounting for differences in execution models, reporting, and media capabilities.
• RMN-First Activation & Complementary Third-Party Media
  • Lead recommendations that prioritize retailer-owned RMN capabilities, layering in relevant third-party partners only when they strengthen the shopper or promotion-led strategy.
  • Maintain familiarity with complementary partners that support shopper and promotion-led activation (e.g., Ogury, Promopoint, RRD, Fetch, Hip2Save, Krazy Coupon Lady), while ensuring RMNs remain the foundation of all plans.
• RFP Leadership & Strategic POV
  • Lead retailer and vendor RFP processes, developing inputs, evaluating proposals, and delivering clear client POVs with supporting rationale on how best to proceed.
  • Manage annual vendor and retailer partnerships to ensure competitive rates, strong added value, and test-and-learn innovation opportunities.
• Budget Ownership, Measurement & Optimization
  • Own detailed budget allocation, flighting, and governance across programs.
  • Ensure all client-facing documentation is accurate and all savings and value-adds are clearly documented.
  • Define KPIs and measurement frameworks aligned to RMN reporting, monitor in-market performance, identify optimizations, and deliver insights-driven performance readouts with clear recommendations.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner closely with the Retail Consultancy team and in-store media activation partners to define the end-to-end shopper and consumer journey.
  • Collaborate with creative, strategy, analytics, and client leadership teams to bring media thought starters, RMN solutions, and innovation ideas to life at retail.

Note: Search activation is not a core responsibility for this role.

Requirements

• Required
  • Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, communications, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • 3-5 years of experience in retail media, shopper marketing, or consumer promotions within an agency or client-facing environment.
  • Kroger retail media experience required, including familiarity with Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) and 84.51; hands-on activation experience strongly preferred.
  • Retail Media Network (RMN) experience is foundational, including managed service execution and retailer-specific workflows.
  • Strong ability to deliver client-ready recommendations, with clear communication, strong POV development, and confident presentation skills.
  • High attention to detail with strong quantitative skills and advanced proficiency in Excel/Sheets and PowerPoint/Slides.
• Preferred
  • Experience with Publix retail media, particularly through The Goodway Group.
  • Experience with The Home Depot retail media, including Orange Apron Media.
  • Familiarity with third-party platforms that complement promotion-led retail media activation.

Benefits

• Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more.
• Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy, and Fertility.
• Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption.
• Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements.
• Tuition Assistance.
• Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off, Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more.
• Matching Gifts programs.
• Flexible working arrangements and ‘Work Your World’ Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility).
• Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances.

The benefits offerings listed are available to eligible U.S.-based employees and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents. Voluntary benefit options include supplemental medical insurance, transportation, and parking benefits, legal benefits, pet insurance, and auto and home insurance. You must be actively employed for 90 consecutive calendar days in order to be eligible for Publicis medical and voluntary benefits. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan and 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met.

Pay

Compensation Range: USD $75,050.00 - USD $97,565.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.