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In one of the coolest email marketing jobs around, we are working with Academy Sports + Outdoors in their search for an Email Marketing Manager based in Katy, Texas, just 36 minutes from Houston. Ranked #119 in Forbes list of America’s Largest Private Companies, Academy Sports operates 161 stores across the southeastern United States. These stores offer a broad selection of equipment, apparel, and footwear at everyday low prices — a formula that has allowed the company to become a leader in the sporting goods industry. Check out Academy’s latest TV ad …
The company seeks a world class Email Marketing Manager to create and implement strategic action plans; manage team members, measure and analyze program results, and iterate on program changes to optimize results.
HARRY’S COMMENTS: Academy Sports + Outdoors is a sporting and outdoor goods retailer based in Katy, Texas.
Apart from operating 161 retail outlets, Academy launched its ecommerce website, Academy.com, in 2011. Academy also provides services such as credit cards, gift cards, and hunting and fishing licenses. The company’s product portfolio includes footwear, outdoor sporting and camping apparel and equipment, sports equipment, fitness accessories, golf, hunting, fishing and boating accessories, in addition to offering pet care products such as beds, carriers, kennel, toys, food and training products.
The Academy Sports + Outdoors’ vision is to be the premier sports, outdoor and lifestyle store of choice, continuously adapting to its customers’ changing needs. The company’s mission is comprised of three parts:
- To deliver an unparalleled shopping experience by providing convenience, offering a broad selection of quality products, delivering exceptional customer service, and selling at everyday low prices.
- To know its customers. Customers are Academy’s number one priority as it strives to be the retail destination they can trust.
- To respect its associates by creating opportunities for personal growth and career advancement, while promoting teamwork in an enjoyable and rewarding work environment.
Each aspect of Academy’s mission statement informs what the company seeks to accomplish through its digital commerce initiatives. The stakes are really high: The US retail sporting goods industry includes about 20,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $38 billion. Major players in this space include Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and REI – a veritable murderers’ row of omnichannel commerce retailers. Each of these players is formidable, but Academy has accomplished amazing things in a very short period of time.
About the Role
Historically, Academy’s email initiatives have been managed by tactically oriented team members. Now, the company seeks to get more strategic with this channel. For example, Academy plans to move from “batch and blast” tactics where every recipient receives the same version of an email to “smarter” triggered emails that are more consistent, relevant, anticipated, and personal …
- Where fishing enthusiasts get fishing emails.
- Hunters get hunting emails.
- Cyclists get cycling emails … and more.
- … all customized by demographic, region, season, purchasing history, etc.
Additionally, the volume of work within Academy’s ecom team has exploded as the site has gotten traction in the marketplace. In addition to this Email Marketing Manager, the firm plans to add a dedicated web designer as well as a second email specialist. In the end, the company will have an e-mail team of 4 people.
Academy has several projects under way with Exact Target, and we have lots of information about how you can hit the ground running in this position. Additionally, we have quite a bit of information about Academy’s email house file size, cadence, production issues, revenues, bounce rates, and more. Just ask for those when you apply below.
At the end of the day …
This role is perfect for someone who is excited by the opportunity to grow personally and professionally with a great team. Academy Sports + Outdoor has had two straight years of 100% growth, and the firm expects to stay on this trajectory for the next two years (at least). Academy Sports is a $4 billion company, and ecommerce revenue is still a fraction of total company sales.
In other words, there’s a MASSIVE opportunity to grow the online business — and you can be a big part of that story.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Building out test plans and apply direct response techniques to optimize email performance through A/B testing, consumer life cycle management, personalization, creative, and dynamic content population.
- Partnering with internal teams to develop and maintain email and communication templates and source relevant content (images, promos, and landing pages) for email marketing campaigns.
- Ownership of on-time email messaging, development, deployment, quality assurance, and testing for all of our campaign initiatives.
- Proactively reviewing deliverability, CAN/SPAM compliance, and permission-based marketing compliance.
- Tracking and communicating weekly, monthly, and quarterly forecasts and results
- Developing segmentation and cadence recommendations based on consumer demographic and behavioral data.
- Articulating and championing email marketing best practices and standards throughout our organization
- Learning and conforming to company policies, procedures, and safety rules.
- Duties may change and associates may be required to perform other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- BS/BA in Marketing or related field, or equivalent job experience
- Hands on experience with enterprise level Email Service Providers (ESPs) required, preferably ExactTarget
- Expert in all aspects of email marketing including deliverability, design/layout, key metrics, laws, industry-wide trends, and best practices
- Experience with web analytics / measurement tools and tracking software
- Exceptional editorial skills
- Excel and HTML experience required
- Experience in direct mail and social media is a plus
- Proactive, self-starter who is driven by metrics and analysis
- Ability to work on multiple tasks and projects effectively
UPDATE: THIS SEARCH IS CLOSED.
PS – If you’re thinking about changing jobs this year (through us or anyone else), you might want to check out this post on why even TOP candidates get rejected.
