IRON CITY DISTILLING/BESSEMER WHISKEY MARKETING MANAGER
Iron City Distilling
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Reports To: Vice President of Marketing
Department: Events, Marketing & Experiential
POSITION SUMMARY
The Marketing Manager is responsible for the planning, coordination, execution, and promotion of all events and marketing initiatives for Iron City Distilling. This role blends event logistics leadership with hands-on marketing execution, including social media content creation, digital analytics, paid media placement, email marketing, and loyalty program development.
All work must align with and uphold Iron City Distilling brand standards and visual guidelines but keep in mind the organic approach to the ICD non-sterile brand identity.
The Marketing Manager serves as the event lead for all activations-overseeing logistics from concept through post-event reporting while also driving digital engagement, brand storytelling, and customer growth across social and email platforms.
This position requires a highly organized, creative, and detail-driven individual who thrives in a fast-paced hospitality and beverage environment and can execute both operationally and strategically.
The job responsibilities could be subject to change as the Bessemer Brands evolve.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Event Strategy-Guest Experience, Planning & Execution
- Work with President and VP of Marketing to develop and maintain a master calendar for all events and social media initiatives and to ensure an excellent guest experience at all events. Facilitate customer surveys after each event to ensure continued event experience success and implement feedback that should be considered for future events.
- Lead planning and execution of:
- Concerts and live entertainment
- Pairing parties
- Private events
- Community activations
- Ticketed experiences
- Oversee all event logistics including:
- Site layouts
- Run-of-show documentation
- Vendor coordination
- Production timelines
- Permits and compliance
- Book all talent and entertainment
- Hire & oversee caterers; manage catering contracts & on-site performance
- Staff events and coordinate volunteers or contracted personnel
- Manage load-in/load-out and day-of event execution
- Serve as on-site event lead and primary operational decision maker
- Conduct post-event recaps including attendance, revenue, and operational performance
- Vendor, Talent & Catering Management
- Negotiate and book talent, musicians, DJs, speakers, and entertainers as well as coordinate all internal guests such as distillers
- Source and hire caterers aligned with brand standards
- Oversee caterer operations during events to ensure service quality
- Manage vendor agreements, timelines, and deliverables
- Coordinate production partners (AV, staging, lighting as needed)
- Social Media, Digital Content Management and Graphic Design
- Develop and execute a structured social media calendar in partnership with VP of Marketing
- Handle all graphic design for social media in accordance with ICD brand standard guidelines
- Curate and create engaging content including:
- Reel videos and Real-time event coverage
- Determine social media cadence and consistency
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Promotional videos
- Capture photography at events and conduct professional photo edits
- Manage real-time social posting during events
- Place social media ad buys with oversight from VP of Marketing
- Monitor performance and optimize paid campaigns
- Maintain brand voice and consistency across platforms
- Email Marketing & Communications
- Create and deploy weekly e-blasts via Mailchimp
- Develop and manage email segmentation strategies
- Build and upload all content for weekly Chamber Chatter communications
- Deliver monthly email performance analytics
- Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion metrics
- Optimize campaigns based on performance data
- Merchandise Planning & Inventory Collaboration
- Work with the VP of Marketing on ordering and developing branded merchandise
- Assist in identifying new merchandise concepts aligned with seasonal campaigns and event programming
- Coordinate merchandise timelines to support events, activations, and promotions at on and off premise accounts (retail and trade)
- Ensure merchandise aligns with brand standards and visual identity guidelines
- Support inventory tracking and reporting as needed
- Analytics & Performance Reporting
- Monitor and report on:
- Google Analytics
- SEO
- Meta Analytics
- Paid media performance
- Social engagement metrics
- Email marketing KPIs
- Deliver monthly marketing analytics reports
- Provide event ROI analysis and digital campaign summaries
- Recommend data-driven improvements to increase traffic and revenue
- Loyalty Program Development & Growth
- Partner with President and VP of Marketing to develop and launch a customer loyalty program
- Execute implementation strategy
- Manage database growth and member engagement
- Create loyalty-focused promotions and incentives
- Track participation and revenue impact
- Provide monthly loyalty program performance reporting
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Align event programming with brand launches and seasonal initiatives
- Coordinate content capture opportunities with internal teams
- Support distributor and account-level activations when required
- Ensure marketing assets are delivered on schedule for promotional campaigns
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- 3–6+ years of experience in event coordination and/or marketing
- Proven experience managing event logistics from start to finish
- Strong social media content creation experience (Reels, video, photography)
- Experience managing paid social campaigns
- Proficiency in Mailchimp or similar email marketing platforms
- Working knowledge of Canva, Cut Cup, Google Analytics and Meta Ads Manager
- Strong organizational and multitasking skills
Preferred
- Beverage alcohol, hospitality, or entertainment industry experience
- Experience managing loyalty programs
- Experience booking talent and entertainment
TRAITS & CHARACTERISTICS
- Highly organized and deadline-driven
- Creative storyteller with strong visual instincts
- Operationally disciplined
- Data-driven mindset
- Strong negotiator and vendor manager
- Comfortable working nights and weekends for events
- Calm and decisive under pressure
- Strong communicator and collaborative team player
SUCCESS METRICS
- Event attendance growth and Paid ROI
- Event profitability and budget adherence
- Social media engagement and follower growth
- Exceeding Guest Experience
- Email performance metrics
- Loyalty program enrollment and retention growth
- Revenue contribution from events and marketing initiatives
- Brand visibility and community engagement
