Chief Marketing Officer

Magical Candy Cottage; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Magical Candy Cottage, a new experiential destination in New York, seeks a Chief Marketing Officer to craft and lead the brand’s marketing strategy from pre-opening through launch and beyond. You will collaborate with founders to shape brand positioning, audience development, and a data-driven marketing plan across digital, social, PR, influencer partnerships, and CRM.

The role requires strategic vision, creative judgment, and hands-on leadership in a fast-paced, founder-led environment.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading marketing for consumer brands or experiential venues.
• Experience launching and scaling marketing programs across digital, social, PR and paid media.
• Strong leadership with ability to manage budgets and agencies.
• Excellent network within media and cultural partners, ideally NYC-based.

Responsibilities

• Lead brand strategy, positioning, and creative direction aligned with brand identity.
• Set marketing goals, KPIs, and performance benchmarks; report results to founders.
• Own integrated marketing across digital, social, PR, influencer, paid media, and CRM.
• Build budgets, manage agencies, and oversee creative resources with no-AI policy.
• Lead pre-opening and launch, including audience development and activations.
• Recruit and onboard Marketing Director to sustain post-launch execution.

Skills

Brand strategy

Leadership

Digital marketing

Budget management

Audience development

CRM & loyalty

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing

MBA preferred

Tools

CRM platforms

Marketing automation

Analytics tools

Job description

Location: Hybrid — remote and on-site at 836 Broadway, New York, NY

Reports to: Founders

Type: Full-time, executive leadership

About Magical Candy Cottage

Magical Candy Cottage is a new experiential LBE ticketed destination that combines theatrical storytelling, retail, and food and beverage.

Located at 836 Broadway near Union Square, the nearly 20,000-square-foot flagship will bring together an imaginative guest experience, curated retail, unique products, and cultural collaborations designed to resonate with Gen Z and a broader audience.

Developed by established leaders in entertainment and immersive experiences, Magical Candy Cottage is envisioned as both a New York City destination and a brand that can expand beyond its flagship location.

We are seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to build and lead the brand's marketing strategy from pre-opening through launch, establishing Magical Candy Cottage as a must-visit destination in New York City.

The Role

We are seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to build and lead the brand’s marketing strategy ahead of its Q3 2027 opening, and establish Magical Candy Cottage as a must-visit New York City destination.

Working closely with the Founders and executive leadership, the CMO will oversee brand positioning, audience development, marketing strategy, and launch execution. This role requires strategic vision, creative judgment, and the flexibility to be hands-on when needed. The ideal candidate is resourceful, adaptable, and comfortable navigating evolving priorities in a fast-paced, founder-led environment, maintaining open and frequent communication with the Founders to ensure alignment on strategy,

priorities, and execution.

The CMO will lead pre-opening and launch efforts, establish a sustainable post-launch marketing strategy, and recruit a Marketing Director to oversee ongoing execution.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the brand's marketing strategy, positioning, and creative direction, building upon the established brand identity and guidelines.
• Establish clear marketing goals, KPIs, and performance benchmarks, regularly evaluating results and refining strategies to achieve business objectives.
• Own integrated marketing efforts across digital, social, PR, influencer, paid media, and CRM.
• Build and manage marketing budgets, agency relationships, and creative resources, ensuring consistency with the brand's standards and no-AI creative policy.

Pre-Launch & Grand Opening

• Develop and execute a comprehensive pre-launch and grand opening strategy to drive awareness, ticket presales, and attendance.
• Lead audience development, media relations, influencer engagement, and launch activations.
• Run a content engine with weekly output targets and grow a pre-opening community and waitlist that converts at launch.

Performance Metrics & Accountability

• Establish and meet measurable marketing goals, KPIs, and performance benchmarks aligned with business objectives.
• Set and execute against pre-launch audience acquisition targets, including email signups, waitlist growth, and conversion to ticket presales.
• Develop strategies and performance targets to achieve sold-out opening periods and sustain ticket demand beyond launch.
• Set customer retention and repeat visitation targets, supported by CRM, loyalty, and ongoing engagement initiatives.
• Own marketing ROI, customer acquisition costs, conversion rates, and revenue attribution, regularly report results, and optimize performance in collaboration with executive leadership.

Partnerships & Growth

• Develop cultural and brand partnerships with artists, designers, creators, and relevant consumer brands.
• Collaborate with the President of Product on merchandise launches, exclusives, and retail storytelling.
• Work with the MCC’s Partnerships Agency on licensing and co-branded initiatives.
• Develop and drive marketing strategies for retail, food and beverage, private events, group sales, and tourism.

Team & Marketing Operations

• Establish the marketing infrastructure, systems, resources, and processes required to support launch and ongoing operations.
• Recruit and onboard a Marketing Director to manage day-to-day marketing following launch, ensuring a smooth transition and long-term continuity.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of marketing experience, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven success launching and scaling consumer brands, experiential destinations, or retail and entertainment concepts.
• Strong understanding of the experiential entertainment landscape, consumer trends, and Gen Z audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to build and execute integrated marketing strategies across digital, social, influencer, PR, and paid media.
• Experience managing marketing budgets, agencies, creative teams, and commercial performance.
• Strong network across media, influencers, creative agencies, and cultural partners, ideally within New York City.
• Excellent creative judgment, cultural fluency, and the ability to translate brand storytelling into measurable commercial results.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, founder-led environment with a lean team.

Nice to Have

• Licensing, brand collaborations, or IP-driven consumer brands.
• Launching flagship locations or building brands with national or international reach.

Success in the First Year Looks Like

• Strong brand awareness, pre-opening engagement, and a successful Q3 2027 launch.
• Measurable marketing contributions to ticket sales, attendance, and revenue.
• Sustained brand relevance and customer engagement beyond opening.
• An established marketing team and infrastructure positioned for continued growth.