Manager, Audience Engagement & Brand Activation

Prudential Annuities Distributors (PAD); Newark (NJ); On-site; USD 115,000 - 189,000; Full time

Job summary

Prudential Financial, Inc. is seeking an Audience Engagement and Brand Activation Manager to strengthen connections with priority and emerging audiences.

Working with the Director, you will translate insights about needs and motivations into relevant, engaging marketing across campaigns, content, partnerships, and test‑learn initiatives. This hands-on, strategic role requires collaboration across audience insights, brand priorities, and business opportunities, helping teams apply guidance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 5–7 years of marketing experience.
• Experience supporting engagement and activation plans for diverse audiences.
• Strong strategic thinking and synthesis skills for audience insights.
• Experience developing briefs and activation plans for integrated campaigns.
• Ability to partner cross‑functionally with Brand, Content, Comms, Business Marketing, Research, Analytics, Media, Social, Legal/Compliance, and agency teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication and program management skills.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Audience Engagement Support: Contribute to the development of audience engagement and brand activation strategies for priority and emerging audiences, with a focus on Women, Hispanic, Black, and other diverse segments.
• Cross-Functional Partnership & Enablement: Manage the day-to-day alignment of activation plans and deliverables with Director-led audience engagement priorities and relevant growth objectives.
• Integrated Activation Planning & Execution: Lead day-to-day execution of campaigns, pilots, and activations focused on priority audience segments.
• Measurement & Learning: Partner with Analytics to define audience-level success metrics and learning objectives.

Skills

Audience engagement

Brand activation

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Project management

Communication skills

PowerPoint proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Job Classification: Marketing & Communications - Marketing Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU), an industry leader in financial services for more than 150 years, is on a journey to become a higher growth, more nimble company - expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security for more people across the globe. We provide a wide array of financial products and services, ranging from individual life insurance, retirement, and annuities to asset management. With over $1.6 trillion assets under management and office presence in 20 countries across 5 continents, we help customers world-wide develop strategies for growing and protecting wealth. Prudential’s Marketing Organization is integral to the growth of the company, driving deep understanding of customers and delivering experiences that achieve exceptional business outcomes. Come be part of a diverse team of marketers who are passionate about putting customers at the center of everything we do and making their lives better by solving the financial challenges of a changing world.

The Role: The Audience Engagement and Brand Activation Manager will help Prudential build stronger, more meaningful connections with priority and emerging audiences. Working closely with the Director, this person will bring audience understanding into the day-to-day work - helping turn insights about people’s needs, experiences, and motivations into marketing that feels more relevant and engaging. This is a hands-on role for someone who is both a strategic thinker and a strong collaborator. The Manager will connect the dots across audience insights, brand priorities, and business opportunities, then help teams put that thinking into action through campaigns, content, partnerships, and test-and-learn initiatives. Success in this role means making it easier for teams to understand the audiences they serve and apply that understanding in practical ways. The Manager will be a trusted partner and resource, not an approval layer, helping the work resonate more deeply while advancing Prudential’s broader brand and growth priorities.

Responsibilities

• Audience Engagement Support: Contribute to the development of audience engagement and brand activation strategies for priority and emerging audiences, with a focus on Women, Hispanic, Black, and other diverse segments. Synthesize audience intelligence, market research, cultural signals, activation learnings, and business context to support engagement and activation recommendations. Apply identified audience needs, mindsets, barriers, motivations, and opportunities to support activation planning, briefs, messaging recommendations, and campaign development. Partner with Research & Analytics to gather and apply audience intelligence and findings; support the Director in identifying learning needs and developing audience-specific guidance.
• Cross-Functional Partnership & Enablement: Manage the day-to-day alignment of activation plans and deliverables with Director-led audience engagement priorities and relevant growth objectives. Contribute audience engagement expertise to marketing initiatives, helping teams apply relevant guidance without creating an additional approval layer.
• Integrated Activation Planning & Execution: Lead day-to-day execution of campaigns, pilots, and activations focused on priority audience segments. Provide recommendations on when and how to tailor messaging, creative, channel approach, partnerships, language, and content by audience. Partner with creative, media, social, and agency teams to support audience-specific activations that increase relevance, trust, and engagement. Provide cultural and audience input to help reduce risk and improve the effectiveness of marketing programs. Help identify opportunities for audience-specific partnerships, creators, content pilots, and other activation models that can generate learning and inform broader brand strategy.
• Measurement & Learning: Partner with Analytics to define audience-level success metrics and learning objectives. Evaluate campaign and activation performance through an audience engagement lens, including resonance, relevance, engagement, and effectiveness. Help identify patterns and learnings that can inform future briefs, creative development, channel planning, and strategic recommendations. Coordinate test-and-learn initiatives and document what worked, what may scale, and what should be refined for future activation. Manage assigned workstreams for applied learning initiatives, including microsites, creator partnerships, content pilots, and audience-specific tests, and document implications for future audience engagement and brand activation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 5–7 years of relevant experience in marketing, audience strategy, multicultural marketing, brand strategy, communications, advertising, research, or related fields.
• Experience supporting engagement and activation plans for diverse audience segments — including Women, Hispanic, Black, and other diverse audience segments.
• Strong strategic thinking skills and synthesis skills, with the ability to apply audience intelligence, research, data, and cultural trends into clear activation implications.
• Experience developing marketing briefs and activation plans and supporting integrated marketing campaigns, audience‑led activations, content programs, partnerships, or test‑and‑learn initiatives.
• Ability to partner cross‑functionally with Brand, Content, Comms, Business Marketing, Research, Analytics, Media, Social, Legal/Compliance, and agency teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop briefs, POVs, recommendations, presentations, and executive‑ready materials.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to organize complex work across multiple priorities, stakeholders, and timelines.
• Ability to influence through relationships, clear communication, sound judgment, and audience expertise.
• Familiarity with financial services, insurance, retirement, asset management, or regulated industries is beneficial.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite; must be proficient in PowerPoint and comfortable working with Excel.

Our Culture

Prudential Financial, Inc. is focused on creating a fully inclusive culture, where all employees feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. We don’t just accept difference—we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it. At Prudential, employees have a unique opportunity to build their career path by owning their development, their career, and their future. We encourage employees to hone their skills and explore continued opportunities within Prudential.

What we offer you

Prudential is required by state specific laws to include the salary range for this role when hiring a resident in applicable locations. The salary range for this role is from $114,500.00 to $188,900.00. Specific pricing for the role may vary within the above range based on many factors including geographic location, candidate experience, and skills. Market competitive base salaries, with a yearly bonus potential at every level. Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, Paid Time Off (PTO), and leave of absences, such as parental and military leave. 401(k) plan with company match (up to 4%). Company‑funded pension plan. Wellness Programs including up to $1,600 a year for reimbursement of items purchased to support personal wellbeing needs. Work/Life Resources to help support topics such as parenting, housing, senior care, finances, pets, legal matters, education, emotional and mental health, and career development. Education Benefit to help finance traditional college enrollment toward obtaining an approved degree and many accredited certificate programs. Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Shares can be purchased at 85% of the lower of two prices (Beginning or End of the purchase period). Eligibility to participate in a discretionary annual incentive program is subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance. To find out more about our Total Rewards package, visit Work Life Balance | Prudential Careers. Some of the above benefits may not apply to part‑time employees scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week.

Prudential Financial, Inc. of the United States is not affiliated with Prudential plc. which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Prudential is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, marital status, age, veteran status, domestic partner status, medical condition or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please email [e-mail]. If you are experiencing a technical issue with your application or an assessment, please email [e-mail] to request assistance.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a global financial services leader and premier active global investment manager with approximately $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2023, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees help make lives better and create financial opportunity for more people by expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security. Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for 150 years. For more information please visit news.prudential.com. Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace Prudential Financial, Inc. serves its customers in more than 40 countries and territories, and we seek talented, creative individuals from a variety of backgrounds, worldviews, and life circumstances to work with us. We are focused on creating a fully inclusive culture, where all employees feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. We don’t just accept difference—we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it. At Prudential, employees have a unique opportunity to build their career path by owning their development, their career, and their future. We encourage employees to hone their skills and explore continued opportunities within Prudential. PGIM, the global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), is a global investment manager with US $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2023. With offices in 18 countries, PGIM’s businesses offer a range of investment solutions for retail and institutional investors around the world across a broad range of asset classes, including public fixed income, private fixed income, fundamental equity, quantitative equity, real estate, and alternatives. For more information about PGIM, visit pgim.com. Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI) of the United States is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom, or with Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom. For more information please visit news.prudential.com. PGIM Inc. (PGIM) is the principal asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI), a company incorporated and with its principal place of business in the United States. PFI of the United States is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom or with Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom. Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace Prudential Financial, Inc. serves its customers in more than 40 countries and territories, and we seek talented, creative individuals from a variety of backgrounds, worldviews, and life circumstances to work with us. We are focused on creating a fully inclusive culture, where all employees feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. We don’t just accept difference—we celebrate it, support it, and thrive on it. At Prudential, employees have a unique opportunity to build their career path by owning their development, their career, and their future. We encourage employees to hone their skills and explore continued opportunities within Prudential.