Paid Media Specialist

Milwaukee Succeeds; Racine (WI); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary with bonus

Paid Time Off & benefits

Tuition assistance

Employee discounts on outdoor products

401(k) with company match

Job summary

Johnson Outdoors seeks a Paid Media Specialist to drive paid media campaigns through hands-on execution, analysis, optimization and reporting. You will monitor performance, identify trends, and translate data into actionable insights for multiple brands from our Racine, WI headquarters with a hybrid schedule.

Collaborate with the Digital Center of Excellence, Brand Management, and external agencies to ensure campaigns are planned, executed, and measured effectively.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree in marketing, business, analytics or equivalent.
• Typically requires a minimum of 2 years' experience in paid media, performance marketing, digital marketing, marketing analytics or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing paid media performance and translating findings into actionable business recommendations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, data manipulation, analysis, and reporting.
• Working knowledge of digital advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, Meta, and YouTube.
• Experience collaborating effectively with agencies, vendors, or other external marketing partners.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to present findings and recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate KPIs across paid media activations to identify growth opportunities.
• Monitor campaign performance and identify trends/outliers; escalate issues as needed.
• Audit campaign structures, targeting, budgets, and audience segmentation.
• Support paid media testing initiatives and apply learnings to future campaigns.
• Coordinate with agency teams and internal stakeholders to implement optimizations.
• Ensure timely and accurate campaign launches.
• Develop and maintain media measurement approaches and reporting standards.
• Validate tracking, conversions, tagging, and reporting accuracy.
• Translate performance data into clear insights and recommendations.
• Track spend, pacing, and delivery across brands and campaigns.
• Conduct pre/post-launch QA for campaign readiness.

Skills

Paid media analysis

Excel proficiency

Digital advertising platforms

Agency collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, analytics or equivalent

Tools

Google Ads

Meta

YouTube

Excel

Job description

At Johnson Outdoors, home to some of the world's most innovative and best-known outdoor recreation brands, we create amazing outdoor experiences - for adventurers, by adventurers. Check out each of the unique Johnson Outdoor brands in Fishing, Watercraft, Camping and Diving!

With 1,300 employees, 18 global facilities, and products sold in more than 80 countries, Johnson Outdoors offers the opportunity to make an impact across a portfolio of iconic outdoor brands.

As our Paid Media Specialist, you'll help drive the performance of paid media campaigns through hands-on campaign execution, analysis, optimization, and reporting. You'll monitor campaign performance, identify trends and opportunities, ensure campaign quality, and turn performance data into actionable insights and recommendations.

Working closely with our Digital Center of Excellence, Brand Management teams, cross-functional partners, and external media agencies, you'll help ensure campaigns are strategically planned, efficiently executed and thoughtfully measured, delivering the insights our brands need to make informed decisions.

This role is based at our corporate headquarters in downtown Racine, Wisconsin, and offers a hybrid work schedule.

Key Responsibilities:

Performance Analysis, Optimization & Insights

• Evaluates key performance indicators across paid media activations to identify growth opportunities, inefficiencies, performance trends, and actionable optimization opportunities.
• Monitors campaign performance and identifies significant outliers, trends, and deviations from expectations, escalating issues and recommending actions as appropriate.
• Routinely audits campaign structures, targeting approaches, audience segmentation, budget allocation, and other key campaign components across brands and paid media channels.
• Supports the planning, execution, measurement, and documentation of paid media testing initiatives, and applies learnings to future campaign strategies.
• Collaborate with the Paid Media Manager, agency partners, and internal stakeholders to prioritize and implement performance improvement opportunities.

Agency Partnership & Campaign Management

• Partners with external paid media agency teams to support accurate campaign execution, optimization, reporting, and planning.
• Supports ongoing agency accountability by identifying campaign issues, data discrepancies, missed opportunities, and areas requiring follow-up.
• Reviews campaign activities, deliverables, media investments, and execution for alignment with approved plans, budgets, timelines, and business priorities.
• Coordinates campaign launch requirements, including required inputs, creative assets, tracking requirements, approvals, and other launch deliverables to support timely and accurate campaign launches

Measurement, Attribution & Reporting

• Supports the development and maintenance of media measurement approaches, reporting standards, and performance benchmarks in collaboration with external advertising agency.
• Validates campaign tracking implementation, conversion measurement, tagging, and reporting accuracy.
• Develop campaign reports, recurring performance updates, and ad hoc analyses that communicate results, trends, opportunities, and business impact to stakeholders.
• Translates performance data into clear, concise, and actionable insights and recommendations.

Paid Media Quality Assurance

• Tracks media investments, spend pacing, and campaign delivery across brands, campaigns, and marketing initiatives.
• Supports pre-launch and post-launch campaign quality assurance to validate campaign setup, targeting, budgets, creative implementation, tracking, landing pages, and other campaign requirements.
• Helps coordinate campaign timelines, deliverables, stakeholder inputs, and approvals to support timely and accurate execution in collaboration with external advertising agency.

Other

• Appropriately uses approved AI and other digital technologies applying an AI-first mindset to enhance work processes, decision-making, communication, and business outcomes. Applies professional judgment and human oversight to AI-generated outputs, and ensures use aligns with company security, privacy, ethical, and governance standards.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

What you need to succeed:

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree in marketing, business, analytics or equivalent.
• Typically requires a minimum of 2 years' experience in paid media, performance marketing, digital marketing, marketing analytics or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing paid media performance and translating findings into actionable business recommendations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, data manipulation, analysis, and reporting.
• Working knowledge of digital advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, Meta, and YouTube.
• Experience collaborating effectively with agencies, vendors, or other external marketing partners.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to present findings and recommendations.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams.
• Working knowledge of role-relevant AI concepts, business applications, tool limitations, and responsible AI principles, including privacy, security, and bias awareness. Ability to use AI tools for analysis, planning, communication, and problem-solving while validating outputs and adapting as tools evolve.

A few pointers about our culture:

• Entrepreneurial spirit and innovation are in our bones! We authentically innovate trusted equipment that gets people out in the great outdoors.
• We are laser-focused on our consumers, and passionate about providing superior solutions flexible to meet any event's needs or mission requirements.
• We strive to create meaningful, healthy change in the world as individuals and as a family of brands.
• We value team members who are willing to wear many hats; who take personal initiative, anticipating what needs to be done, and figuring things out to make them happen; but who are also willing to ask for help, to assist others and work together.

What you will receive:

• Share in the company's success with competitive base salary with additional earning potential through participation in the management bonus program, and eligibility for annual pay increases.
• Find work/life balance with generous Paid Time Off and holiday benefits, a full benefits package, and broad range of employee support and fitness and wellness plans.
• Further your career with performance development and training opportunities, including our tuition assistance program.
• Have fun at work, enjoy a collaborative and casual work environment, participating in fun company events, and taking advantage of great employee discounts on all our outdoor recreational products.
• Plan for your future with our 401(k) with company match and deferred retirement contributions, Sons & Daughters Scholarship program, college savings program, life and LTD insurance, and more.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment at Johnson Outdoors (and all subsidiaries) without regard to race; creed; color; religion; national origin; sex; age; disability; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; genetic predisposition or carrier status; veteran, marital, or citizenship status; or any other status protected by law. Johnson Outdoors is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail] to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

JOHNSON OUTDOORS is a leading global innovator of outdoor recreation equipment and technologies that inspire more people to experience the awe of the great outdoors. The company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of winning, consumer-preferred brands across four categories: Watercraft Recreation, Fishing, Diving and Camping. Johnson Outdoors' iconic brands include: Old Town canoes and kayaks; Ocean Kayak; Carlisle paddles; Minn Kota fishing motors, batteries and anchors; Cannon downriggers; Humminbird marine electronics and charts; SCUBAPRO dive equipment; Jetboil outdoor cooking systems. Founded in 1970 by Samuel C. Johnson, the Company has delivered double-digit compound annual growth over its history, evolving from a single brand into a nearly $663 million global enterprise with around 1,300 employees across 20 countries.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.