Performance Marketing Manager

ESPN; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

ESPN in Burbank, CA is seeking a Performance Marketing Manager to drive data-driven campaigns across Disney brands. You’ll collaborate with cross-functional teams, agencies, and platforms to plan, execute, and optimize programmatic and social media activations.

The role emphasizes audience strategy, analytics, and emerging advertising tech, with four days in-office and flexibility to work from home on Fridays.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in advertising media, performance marketing, or paid social.
• Experience with digital platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, DV360, Trade Desk.
• Strong data analysis and ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or related field.

Responsibilities

• Plan, execute, optimize, and analyze performance marketing campaigns across Disney brands.
• Partner with internal teams and agencies to ensure strategic design and optimization.
• Develop omni-channel audience data strategies including first/second/third-party data.
• Manage bidding, pacing, and optimization across major platforms.
• Share insights and benchmarks with Marketing Science and Analytics teams.
• Maintain cross-functional collaboration to improve marketing results.

Skills

Media analytics

Data interpretation

Excel

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or related

Tools

Google Ads

DV360

Trade Desk

Facebook/Instagram

TikTok

Job description

Performance Marketing Manager

About the Role & Team

Performance Marketing is an internal cross‑functional team within The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) Marketing team. The Performance Marketing team leverages developing and maturing ad technologies to achieve remarkable data‑driven results within auction‑based or otherwise addressable media platforms while supporting other paid media and marketing efforts with insights, recommendations, and innovative marketing technologies.

The Performance Marketing division includes Marketing Technology and Marketing Science who help drive innovation, as well as Marketing Strategy & Operations, Marketing Analytics, and Marketing Compliance who ground the overall team in the business. Together, we strive and collaborate for continuous improvement in advertising effectiveness and efficiency while protecting and enhancing the magical brands of The Walt Disney Company.

This role sits within the Performance Marketing Strategy & Operations team and will partner closely with internal marketing teams, media agencies and performance marketing activation partners to drive value for a diverse portfolio of Disney brands.

What You Will Do

As part of a collaborative performance marketing pod, you will support the planning, execution, optimization, and analysis of performance marketing campaigns across the Disney enterprise. You’ll work alongside marketing, analytics, technology, agency partners, and platform vendors to ensure campaigns are strategically designed, operationally sound, and continuously optimized for success, while helping establish best practices and advancing innovative approaches to performance marketing.

This role is ideal for a data‑driven marketer who enjoys working at the intersection of audience strategy, media activation, analytics, and emerging advertising technologies.

Responsibilities

• Working directly under and with a Performance Marketing Senior Team Lead to build and implement performance marketing strategy for different brands under the Disney Enterprise
• Manage, build and implement holistic, omni‑platform audience data strategy - inclusive of first‑party, second‑party, and third‑party data
• Manage, build and implement auction bid, pacing, and optimization strategies to improve media performance
• Proactively identify and interpret key media performance drivers, and deliver insights to optimize spend and performance of media as aligned with business goals
• Manage ad buying platforms including Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Snapchat, TikTok, Google Ads, Google Campaign Manager 360, Search Ads 360, Google DV360, and The Trade Desk – as well as interface and partner effectively with internal and external sales and ad operations teams associated with each
• Implement ongoing, rigorous test and learn cadence to benchmark and improve performance marketing in partnership with Marketing Science and Marketing Analytics to benchmark the performance of current strategies and tactics or to explore and prove out new approaches and opportunities
• Interpret, analyze and share analyses and learnings from titles, data testing, and performance marketing campaigns in partnership with Marketing Science and Media Agency Analytics teams
• Working cross‑functionally with multiple internal media and marketing teams as well as our external media agency to continuously improve and achieve success across all marketing efforts
• Participating as a member of a cohesive and collaborative, cross‑functional Performance Marketing team
• Maintain day‑to‑day communication with the media agency performance marketing activation teams in order to ensure proper implementation of performance marketing campaign
• Support internal teams when necessary with ad‑hoc projects
• Maintaining and sharing knowledge of media technology, buying platforms and analytics tools with pod members and other relevant business stakeholders
• Maintaining and sharing knowledge of performance marketing business processes with pod members and other relevant business stakeholders

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Minimum of 7+ years of experience in advertising media (primarily digital), performance marketing, media analytics, or paid social/search/programmatic auction buying
• Experience working with digital advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook/Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, DSPs (Google DV360, Trade Desk, Yahoo, Amazon), Innovid, LiveRamp, or similar technologies
• Strong understanding of the digital advertising ecosystem, including audience targeting, attribution, measurement, and optimization methodologies
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex data sets and generate actionable insights
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem‑solving skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present findings to diverse stakeholders
• Self‑driven, accountable, well‑organized, detailed‑oriented individual
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects effectively that meet deadlines within a fast‑paced environment
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Knowledge of digital campaign implementation, tracking, tagging, and ad‑serving fundamentals

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using SQL
• Experience with data visualization tools such as Tableau
• Experience using Airtable
• Experience supporting performance marketing campaigns for entertainment, media, direct‑to‑consumer, or consumer‑facing brands
• Experience working with cross‑functional teams to translate business needs into data requirements
• Experience working with media agencies and external activation partners
• Exposure to marketing experimentation, incrementality testing, or advanced measurement methodologies
• Passion for entertainment and The Walt Disney Company

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Analytics, Business, Communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience

Additional Information

• This role sits in the Burbank office 4 days a week from Monday through Thursday with flexibility to work from home on Fridays.
• Location: Burbank, CA, USA