Senior Manager, Creative & Cultural Insights

PepsiCo; New York, Providence (NY, RI); On-site; USD 118,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Manager of Creative & Cultural Insights to enhance brand strategy through actionable insights and data analysis. This pivotal role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams to translate complex data into compelling narratives that drive creative excellence. The ideal candidate will possess a strong analytical mindset and a passion for culture, particularly within the Gen Z and Millennial demographics. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are eager to influence strategic decisions, this opportunity could be your next career milestone.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Paid parental leave

Paid time off

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Defined Contribution Retirement Plan

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in consumer insights or strategy.
• Proven track record in applying cultural insights to creative development.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of insights that power brand strategy.
• Own social listening strategy and identify consumer behavior shifts.

Skills

Analytical Skills

Strategic Thinking

Communication Skills

Storytelling

Cultural Intelligence

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing

Advanced degree

Tools

Brandwatch

Sprinklr

Tableau

Power BI

Job description

Overview

Who We Are!

The Studio is PepsiCo Beverages North America’s in-house creative agency. We bring culture-shaping, award-winning work to life across iconic brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubly, Mug, and Starry.

Our Opportunity!

The Manager of Creative & Cultural Insights will play a critical role in supporting the Brand Planners and the broader in-house agency team by providing actionable insights, data analysis, and strategic recommendations to inform creative briefs, campaigns, and brand strategy.

This role will focus on gathering consumer, market, and cultural insights, as well as supporting social listening initiatives to enhance the creative process. This position requires a strong balance of strategic thinking, data-driven analysis, collaboration with cross-functional teams and sharp creative instincts.

Responsibilities

Strategic Insight Leadership & Creative Brief Development:

• Lead the development of foundational and campaign-specific insights that power brand strategy and creative excellence across priority initiatives.
• Act as a senior thought partner to Brand Strategists and Creative Directors, shaping briefs with compelling, consumer-rooted narratives and forward-looking cultural intelligence.
• Design and oversee custom research initiatives (quantitative, qualitative, social) that drive a deeper understanding of audiences and unlock white space opportunities.
• Ensure insights not only inspire great creative but ladder back to brand positioning, marketing strategy, and business outcomes.

Social Listening, Trend Forecasting & Cultural Intelligence:

• Own and evolve the social listening strategy, identifying nuanced shifts in consumer behavior, competitive context, and category dynamics across platforms.
• Translate signal into strategy: synthesize cultural and consumer trends into concise POVs that inform creative workstreams, brand planning, and long-range innovation.
• Oversee the creation of regular culture and trend reporting for the broader marketing organization, helping teams stay fluent in fast-changing cultural conversations.
• Partner with insights and platform partners to continuously refine and expand the tools and methodologies used.

Influence & Cross-Functional Integration:

• Serve as a strategic connector across marketing, creative, media, and shopper teams—ensuring insights are embedded across the entire brand ecosystem.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior marketers and creative leaders, helping guide decisions with a strong POV and storytelling finesse.
• Translate complex data and research findings into digestible narratives that drive clarity, creativity, and alignment in high-stakes settings.

Team & Capability Building:

• Mentor and support junior insights talent, fostering a culture of curiosity, rigor, and relevance.
• Contribute to the growth of the broader Creative & Cultural Insights discipline, evolving best practices, identifying capability gaps, and championing new tools or approaches.

Compensation and Benefits:

• The expected compensation range for this position is between $118,700 - $198,800.
• Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process.
• Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 15% of annual salary paid out annually.
• Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement.
• In addition to salary, PepsiCo offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Data Science, Cultural Studies or related field; advanced degree a plus.
• 10+ years of experience in consumer insights, strategy, or social intelligence, ideally in a CPG or agency environment.
• Proven track record of applying cultural and consumer insight to influence creative development and strategic decision-making.
• Strong fluency with social listening tools (e.g., Brandwatch, Sprinklr), syndicated research platforms, and cultural monitoring frameworks.

Skills & Expertise:

• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to distill ambiguity into clarity.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, especially in crafting persuasive presentations for senior stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of modern culture, media behaviors, and consumer mindsets—especially in the Gen Z and Millennial cohorts.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, matrixed organization and managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) a plus.

Mindset & Approach:

• Naturally curious with a deep passion for culture, human behavior, and creative work.
• Proactive, collaborative, and solutions-oriented—able to build consensus and inspire action across diverse teams.
• Thrives at the intersection of data and storytelling, combining analytical rigor with empathy and intuition.

>

Our Company will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable laws, including but not limited to, San Francisco Police Code Sections 4901-4919, commonly referred to as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance; and Chapter XVII, Article 9 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, commonly referred to as the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.

PepsiCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Female / Minority / Disability / Protected Veteran / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity

If you'd like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please download the availableEEO is the Law&EEO is the Law Supplementdocuments. ViewPepsiCo EEO Policy.

Please view ourPay Transparency Statement