Events Marketing Manager

DemandTec is hiring an Events Marketing Manager to own every in-person and virtual touchpoint where we meet our buyers face-to-face. From our marquee industry tradeshows to intimate customer appreciation dinners to virtual activations that make webinars feel like events. This is more than a “logistics and swag” role. You'll be the strategic, connective tissue between Marketing and Sales for every event on the calendar, responsible for turning event spend into qualified pipeline and measurable ROI, and for building the kind of memorable, high-touch experiences (think a virtual wine-tasting paired with thought leadership) that make DemandTec stand out in a crowded retail/CPG tech market.

Reporting directly to the CMO, you'll work closely with Sales, Product Marketing, Product and Customer Success to make sure every event has the right people in the room, a clear pipeline goal, and a plan to convert attendance into opportunities. And, you'll be accountable for proving it out in HubSpot post-event.

Requirements

What You'll Own:

Tradeshows & Industry Conferences

• Own end-to-end planning and execution for our core industry events, including Groceryshop, NRF, NACS, FMI Midwinter, and other Retail/CPG/grocery and convenience-channel shows as our footprint evolves

• Manage the full event lifecycle: contracting, budget, booth strategy and design, sponsorship selection, staffing, shipping/logistics, on-site execution, and post-event wrap-up

• Partner with Sales leadership on pre-show account targeting, hosted meeting programs, and happy hour/VIP moments with priority retail banners and CPG accounts

• Build and manage pre-show, on-site, and post-show campaigns (email, LinkedIn, direct mail) that drive the right attendees to our booth and meetings

Customer Events & Customer Appreciation

• Design and run customer appreciation moments (dinners, receptions, VIP experiences) that deepen relationships with named strategic accounts and support retention/expansion goals

• Support customer validation and advisory sessions in partnership with Customer Success and Product Marketing

Virtual Events & Experiential Activations

• Conceive and produce virtual experiential events that go beyond the standard webinar format. E.g., a hosted virtual cooking class or wine-tasting paired with a short DemandTec presentation. Focus on building relationships with buying-committee personas (category managers, VP Merchandising, Trade Ops, Finance) in a lower-pressure, higher-memorability format

• Own our self-hosted webinar program (Zoom + HubSpot), from topic development with Product Marketing through registration, promotion, run-of-show, and follow-up sequencing

• Partner with Growth & Product Marketing to ensure every virtual event ladders into the active campaign arc, content calendar and product launch sequence

Networking Events

• Plan and execute smaller-format networking events (regional dinners, meetups, industry mixers) that build pipeline in target metro/account clusters between major tradeshows, but also as part of tradeshow strategy as appropriate

Sales Alignment & ROI

• Serve as the primary marketing liaison to Sales on all things events, setting shared attendance and pipeline targets for every event on the calendar and maintaining consistent communication on expectations and goals

• Build a repeatable pre-, during- and post-event playbook, including target account lists (aligned to our Retail and CPG/broker ICPs), lead capture and scoring, and SLA'd follow-up with SDR and AEs

• Track and report event performance in HubSpot against the full funnel (Influenced → MQL → SAL → SQL → Opportunity), with a standing event-to-opportunity conversion metric for every show

• Own the events budget: negotiate contracts and sponsorships, manage spend against plan, and continuously optimize the calendar toward the events and formats that produce the best ROI

What You'll Bring:

• 5-10 years of experience in B2B events, field marketing, or experiential marketing, ideally at a SaaS or tech company selling into Retail, CPG, or grocery/convenience verticals

• A track record of running tradeshow programs (booth strategy through execution) and owning a webinar/virtual events program end-to-end

• Demonstrated ability to partner closely with Sales: setting joint goals, driving the right attendee lists, and being judged on pipeline outcomes, not just attendance counts

• Experience designing creative, non-standard virtual/in-person activations that go beyond format defaults

• Comfort owning a budget and vendor relationships (venues, booth/AV vendors, catering, printers, sponsorship contacts) and negotiating contracts

• Strong project management skills: you can run multiple events in flight simultaneously without dropping details

• Hands-on fluency with HubSpot (or comparable marketing automation/CRM) for campaign build, lead routing, and ROI reporting; Zoom for webinar production

• Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable presenting event plans and post-event results to Sales leadership and the executive team

• Willingness to travel (~25%, event-dependent, including some evenings/weekends around show schedules)

Nice to Have:

• Experience marketing into grocery, CPG, retail, or convenience-store audiences specifically

• Familiarity with account-based marketing (ABM) programs and named-account event targeting

• Experience with lead-capture/badge-scanning tools (e.g., Validar) and event tech stacks

• A portfolio of creative virtual event concepts you've produced

How Success Is Measured:

• Pipeline and revenue sourced/influenced by events, tracked in HubSpot

• Event-to-opportunity conversion rate by show and format

• Event ROI: Cost per opportunity/cost per pipeline dollar by event, used to actively reshape the calendar

• Sales satisfaction with event attendee quality and follow-through

• Growth in customer engagement/retention tied to appreciation and advocacy events