Crawford Group ( is seeking an Experiential Event Strategist Program Lead to join our client's team. Our client, a leading brand in the spirits category, is building a field marketing and ambassador program designed to show up with energy, relevance and discipline where legal drinking age (LDA) consumers gather - bars, nightlife districts, game day environments, festivals, and other high-impact social moments. Must know beverage industry activation in Spirits with willingness to travel across Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Tallahassee, and Madison priority markets as needed.
This is not a traditional sampling role, and we are not looking for someone to staff a table. We are looking for a strategic operator who can build the program from the ground up and run it day to day across eight priority markets; owning strategy, staffing, activation, compliance, budget and reporting.
The ideal candidate is a self-directed program builder who is equally comfortable designing a market model in a planning deck and troubleshooting a live activation on the ground. They understand how to operate with discipline inside a regulated alcohol category while still creating moments that feel social, energetic and brand-right.
This person will serve as the primary point of contact for the client and the connective tissue between brand strategy and in-market execution, leading a field team that includes a dedicated Program Manager and market-level event managers.
About Crawford Group:
We are revolutionizing how marketing gets done! Crawford Group provides expert marketing, digital, creative, events, and communications talent solutions for marketers. Our customers want flexibility in their workforce solutions and need experts with the skills and capabilities to deliver on revenue and pipeline growth through marketing activities. At Crawford Group we believe in developing collaborative customer relationships to create the best talent solution for their marketing organization's needs.
Responsibilities:
Pre-Event - Strategy & Program Build:
Program Strategy:
- Develop the overall field marketing strategy and program framework for the client, then execute and manage against the approved plan for 8 priority markets: Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Tallahassee, and Madison.
- Lead and manage the program's field team, including a dedicated Program Manager and market-level brand ambassadors - setting direction, delegating execution, timeline, training, and holding the team accountable to brand standards, compliance, and performance across all markets.
- Recommend the right staffing and coverage model across the eight priority markets - Phoenix, Chicago, Philadelphia, Tallahassee, Kansas City, Boston, Denver and Madison - including ambassador counts, activation cadence, dedicated vs. shared management, and where travel or flexible staffing makes sense. Advise where the program should run heaviest, where coverage can be lighter, and whether additional markets should be considered.
- Partner with client-side and internal stakeholders, attend planning meetings, and keep the program aligned to brand priorities.
- Build and manage a master event calendar with 90-day, 180-day and annual views, balancing always-on activity with major tentpole and game day moments.
- Identify and vet priority bars, nightlife districts, local events, festivals, and collegiate-adjacent (LDA-only) opportunities by market - advising where to show up, when, and what kind of activation makes sense.
- Determine the right mix of events and occasions in each market to help elevate the brand and give it a stronger physical presence around key moments. Prioritize which occasions matter most - nightlife, game day, festivals, seasonal moments and adjacent occasions beyond the traditional bar shot - and identify the moments where the brand can create participation, not just presence, so it feels visible, desirable and culturally relevant in market.
- Secure event permits, licenses, and required compliance documentation, including alcohol/liquor liability, and ensure every activation meets federal, state, local and brand guidelines.
- Establish and manage the overall program budget across markets.
- Define brand standards, messaging, and activation guidelines for the field team.
- Onboard and train brand ambassadors who are energetic, reliable, socially confident, locally connected and able to represent the brand responsibly.
- Own and manage the ambassador schedule across all markets - building shift coverage against the activation calendar and adjusting staffing around tentpole moments, game day and shifting market demand.
- Develop activation concepts that create participation and ritual - not just presence - and secure client sign-off before execution.
- Create run-of-show templates and operational playbooks so the field team can execute consistently market to market, including any activity tied to the brand's branded RV program.
- Establish KPIs and the reporting framework with the client.
Client Point of Contact:
- Serve as the primary point of contact for the client during live activations.
- Monitor simultaneous activations across markets and troubleshoot in real time.
- Ensure brand standards, LDA verification and sampling compliance are upheld at every event.
- Track spend against the approved program budget.
- Manage escalations from event managers and field staff on the ground.
Recap Reporting:
- Compile and deliver recap reports to the client covering activations completed, markets covered, ambassador hours, estimated LDA consumer engagements, accounts visited, samples/trial moments, merchandise distributed, and content captured where applicable.
- Analyze results against KPIs, assess whether the program is building genuine local relevance and participation (not just reach), and identify optimizations.
- Manage invoicing, expense reconciliation and budget reporting.
- Gather field feedback, incorporate learnings into future planning, and maintain and update the master calendar based on results and new opportunities.
- Conduct regular check-ins with the client to review program health and adjust strategy.
- 10+ years in field marketing, experiential marketing, or brand/event management, including senior-level ownership of multi-market programs.
- Direct experience in the alcohol beverage category or another regulated category, with a strong command of compliance discipline (LDA verification, sampling compliance, staff conduct, incident escalation).
- Proven ability to build and manage ambassador or field teams - onboarding, training, scheduling, supervising and setting performance and conduct standards.
- People-leadership experience managing direct reports, including a program manager and/or market-level managers.
- Experience operating in nightlife, game day and event environments.
- Strong program and project management skills, with the ability to run multiple concurrent activations across markets independently and with minimal direction.
- Budget ownership experience, including planning, tracking and reconciliation.
- Clear, consistent reporting skills and comfort translating field activity into insight and recommendations.
- Must be willing to travel across priority markets as needed, including some evenings and weekends around key occasions (travel frequency will vary by program needs).
- Existing relationships with venues, promoters, local creators or partners.
- Experience with content capture, creator/influencer coordination, or social amplification on an ad hoc basis.
- Familiarity with third-party data collection tools or KPI measurement frameworks.
- Background scaling a pilot program into a larger, optimized operation over time.
Location : Remote, U.S.-based in Boston or Philly . Must be willing to travel across Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Tallahassee, and Madison priority markets as needed; travel frequency will vary by program needs.
Pay: $75 Per Hr. as a Full-time, embedded, W-2 consultant of Crawford Group; benefits available if eligible.
Committed to Diversity:
We believe in approaching every interaction with honor, respect, and positive intent. Building diverse teams that foster creativity, innovative thinking, and opportunity for all. Ultimately, we know that our commitment to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience drives us all forward every day.