Manager - Regional Marketing and Strategy - Sonic

The Manager, Regional Marketing and Strategy, plays a key role in Sonic's shift from a traditional National Calendar to a regional marketing strategy, in which bespoke regional plans run in tandem with national plans to unlock incremental growth. Reporting to the Director, Regional Strategy and Marketing, this individual turns regional insights into business cases, in-market programs, and measurable results.

More specifically, this role is responsible for the analysis, planning, and execution behind regional initiatives: sizing opportunities, building business cases, managing project plans, designing and reading in-market tests, and tracking program effectiveness. The Manager will work closely with partners on the National Marketing and Strategy, Integrated Marketing Communications, Field Marketing, Operations, and Data and Analytics teams to ensure seamless go-to-market execution.

After resetting the fundamentals in 2026, Sonic is poised to return to growth in 2027, and the regional team is central to that effort. Because the regional approach is new to the organization, the Manager should be comfortable with ambiguity, data-driven and analytically strong, with a bias for action and the ability to move several projects forward at once.

Responsibilities:

• Analyze market-level sales, traffic, share, and consumer data to identify regional growth opportunities, and build size-of-prize estimates and business cases to support prioritization.

• Develop and execute regional marketing plans and initiatives in partnership with Field Marketing, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Operations, and Brand Experience (BX), managing project plans, timelines, and deliverables.

• Design and manage in-market tests for regional programs, including test objectives, test/control design, KPIs, and performance reads, and recommend whether to scale, refine, or stop.

• Track and report KPIs and success metrics for regional programs, building dashboards and post-program evaluations that inform future plans.

• Partner with Data & Analytics (D&A) and Consumer Insights to translate consumer trends and regional insights into actionable recommendations.

• Develop and deliver presentations that communicate strategy, progress, risks, and recommendations to the Director and brand leadership.

Requirements:

• 4 Year Degree in Marketing, Business, Economics or related field (MBA Preferred)
• 5+ Years of experience in marketing, strategy, consulting, analytics, or a related field
• 2+ years of experience in QSR, retail, or hospitality preferred, ideally with regional, local, or multi-market marketing
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data, size opportunities, and build a clear business case.
• Experience designing and reading in-market tests (test/control, incrementality).
• Advanced proficiency in Excel (e.g., pivot tables, SUMIFS, INDEX/MATCH) and PowerPoint (executive storytelling).
• Experience using Tableau, Power BI, or similar analytics platforms to self-serve and analyze data.
• Project management experience, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and competing timelines and drive on-time delivery.
• Ability to influence and collaborate with cross-functional partners without direct authority.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Travel Required: 10-15%, given regional market visits and franchisee meetings

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.