Marketing Director, Paid Media

About Our Family Of Companies

We are on a mission to bring learning to life! At our family of companies, Learning Resources®, Educational Insights, and hand2mind, we create a unique range of toys, educational products and supplemental curriculum trusted by teachers and loved by families alike. Voted among the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces for the last five consecutive years, we are a 400‑person strong, family‑owned organization dedicated to helping kids succeed in school and develop a love of learning.

In addition to high‑quality, hands‑on products like Versa Tiles® and Cuisenaire® Rods, we make award‑winning toys, including top sellers such as the Pretend & Play® Cash Register, the Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and Toy of the Year winner Botley® the Coding Robot as well as Educational Insights top sellers Kanoodle®, Geo Safari® Jr. series, and Playfoam™. We pride ourselves on being committed to our employees’ personal and professional development, a thriving culture and a diverse, creative atmosphere.

Along with our culture and competitive benefits package, we offer opportunities for training and development by university professors as well as in‑demand, motivating external speakers.

We are looking for professionals who are truly just kids at heart! This role offers a career‑defining opportunity to lead and shape an integrated media strategy at a fast‑growing toy company where your expertise in media strategy and quantitative analysis will drive tangible results. You will work at the intersection of performance marketing and brand‑building, directly impacting the company’s growth on e‑commerce giants and retail platforms.

With visibility across the organization, you’ll directly influence the company’s growth trajectory and collaborate with a creative, passionate group of marketing professionals.

As the Director, Paid Media, you will lead the company’s media strategy and execution, bringing strong quantitative and analytical expertise to optimize media investments across platforms. This role oversees high‑impact budgets and operations for Amazon media (including Sponsored Ads, DSP, and streaming campaigns), Retail Media (e.g., Target, Walmart, and others), Paid Social, and Awareness, while ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing mix decisions.

You will manage awareness campaigns to elevate brand visibility and play a critical role in developing and executing annual marketing plans in collaboration with cross‑functional teams. This position leads three direct reports who manage specialized teams and serves as the primary liaison with external media agencies.

• Develop and Execute a Data‑Driven Media Strategy
• Measure and Optimize Marketing Mix Effectiveness
• Lead Amazon and Retail Media Operations
• Drive Awareness Media Campaigns
• Collaborate on Annual Marketing Plans and Ongoing KPIs
• Build and Coach a High‑Performing Team
• Strengthen Partnerships with Media Agencies

• Develop and Execute a Data‑Driven Media Strategy

  Within the first 90 days, establish a robust quantitative framework to evaluate and optimize media spend across performance channels (e.g., Sponsored Ads, DSP) and upper‑funnel media (e.g., streaming and digital video). Implement systems to measure the incrementality of media decisions, identifying the ROI for each channel and improving marketing mix efficiency by at least 15% within the first year. Present quarterly reports to leadership with insights on media performance, including recommendations to adjust the marketing mix to maximize incrementality and impact.

• Measure and Optimize Marketing Mix Effectiveness

  Within six months, introduce tools and models (e.g., MMM or multi‑touch attribution) to assess the overall effectiveness of media investments, isolating key drivers of sales and brand impact. Collaborate with the analytics team to deliver actionable insights on incrementality, ROI, and cross‑channel interactions, ensuring marketing investments are aligned with business objectives. Achieve a measurable improvement in media efficiency while maintaining or growing…