How To Become An Activations Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an activations manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

As an Activation Manager, you will have fun dreaming up the best brand activation campaigns to promote new products or upgrade your brand's image. Being a brand activation manager introduces consumers in a new and memorable way to give consumers a want to purchase a product.

Most activations managers create a brand activation plan or reason why consumers want to engage with your product. You will build and maintain a calendar of brand activities for the team, analyze previous campaigns' success, and educate consumers. You will frequently travel for trade shows and activation campaigns.

To be an Activations Manager, you will need at least four years of experience in a marketing or sales department and be able to stand and talk for long periods of time at shows. You should also be able to commute (need a driver's license), have a bachelor's degree in communications, marketing or business, proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, and a confident and competent public speaker. As an Activation Manager, you can expect to make anywhere from $30,000 to $101,000, depending on the company.

ScoreActivations ManagerUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,837

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 55.88%

male 44.12%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an activations manager

Explore activations manager education requirements

Most common activations manager degrees

Bachelor's

72.5 %

Associate

10.0 %

Master's

8.5 %

Start to develop specific activations manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	12.45%
Digital Marketing	10.80%
Project Management	8.33%
Brand Activation	7.73%
PowerPoint	5.20%

Complete relevant activations manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New activations managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an activations manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real activations manager resumes.

Research activations manager duties and responsibilities

Manage activities calendar and campaign results reporting findings to upper executives and salesforce.
Include all contract negotiation, budget management, ROI tracking, social media strategies, digital content, and activation planning.
Perform administrative and management duties such as reports, presentations, scheduling, budget management, KPI tracking forms, etc.
Complete general kennel operations, pet health checks, assist supervisors with daily tasks.

Prepare your activations manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your activations manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an activations manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable activations manager resume templates

Build a professional activations manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your activations manager resume.