VP, Marketing

Description

About Lucky Lincoln Gaming

Lucky Lincoln Gaming is the 5th largest route gaming operator in Illinois, generating over $110M in annual revenue, and we're building to become the largest. We're scaling fast, and the field is where our growth is won or lost. This is a company for people who want real ownership, real accountability, and the chance to build something bigger as we expand into new states and new markets.

About the Role

You will lead Marketing for Lucky Lincoln Gaming as a member of our executive team, owning the strategy, the brand, the budget, and the results. You'll start as a team of one, backed by our Regional Directors, District Managers, and Field Team, and you'll build the Marketing Team as we scale into Chicago and beyond. You will be the Strategist who sets the direction, and the Operator who makes it happen.

Most of the job starts in the field with location owners, learning what actually brings players into a venue and keeps them coming back. Sometimes it's the retail offering, the hospitality, the snacks, or the rewards. You find out, then you turn it into programs that grow same-store sales and market share as we climb from 5th to 1st in Illinois.

You will also control the marketing spend, so you will have direct conversations with location owners about what works and what doesn’t. You will build our player loyalty program from the ground up, define our brand for both location owners and players, rebuild our website, and position Lucky Lincoln for key audiences as we open Chicago. There's no playbook waiting for you. What you build becomes the playbook for every market we enter next.

You will set up an event on Friday night, run the raffle, talk with players and owners, and present the results to the executive team on Monday. Then you'll use what you learned to shape where the company grows next.

Local to Chicago is required.

What You'll Own

Strategy and Leadership

• Marketing strategy for Lucky Lincoln Gaming: the multi-year vision, the annual plan, the budget, and the results
• A seat on the executive team, shaping decisions on where and how the company grows, including the market entry strategy that starts in Chicago and becomes the template for every market that follows
• Building the Marketing Team over time: defining the roles, hiring, and developing the people, plus selecting and managing agencies and contractors
• Reporting marketing performance to the CEO, CFO, and Operations

Brand

• Brand strategy and positioning across our three audiences: location owners, players, and guests at our owned gaming parlors, including how those brands relate to one another
• Repositioning the brand for younger adult players (21+) without losing our current player base, starting with Chicago
• A full website rebuild and a modernized outbound program that wins with location owners and younger      players

Field marketing and location performance

• Regular field time with location owners, learning what drives traffic and loyalty at our best-performing venues and scaling those lessons across the network
• Gaming room standards, in partnership with Regional Directors and District Managers, so every room is top notch, and every space and signage opportunity is maximized
• Marketing spend decisions, including straight conversations with location owners about what's working and what isn't
• Campaigns for our owned gaming      parlors

Player Loyalty and CRM

• The Player Loyalty Program, built from the ground up and launched on our player rewards platform
• SMS and email campaigns that keep players engaged, without consumer fatigue
• Loyalty performance, tracked through new sign-ups, monthly activation rate, opt-outs, and spend per player as machine-level data comes online

Revenue Marketing

• Marketing's measurable contribution to location acquisition and retention: pipeline, win rate, and location churn
• Brand, materials, and campaigns that help the revenue team win new locations and keep the ones we have

Channels, Technology, and Measurement

• Multichannel campaigns across digital ads, geofenced social, scratch-off mailers, and handouts, each tied to a specific campaign with measured return
• The marketing technology stack:  selecting and owning the loyalty platform, SMS and email tools, and attribution, and integrating them with machine-level data
• The marketing scoreboard: KPIs, measurement framework, and reporting cadence for spend efficiency and YOY same-store sales, built with our finance and data teams

Compliance and Responsible Gaming

• Ensuring all marketing, location programs, and promotions meet Illinois Gaming Board requirements
• Responsible gaming standards across all advertising and player communications, including required messaging, opt-out practices, and marketing only to adults 21+

What Success Looks Like

First 90 days

• You've spent meaningful time in the field with location owners and players and can name what drives traffic at our best venues
• A baseline marketing scoreboard      is in place with finance and data, covering current spend, same-store sales, and location churn
• A marketing strategy and annual plan, including the loyalty program roadmap and Chicago launch plan

First year

• The loyalty program is live on our player rewards platform with sign-ups, activation, and retention trending the right way
• The new website and Chicago brand presence are live
• Same-store sales growth year over year, and you can point to the campaigns, promotions, and loyalty mechanics that drove it

Ongoing

• Every campaign dollar ties to a measured return, and spend efficiency improves against the framework you built
• Gaming rooms across the network meet a consistent, high standard, with space and signage fully put to work
• Marketing is a visible lever in market share gains, contributing to net new locations per year and lower location churn as we climb from 5th to 1st in Illinois
• The brand wins with location owners and younger adult players, especially in Chicago
• All marketing meets Illinois Gaming Board standards

Requirements

What We're Looking For

• 12–15+ years of progressive marketing experience, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role (Director or above) owning a full marketing function and its budget
• A track record of building and leading marketing teams and managing agency partners
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA a plus
• Experience in multi-unit, decentralized consumer businesses. Hospitality groups, restaurant or franchise systems, multi-location consumer services, and small-format gaming translate especially well
• Proven ability to drive customers through physical doors with local marketing, events, promotions, and loyalty programs
• Hands-on experience building and running loyalty or CRM programs, including SMS and email, with a clear read on engagement and churn metrics
• Experience leading brand strategy and repositioning, including reaching new or younger adult audiences
• Working command of digital and direct channels: geofenced social, paid digital, direct mail, and in-venue materials, all tied to measurable results
• Experience selecting and running marketing technology, including loyalty, CRM, and attribution tools
• Experience marketing to business owners or franchisees while growing their end-customer traffic
• Experience in a regulated industry (Gaming, Alcohol, Financial Services, or similar) and a strong commitment to responsible marketing
• A quarterback. You set the strategy, then plan, execute, and manage a dozen moving projects without dropping one
• A builder who still does the work. You'll run the Friday night event yourself and present the results to the executive team on Monday
• The backbone to tell a location owner a program isn't working, and the judgment to know when it isn't
• Measurement discipline: you know what to track, why it matters, and how to tie every dollar of spend to an outcome
• Executive presence. You operate      as a member of the executive team, shaping company strategy, not just executing it, and you can present confidently to a CEO, board, or investors
• Eligible for disclosure to the Illinois Gaming Board as a sales agent, and able to maintain eligibility under applicable Illinois gaming regulations

Compensation

The base salary range for this role is $180,000, plus a performance bonus tied to marketing spend efficiency and same-store sales growth. Actual compensation will depend on experience and qualifications.

Highland Holdings and its portfolio companies are equal opportunity employers. We evaluate all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We offer a full suite of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, and more.