Behind the scenes, people like Senior Manager of Marketing Project Management, Jessica Fritsch, and Marketing Project Manager, Amber Blake, make it all happen — flawlessly, repeatedly, across 444 stores nationwide.
Buckle’s retail footprint is huge, and the work that goes into keeping every store aligned, updated, on-brand, and guest-ready is even bigger. We sat down with Jessica and Amber to get the inside scoop on exactly how they successfully and smoothly run major rollouts at scale, collaborate across dozens of teams, and keep operations, creative, vendors, and stores all moving in the same direction.
What It Takes to Run Marketing Projects for 444 Stores
Jessica has been with Buckle for almost 15 years, working her way from store support into the role she leads today. Her team touches nearly every project that comes through the marketing department — brand signage, recruiting campaigns, store rollouts, seasonal launches, operational handbooks… you name it.
With over 60 people in the marketing department and hundreds of active projects, prioritization is as much of an art as it is a science. Wrike, a project management tool, serves as their single source of truth, and Jessica spends her days aligning stakeholders, reviewing timelines, and keeping projects moving from kickoff through execution.
Amber, who started as a store teammate in Morgantown, West Virginia, now owns marketing project coordination for all store openings, relocations, remodels, and closings. Her firsthand store experience gives her a rare advantage: she knows how store managers think, what they need, and where communication can break down.
Inside the Corporate–Store Gap (and How They Bridge It)
One of the most surprising (but significant) sources of confusion? Terminology.
Corporate might refer to something as a “wall sign.” Store teams might know it only as a “garage door sign.”
That disconnect alone can create confusion simply because people aren’t speaking the same language.
Amber and Jessica have spent years refining how the corporate team communicates with stores — simplifying instruction sheets, adjusting terminology, and making sure expectations are crystal-clear.
Their biggest lesson: store teams aren’t ignoring information. They’re overwhelmed.
Amber explained:
“Store managers have a whole long list of stuff they have to do… Sometimes I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, I just wish they would send me this email already.’ Then I remember my manager from my time at the store… and I’m just grateful that they will be able to send it at some point, even if that may not be right now.”
— Amber
Simply put: rollout timelines must reflect the reality of the sales floor.
Why Relationships Matter More Than You Might Think
If there’s one skill that separates good project managers from great ones, Jessica says it’s this:
“Building and maintaining good working relationships… honestly, it’s one of the most important parts of this.”
— Jessica
Jessica and Amber act as the connective tissue across the entire organization — not just relaying information, but fostering trust, context, and collaboration.
A perfect example: A store manager called Amber on a Saturday because he didn’t know how to hang a sign. She answered — even though she didn’t have to — and walked him through it.
“He was like, ‘Oh, you’re such a lifesaver. Thank you so much.’… It makes me feel valued in the position that I have.”
— Amber
Moments like that build credibility and goodwill, which pays off tenfold when challenges arise later.
How Great Vendor Partnerships Actually Work
Buckle has partnered with SuperGraphics for well over a decade on their barricade graphics, window coverings, and construction signage.
When we asked what makes a vendor truly valuable, Jessica didn’t hesitate:
“Reliability is obviously number one… We need to be able to trust the fact that a vendor is going to deliver what we need when we need, and that they’re going to be good to work with.”
— Jessica
As the volume of store projects increased, the partnership evolved:
- Theresa Ancona, Director of Client Experience at SuperGraphics, began sending monthly Smartsheet trackers to keep every project aligned.
- Recurring on-site issues (like windows not cleaned or barricades not painted) led to the co-creation (with the support of SuperGraphics Account Executive, Aziz Karim) of a GC One-Sheeter outlining expectations, now included in every kickoff packet.
“Processes continually need to be tweaked… good vendors are willing to evolve with us.”
— Jessica
Working With Designers: Translating Creative Into Real-World Stores
Buckle’s design team produces seasonal campaign creatives, but Jessica and Amber act as interpreters — ensuring that what’s designed for a screen actually works in a physical environment.
“It’s really important for us to give the designers as much context and information as possible so they can deliver the best possible creative execution.”
— Jessica
They also collaborate closely with the SuperGraphics prepress design team, who adapt Buckle’s artwork to each storefront’s exact shape and size — even the unusually shaped ones.
Amber shared a real-world example:
A new-build store was positioned far back from the road. If the construction graphics weren’t visible to passing drivers, guests might not even realize the store was opening. So she worked with her designers and the SuperGraphics team to scale up the messaging and place it on the far ends of the windows for maximum visibility.
This is the kind of detail that separates accurate rollouts from effective ones — and it’s something some project managers often don’t consider.
Practical, Hard-Earned Advice for Retail Marketing Project Managers
This is where Jessica and Amber shine. Their advice is tactical, real, and rooted in years of running store rollouts across the country.
1. Lean into patience — for stores, vendors, and internal teams
People are juggling more than you can see. Build timelines that respect reality, not what you want to happen.
2. Build Real Relationships, not Transactional Ones
Trust is your most powerful project-management tool.
3. Overcommunicate, then communicate again
More clarity = fewer mistakes. More photos. More examples. More context. More alignment.
4. Learn the language of the stores
Avoid miscommunication by using terminology store teams actually use.
5. Create processes but be ready to refine them endlessly
What worked last year won’t necessarily work this year. Modern retail requires constant evolution.
6. Always think from the guest’s point of view
Ask: How will someone experience this in the real world? Amber’s story shows the difference that one detail — like visibility from the road — can make. The best PMs think about sightlines, scale, distance, and how a guest will interpret the message immediately.
Thank You to Jessica and Amber
Their clarity, leadership, and operational insight exemplify what excellent retail project management looks like. We’re grateful for their partnership — and for the chance to share these behind-the-scenes insights with other retail leaders.
Curious how SuperGraphics supports national retailers like Buckle?
Explore our retail printing, installation, and rollout support services here:
