What does a brand manager do ?

The brand manager is responsible for a company’s brand (or, perhaps, product or service) or brands. The CEO or managing director is, of course, ultimately, responsible for the affairs of the company. And a CEO or managing director will play an important role in defining the values and goals of a brand. But, ultimately, it is the job of the brand to make sure that the brand works in terms of: standing out from the crowd (including things such as packaging, advertising, brand message, brand personality, brand story and so on); offering something interesting and / or useful to customers (and at a good price); representing the values of the company; and, in some important way, increasing the value of the brand beyond what the brand is worth in terms of physical assets and / or intellectual property.

Types of people a brand manager works with

Depending on the size and nature of a company, the brand manager will normally work with a wide range of people:
- market researchers (to ensure that the brand is in touch with customers, the general market and so on).
- product developers (to ensure that the product fits in with the image and values of the company)
- advertising / creative (often advertising will be used but if not advertising, then, at some point creatives will be used to design brochures, websites and so on)
- marketing (marketing includes people who might work in the same company as the brand manager, but it could, also, include, digital marketing experts, for example, if the company has an important online presence).
- PR and publicity (although not that usual, it is becoming more common for brand manager to liaise with PR and publicity professionals in promoting a brand)

Brand manager skills and attributes

Analytical, good listener, good communicator, entrepreneurial, creative, visionary

What qualifications and experience do you need to become a brand manager?

There is a lot of competition for jobs in brand management, therefore a good degree (or HND) is required. Most types of degrees will do but certainly a degree or third-level qualification in marketing will be an important benefit.
Most brand managers start off in in-house marketing departments (including marketing roles in direct marketing / advertising agencies and so on) as well as in market research and product development.
Some people might start off in brand management with the title of brand manager, or with a more junior title such as brand executive or junior brand manager.

Getting ahead in the hunt for brand management jobs: work experience

Since brand management involves so many different kinds of disciplines, it would be really useful to get as much experience (work placements for example) as possible in a wide range of disciplines connected to, or intrinsically part of, brand management. People need to start as early on as possible, i.e as undergraduates, doing work experience in market research, marketing, and so on, as well as work experience in online marketing, and most importantly, in an advertising agency working directly on brands (even better in account planning or brand strategy). This would really give people an important edge in their search for brand manager (or brand executive / junior brand manager) jobs.  

Brand managemet graduate training schemes

Lastly, many of the large multinational companies (in particular, Procter and Gamble) have decent opportunities for graduates interested in working in brand management. So it is well worth browsing their websites and seeing what they have on offer.

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