Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz
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Brand Managers
A Brand Manager is a marketing professional who specializes in building brand awareness and improving the reputation of brands. They may help develop marketing initiatives, advertising spots, and PR releases.
Table of contents
Brand Managers are responsible for guiding the brand strategy for a business and shaping the overall image of an organization or product. This job involves extensive market research as Brand Managers need to shape public opinions.
Brand Managers are typically part of the marketing department. They work with marketing and advertising experts, public relations (PR) specialists, and analysts to determine how to use marketing material to present a specific brand image.
Working as a Brand Manager is often a high-stress job due to the responsibility of the position. However, boosting the profile of a brand can also be rewarding.
What they do
A Brand Manager is a marketing professional who specializes in building brand awareness and improving the reputation of brands. They may help develop marketing initiatives, advertising spots, and PR releases.
Develop the Overall Strategy for Promoting a Brand
The main task of a Brand Manager is to guide the overall media strategy for promoting a brand or changing public perception of a brand. This includes setting the tone of all advertising, marketing, and social media communications.
As part of these duties, the Brand Manager may develop a style guide for marketers to use when developing graphics, television spots, or online content. For example, the Brand Manager may ensure that marketers use the same fonts or attempt to convey specific emotions.
Plan and Oversee All Media Communications for a Brand
After developing the strategy for a brand, the Brand Manager oversees the release of all media communications. The Brand Manager typically reviews any social media post, advertisement, or press release.
The Brand Manager is not always directly involved in the planning of media communications. The level of involvement often depends on the size of the company. At a large company, the Brand Manager may focus on the big picture by monitoring the work of other marketers. At a smaller company, the Brand Manager is more likely to collaborate with the rest of the marketing department on each project.
Analyze Market Research and Competitor Research
Many of the decisions that a Brand Manager makes are guided by information obtained through market research and competitor research. They review the needs, interests, and wants of potential customers. They also review the products or services provided by competitors to look for marketing gaps that they can exploit.
Businesses provide a variety of resources for obtaining market data, including customer surveys and feedback on social media. Brand Managers may also work with consulting agencies to obtain market research.
Collaborate with Marketing and PR Professionals
A Brand Manager is often one of the top marketing professionals within the marketing department. They delegate tasks and collaborate with a variety of marketing and public relations (PR) professionals. A Brand Manager may receive input from other members of the marketing department. However, the Brand Manager typically has the final say on creative decisions.
What is the job like
First, I will approve the posts that our Social Coordinator created for our Instagram and make any necessary edits. Then, I will put in some mailer requests for the week with our design team, write the copy and make sure the other team leads approve the photo content. Next, I will approve any new product titles or descriptions that need to be uploaded into Shopify. After that, I will meet with the rest of my team to discuss and plan upcoming influencer collaborations, festival takeovers and partnerships, and marketing plans for our product collection launches.
Pros
The pros are that I work for a brand that I am extremely passionate about, so although work might get busy, there are rarely projects I need to do that I don’t enjoy. I also get to touch every piece of marketing for the brand and have a say in most of the creative we present to our customers. I oversee all the content that gets pushed out on our marketing channels from Instagram to Tik Tok, SMS, email + more.
I also get to attend festivals with my team where we do an Instagram story takeover, meet up with our influencers, and get content for upcoming launches and Facebook Ads. It is really hectic but also extremely fun.
Cons
The only con is that I am in charge of overseeing so many aspects that it is sometimes hard to stay on top of everything! I manage our social media strategy, influencer roster of 700+ people, email campaigns, festival promotions, as well as manage some of our other team members. I have to set up a lot of checks and balances to ensure that I do not miss anything because things will not get sent out or posted without my approval.
Advice to aspiring Brand Managers
My number one piece of advice is to make your passion your profession. I majored in Public Relations and minored in Visual Culture. Public Relations gave me a broad enough education that I could use and apply in any industry. The Visual Culture minor allowed me to explore film, photography, and art. My passion was fashion and it was the closest I could get to it at my school. Because there were no fashion classes, I joined the Fashion Industry Association club on campus and became president by my senior year. I also created and became the Fashion Editor of our online school publication. This allowed me to apply for press passes to fashion week in college and I attended both LA & London fashion events. I also had 3 fashion internships in college – one at a PR agency, one at a PR showroom, and one at Vivienne Westwood.
After I graduated, I already had tons of fashion experience and was able to get a job working for a sunglasses company. At that time I was attending festivals every weekend and it took me a while to figure out how to incorporate that into my job. I started doing freelance styling for small festival brands and writing about festival fashion for Fest 300. When a job at iHeartRaves opened up about 4 years ago, I already had tons of experience in the field because I created opportunities for myself.
Pros
You Get to Help Make a Brand More Popular
Increasing the recognition of a brand can be a satisfying experience.
You Get to Use Your Creativity
As a marketing professional, you get to rely on your creativity to develop innovative ideas.
You Learn How to Promote Your Own Brand
The skills that you use to promote brands may help you with job promotions or new career opportunities.
You Can Work in Almost Any Industry
Almost every business has a marketing department, giving you a diverse selection of places to work.
Cons
You Get Blamed for Lack of Results
If a promotional spot does not produce positive results, you are likely to take most of the blame.
Employers or Clients Do Not Always Like Your Direction
It can be discouraging when an employer or client does not understand your vision for a project.
Where they work
Brand Managers typically work in the marketing department of private businesses, especially large organizations with major brands. Brand Managers may also find employment at public relations agencies, business consulting firms, advertising agencies, and any other service provider that helps businesses with brand management.
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How to become one
Step 1: Take Marketing Courses in High School
Brand Management is a specialization of the marketing field, which high school students can explore through marketing courses or consumer economics courses.
Step 2: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree
As with most marketing management positions, Brand Managers typically require at least a Bachelor’s degree. Common majors include Advertising, Marketing, and Journalism.
Step 3: Complete an Internship
Completing an internship may help you get your foot in the door after college. Look for internship opportunities in the marketing and advertising departments.
Step 4: Look for Entry-Level Work
Becoming a Brand Manager requires related work experience. Most Brand Managers start with entry-level jobs in advertising, marketing, and public relations.
Step 5: Work Your Way up to Brand Manager
After at least a few years of marketing experience, you may start accepting positions with greater responsibility, such as Marketing Manager, Social Media Manager, or Public Relations Specialist. Continue to look for openings and career opportunities until you find a suitable Brand Manager position.
Should you become one
Best personality type for this career
People with this personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.
You can read more about these career personality types here.
Brand Managers typically require an extroverted personality as they need to express their opinions and get others to agree with them. Working in Brand Management also requires empathy due to the need to connect with a target demographic and understand what they want.
Brand Managers are also often analytical and detail-oriented, as they spend a lot of their available time analyzing marketing data and reviewing the latest trends.
Take this quiz to see if this is the right career for you.
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