What does a brand manager do, and how do you become one?
What a brand manager does: tasks, skills, KPIs, differences from marketing and product managers, career path and how to become a brand manager.
In 30 seconds
- A brand manager looks after the idea people have of a brand: they decide positioning, identity and tone, check that everything is consistent and measure brand health.
- They work with agencies, designers, social media managers, PR and product marketing, and own KPIs like awareness, NPS and branded searches.
- The role was born in 1931 at Procter & Gamble, with a memo by Neil McElroy proposing one person dedicated to each brand.
- People usually start as a brand assistant or junior brand manager, often in consumer goods companies.
A brand manager is the person who looks after the idea people have of a brand. They decide its positioning (who the brand is for and what makes it different) and its identity (name, logo, colours, tone of voice), check that every piece of material is consistent and measure brand health with data such as awareness, NPS and branded searches. They don’t design the logo themselves: they decide what it must communicate and check the result.
What a brand manager is
Why do you choose one coffee over another that’s almost identical? Often because of the idea you have of that brand: reliable, friendly, close to you. That idea is the brand, and the person who looks after it is the brand manager.
The role has a birth date: on 13 May 1931 Neil McElroy, then a young advertising manager at Procter & Gamble, wrote a three-page memo proposing one person dedicated to each brand, responsible for all its marketing. From there, the brand management model spread to consumer goods (FMCG) companies all over the world.
What a brand manager does every day
- Checks that new material (website, social media, packaging) follows the brand guidelines.
- Briefs designers, copywriters and agencies.
- Looks at the data: surveys, NPS, branded searches, reviews.
- Prepares presentations for senior management.
- Steps in when something risks damaging the brand’s image.
The parts of the job
- Positioning: who the brand is for and what makes it different. See brand positioning.
- Identity: name, logo, colours, values, tone of voice. All collected in the brand guidelines.
- Measurement: awareness and trust. How to do it is explained in brand awareness and NPS.
- Protection: the registered trademark, correct environmental claims, crisis communication.
Brand manager skills
| Hard skills | Soft skills |
|---|---|
| Reading market research and sales data | An eye for visual and tonal details |
| Writing a clear brief for agencies and designers | Saying no politely |
| Knowing the basics of design, packaging and media | Long-term thinking |
| Managing a budget and a marketing plan | Working with many different people |
| Knowing the rules on trademarks, advertising and green claims | Presenting ideas to senior management |
Brand manager KPIs
| KPI | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Unaided and aided awareness | How many people know the brand |
| NPS | How likely customers are to recommend it |
| Branded searches and share of search | Interest in the brand compared with competitors |
| Sentiment | Whether people talk about it positively, neutrally or negatively |
| Market share and sales | The brand’s commercial result |
| Consistency | How much material follows the brand guidelines |
How to measure awareness and NPS is explained in brand awareness and NPS.
Brand manager, marketing manager, product manager
| Role | What it covers | Key question |
|---|---|---|
| Brand manager | One brand: perception, identity, consistency | How do people see us? |
| Marketing manager | All the marketing for a company or market | How do we hit our sales targets? |
| Product manager | What to build and improve in the product | What do customers need? |
| Product marketing manager | Launching and positioning a product | How do we take it to market? |
Words to know
- Brand identity: how the brand wants to be (decided by the company).
- Brand image: how people actually see it.
- Positioning: the space the brand occupies in the audience’s mind, compared with competitors.
- Awareness: how many people know the brand.
- NPS: how likely customers are to recommend it.
The career path
A typical path, especially in consumer goods companies:
- Intern or brand assistant: support on analysis, materials, agency relations.
- Assistant brand manager or junior brand manager: looks after part of the brand, for example one product or channel.
- Brand manager: responsible for a brand or product line.
- Senior brand manager or group brand manager: several brands, more people.
- Marketing manager or marketing director.
How to become a brand manager
- Learn the basics: marketing, market research, communication. A degree in business, marketing or communication helps, but it isn’t the only route.
- Train your eye: analyse brands you know; try writing the positioning of three brands in the same sector.
- Build a portfolio: a positioning statement, a page of brand guidelines, a measurement plan. Even for a practice company like Peacchy’s.
- Get first experience: internships at consumer goods companies, at an agency, or in the marketing team of a smaller company, where you do a bit of everything.
An example
Five Leaf, Peacchy’s fictional tea shop, has happy customers but a fuzzy idea of itself: everyone in the company describes it differently. The brand manager starts from the data (almost half of customers drink tea every day and want to understand what they buy; competitors either explain little or only talk to experts) and writes the positioning: organic tea explained simply. From there she sorts out the tone of the copy, the promise on the website and the line on the packaging.
Is it for you?
Probably, if at least two of these sound like you:
- You notice straight away when a text or a design “doesn’t fit” a brand.
- You like understanding why people choose a brand.
- You can explain an idea simply to different people.
- You’re patient: a brand is built over years, not weeks.
In Peacchy’s Brand Simulation you can try this job: positioning, tone of voice, NPS, packaging, strategy and press office.
See also the brand manager role page and the map of marketing roles.
Sources
What is a brand?
Correct! Logo and slogan are part of the identity, but the brand is what stays in people's minds after every experience.
Not quite. Logo and slogan are tools: the brand is the overall picture people form.
Frequently asked questions
Are brand manager and marketing manager the same thing?
No. A marketing manager runs all the marketing for a company or market, often with the overall budget. A brand manager focuses on one brand: its identity, perception, consistency and results.
What's the difference between a brand manager and a product manager?
A product manager decides what to build and improve in a product (especially in digital and software). A brand manager decides how the brand presents itself and is perceived. In consumer goods companies the brand manager often also handles launches and packaging.
Do you need to be able to draw?
No. You need to give clear direction to the people who design and judge whether the result fits the brand.
What degree do you need to be a brand manager?
Usually business, marketing or communication, but no specific degree is mandatory. In large consumer goods companies the way in is often an internship or a graduate programme.
Brand manager at an agency or in-house?
In-house you look after one brand for a long time and make decisions; at an agency you work for several clients, on shorter projects. Many start at an agency to see lots of different brands.
Topics:BrandMarketing roles