Brand manager
Decides how the company presents itself: name, values, tone of voice, colours.
You'll like it if you have an eye for detail and often wonder why you like a brand.
What it is
A brand is the idea people have of a company: what it promises, how it speaks, how you recognise it. The brand manager looks after that idea and makes sure everything (a post, a package, an email) sounds like the same voice. They don't design the logo alone: they decide what it must say and check that everything is consistent.
Works with
- Creative agencies and designers
- Social media manager and PR
- Product marketing (launches)
- Market research (brand perception)
Read more on the blog: What does a brand manager do, and how do you become one?
What they actually do
Brand identity
Writes down the brand's values, promise, personality and audience.
Guidelines
Writes the brand book: logo, colours, typefaces, tone of voice, dos and don'ts.
Reviewing materials
Reviews campaigns, posts, packaging and the website before they go out.
Awareness campaigns
Works with agencies and creatives on campaigns that make the brand known.
Competitors
Studies how competitors present themselves to find a different, recognisable space.
Brand health
Measures how well known the brand is and what people think of it.
How the work is measured
The indicators (KPIs) they look at most often. The charts are just drawings, not real data.
- Awareness
- How many people know the brand, unprompted or when it's named.
- Branded searches
- How many people search for the brand's name on Google.
- Consistency
- How many materials follow the guidelines.
- Sentiment
- Whether people talk about the brand positively, neutrally or negatively.
How to get started
The actual brand manager role usually comes after a few years. People start as assistants in a company or at a communications agency, looking after materials and checks.
1. Skills you need
- An eye for visual and tone details
- Writing consistently
- Saying no politely
- Thinking long term
- Working with many different people
2. Free tools to practise
- Canva
- Google Docs
- Coolors
Tools by other companies, free or with a free plan: we mention them only as examples.
3. In job ads it's called
- Brand assistant
- Junior brand manager
- Marketing assistant
4. Later you can specialise in
- Brand strategy
Try it
Exercise 1 · Five Leaf's tone of voice
Marta from Five Leaf writes to you: "Our tone of voice"
4 parts, nothing to type: just choices, with a professional's solution at the end.
What you learn
- tone of voice
- provable values
- contrast and accessibility
- replying to criticism
The basics, before you try
Short lessons in the app, with a quick check question at the end.
Study the theory →