We live in a world of products and each of those represented by brands. It’s obvious that we are all interdependent because we are responsible for developing a market run by brands. A consumer’s lifestyle can be depicted with the kinds of brands that he or she prefers. Comfort, glam, sporty, we have brands for them all. Businesses that dominate the world today are examples of how branding can facilitate communication with the target market and reward us with growth in return. Consumer satisfaction is key and only those brands that watch the mindset cautiously can improve their brands smartly. let us know about that the Brand Manager Job Description, Salary, Duties.
Branding today has become highly adaptive. Every attribute of a product communicates with the consumer. In order to ensure that the right message reaches the consumer and to achieve the short- and long-term growth expectancy of the brand, a specialist under the designation of a brand manager is appointed to take care of these aspects. Here are some details about their job description, how to become a brand manager, their duties and their salary earned.
Job description of a brand manager
Brand managers are responsible for developing marketing strategies for their respective brands. They are expected to closely watch their consumer base and create upcoming marketing campaigns accordingly. The tone of communication may vary from one brand to another. Research and analysis play a huge role in the improvement of the brand approach towards its consumers. A part of their work approach, it is important to not only develop new strategies rather to also analyze the ups and downs of the strategies that were implied earlier. The product will have to communicate and have a personality when it’s sold in the market. A brand manager should take care of modifying such that the brand is unforgettable by the respective consumer base. He/she is expected to make monthly calendars to provide details about the next step or theme of promotion that the brand is going to take on. Based on each of the themes, the tone of voice and the emotional position of the brand has to fit in as well.
How to become a brand manager?
For a position like a brand manager, a candidate must ensure that they have graduated high school and have a graduation degree in the management field. It is preferred that the candidate has completed his/her MBA along with at least 1-2 years of work experience as well. Although most candidates do not necessarily have enough experience, they must at least make sure that they have done a couple of internships that allow them to do something related to branding. One can be termed as a good brand manager after years of expertise and it is advised to start at a young age as this is not a 9-5 desk job. It requires the candidate to be quick on their feet and constantly think about ways that not only to make it trendy but also to create a powerful impact.
Apart from acquiring a basic education, the candidate must have strong leadership skills and excellent communication skills as well. They have to be up to date with their own brand moves, the markets’ reaction to their strategies and most importantly, track the progress and approach of their competitors as well.
Skills of a brand manager
Creative skills
Brand managers are expected to think on their feet to develop effective and impactful creatives that can fit into all the mediums that the brand has chosen to promote itself. They must ensure that the brand essence and value are contained within the content that is decided to be put out. The brand colors, brand message and the portrayal of every aspect of the brand must be consistent. Most importantly, as most creative content is very visual, the manager must modify it to ensure that the content is an unforgettable experience.
Excellent communication skills
A brand manager must be a people’s person, he/she has to understand peoples’ approach towards the products and make the product content, packaging and promotion relevant and relatable to the consumer base of the brand. With new strategies, assistance must be smartly provided to the consumer as they may question a lot of things that the brands represent. Setting up a consumer-friendly team to ensure that everything from the brand’s side is understandable to the consumer. This team includes the content developer, marketer, social media team, PR of the brand etc. A good team will ensure that no user of the brand is left with an ambiguous thought about the brand’s message.
Trend savvy
Trends set the type of content for brands currently. The brand manager must first narrow down to a consumer brief and set an age limit that the brand targets. After this, they must follow all the trends and up themselves updated as to what the target segment expects exactly from the respective brand. For example – during summer seasons, soap brands focus on promoting products that keep their consumer’s bodies cool and hydrated. This encourages the consumer to try the brand to get the feeling that the brand promotes. The brand manager must be able to think on their feet and ideate promotional content that is relatable and impactful to their audience respective.
Research and analysis
With a job that requires the employees to cautious watch the target segment’s reaction to the content that the brand promotes, they also require a team to do the research needed to maintain consistency in the results achieved from the previous campaigns. As mentioned earlier, analyzing the results and impact of a campaign is equally important as the development of new ones. Having a research team will help the brand to keep a check on the activities of their fellow competitors as well.
Developing promotional strategies
Each brand chooses a medium of approach based on their consumer brief. They would choose the mediums that they feel would give them a maximum reach based on the medium of content. A great example would be that today most brands have a social media page only because more than half the population engages in social media on a daily basis and therefore will have maximum visibility. Social media today has become a tool of marketing and is a huge calculation, the team has to endure that the content put out is eye-catching, relatable, legible and creatively impactful. Social media analysis is one of the effective methods of understanding the reach of the type of content that the brand represents and must be developed based on the information acquired to see positive results. The brand manager must put together a team for researching and gather information and analyze it before deciding the next step for the brand.
Salary of a brand manager
A good brand manager with plenty of expertise is said to earn $60,000 – $80,000 per year or more. This position pays employees well based on the necessity of this position in almost every company. The responsibility given to the brand manager is very high and risky as well because the money involved in each project will be huge and every project has a set budget. Monthly experience gained through internships will provide a stipend of $500- $800 per month based on the quality of performance. Although, opportunities as such are more about the learning process as opposed to the money that you gain from it.
The job of a brand manager is not a one-man job, it requires the candidate to be interdependent on his/her team and vice-versa. The position of a brand manager will also be given to a highly trusted employee because the content that is put out on the company’s behalf will portray the values of the brand. One mistake could ruin the consistency and reputation that any brand has built for years. Brand managers are also expected to look at how sensitive each course of action is as it can directly or indirectly offend its consumer base. Many big brands have made the mistake of not analyzing the response of their audience which has caused them huge losses in return. They must also choose the representative of the brands wisely and ensure that their celebrity connections truly believe in the brand. Mostly recently, Ronaldo moved the Coca-Cola bottles at the press conference and encouraged viewers to drink water instead. On the same day, Coca-Cola lost its market share by 4 billion which is a huge loss for the company.
The important thing to note is that being digitally experienced would allow you to earn a lot more as compared to the traditional marketing practices. The job is more than a desk job and expects the employee to stay committed to the job and constantly engage with the next message that the brand is willing to portray to its audience. It requires the candidate to bring a personality to the product and make it an experience rather than a commodity to purchase. A candidate who is capable of facilitating the communication of the brand message and the consumer’s feedback would be ideal for this position.
