Brand manager: job description

Brand managers are responsible for making sure that branding is consistent across advertising and campaigns.

What does a brand manager do? Key responsibilities | Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills

Brand managers work to ensure that a brand remains recognisable, up to date and exciting to customers. Brand managers plan ways to promote – and change the public perception of – brands. Organisations hire brand managers to work ‘in-house’ on their own brands, where it is likely that they will work solely on a single brand. It is also possible for brand managers to work at a marketing agency, where they may be working on a number of brands for different clients. Brand managers are also responsible for making sure that branding is consistent across advertising and campaigns.

Related job titles include: brand marketer, brand marketing assistant, assistant brand manager, brand ambassador and product manager.

Key responsibilities

Typical responsibilities of a brand manager include:

• carrying out market research in order to keep up to date with customer trends, as well as trying to predict future trends
• developing strategies and managing marketing campaigns across print, broadcast and online platforms to ensure that products and services meet customers’ expectations and to build the credibility of brands
• analysing the success of marketing campaigns and creating reports
• supervising advertising, product design and other forms of marketing to maintain consistency in branding
• meeting with clients and working with colleagues across multiple departments (such as marketing assistants, marketing managers and chief marketing officers)
• managing budgets and a team of junior assistants
• organising events such as product launches, exhibitions and photo shoots.

Typical employers

• Marketing agencies
• Public and private sector organisations
• Charities
• Retailers
• Manufacturers

Brand marketers can work in-house at an organisation or at an agency. Agencies will typically need to pitch to clients for work and are likely to be working on a number of different projects or different brands at the same time.

Salaries range from around £25,000 for assistant brand manager positions to around £40,000–£50,000 for senior brand manager positions.

• Some positions may not be advertised widely and you may need to send speculative applications to the agencies or organisations that interest you. Read our advice to find out more about how to apply speculatively.

Qualfications and training required

There are routes into brand marketing for both graduates and school leavers. Graduates can look for assistant brand manager job roles or may be able to specialise in brand marketing as part of a more general marketing graduate scheme. School leavers can specialise in brand marketing through a marketing apprenticeship.

Brand manager roles typically require a bachelor’s degree; recruiters may prefer graduates who have studies subjects such as marketing, business studies or accounting. University students may be able to gain experience in brand marketing through a brand ambassador or campus ambassador role, which are part-time jobs organised by brands for students.

• Keep an eye out on targetjobs to find opportunities to gain brand marketing experience

Postgraduate and professional qualifications may be useful in developing your knowledge of brand marketing. These may be offered by an employer as part of your training or you can complete them independently. Relevant courses are offered by organisations and professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

• Read our advice to find out more about the benefits of professional qualifications and postgraduate courses

Key skills for brand managers

• Analytical skills and attention to detail
• An understanding of trends and an ability to respond to customers’ wishes
• Creativity and an ability to produce innovative and original ideas
• Team working skills
• The ability to manage and allocate budgets
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with and an understanding of market research
• Time and project management skills, including the ability to work on multiple projects at the same time
• An ability to think strategically and come up with campaigns

Next: search graduate marketing, advertising and PR jobs

• Read our advice on how to get a graduate job in marketing
• View our graduate marketing, advertising and PR vacancies