A company’s brand is a recognisable public persona that allows customers to distinguish its product or service from its competitors. As an experienced marketing specialist, a Brand Manager is the champion of a company’s image.
The Brand Manager’s job description is to understand and connect with a brand’s target market effectively. In doing so, they will grow the real and perceived value of the company’s brand.
In large companies, the roles and responsibilities of a Brand Manager are broad in scope. Situated within the marketing team, a Brand Manager will oversee a consistent marketing strategy for the brand, ensuring the growth of its customer base over the long term. The Brand Manager and Marketing Manager could be a combined role for smaller businesses.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Brand Manager
Why be a Brand Manager? In this space, there are exciting opportunities for marketing professionals who want to stretch their sphere of influence to the next level. An established brand must continually work to maintain its image, while newer firms seek innovative brand management to navigate their way to success.
Brand Managers are traditionally seen in major companies with specialised marketing teams. With the rise of digital advertising, the role has grown in importance amongst smaller companies seeking to raise their presence online.
As the position differs according to business needs, there’s plenty of scope to make the role your own. A background in fields as varied as design, copywriting, or digital marketing can help you stand out as a marketing innovator.
Planning
As Brand Manager, you’re directing the brand’s activities, which may mean multiple product lines or services. You’re responsible for achieving business goals and increasing market share for the company.
Analysis
Market research is essential to understand how customers relate to the brand.
You’ll work with data analyst teams to know how and when customers choose to purchase products and services.
A crucial part of market research is determining the price customers are willing to pay for your brand name. You’ll need to analyse the emotional connection customers have to your company’s product or service through, for example, interviews and online surveys.
Brand Strategy
You’ll manage the development of a strategic plan to maintain brand equity or gain brand value for your company’s range of products or services. Brand strategy requires understanding market trends to deliver what customers want now and to anticipate what customers will want in future.
Competitor Research
Part of your role is to understand your competition’s attractiveness to your target market. Knowing the alternative products and services and seeking customer feedback are necessary aspects of this research. Customers will give reasons for switching from your brand to your competitor’s product or service. Analysing the data can help discover areas for improvement in your company to enhance the customer experience and brand loyalty.
Skill Set Required to Become a Brand Manager
Brand Manager skills blend creative, analytical and communication abilities from a leadership perspective. You’ll have existing management skills like team building and professionalism. As a company innovator, you’ll also need:
- Advanced communication.
- Strategic creativity.
- Adaptability and flexibility.
Advanced Communication
You’ll need to tailor your message to your audience within the company and the marketplace. Clear communications across the firm are essential as you build relationships to achieve company objectives. Externally, you’ll ensure messaging to the target market is consistent on diverse communication channels.
Strategic Creativity
Ongoing innovation to maintain the quality of a brand and retain loyal customers is vital to your success. For example, to define the brand personality, you’ll set up strategies that encourage team creativity in projects like advertising campaigns.
Adaptability and Flexibility
A creative brand manager needs to respond to unforeseen events in the market. You’ll analyse market data and make decisions based on the results. Adapting to change is vital for the brand’s survival in the long term.
Salary Expectations
The Brand Manager role can vary significantly depending on the size of the firm and the scope of responsibilities. On SEEK, the online employment marketplace, the average annual salary ranges from $90,000 to $130,000. When making an offer, an employer will also need to consider your skills and experience.
How to Become a Brand Manager
You’ll have marketing experience working with brands on your own or as a team member. Working with smaller firms and contributing towards developing a brand will give you the necessary expertise. There are also assistant brand manager roles that are a step towards becoming a brand manager. The best way to prepare yourself is to commit to industry-ready courses that you can apply in your current job. Choosing to upskill shows your commitment and ability to hit the ground running.
Courses Available for Aspiring Brand Managers
Certified Digital Marketing Professional Course
The Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP) course is endorsed by the Australian Marketing Institute and is a globally recognised qualification. It’s a six-month course, and you can take up to a year to complete it. It’s suitable for marketing graduates who want to advance their digital marketing skills and applies to small businesses or large companies.
The course material is reviewed by a syllabus council including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, HubSpot and Microsoft to reflect current industry practice. You will learn how to:
- Attract and engage your audience using the right media channel.
- Drive traffic to your website with compelling digital advertising.
- Make your website stand out with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques.
- Create a digital marketing strategy for your business.
Diploma of Marketing and Communication
The Diploma of Marketing and Communication is a nationally recognised one-year course, and you can take up to two years to complete it. In this course, you’ll build on previous study or work experience to learn a manager’s approach to marketing.
You’ll need to have completed the Certificate IV in Marketing and Communication or have two years of equivalent full-time experience. You’ll learn how to:
- Research your market and get a competitive edge.
- Analyse findings and make data-driven decisions.
- Develop innovative and relevant campaign concepts.
- Put together professional marketing plan documents.
- Make the most of your marketing budget.
- Plan, develop and contribute to projects.
- Create advertising campaigns for mass media.
- Monitor the success of your advertising campaigns.
Thinking of pursuing a career in Marketing? Learn how with Monarch Institute
As a registered training organisation, we work closely with businesses to design a study program that gets you job-ready. You’ll learn from industry experts and thought leaders who know the skills required in the modern marketing landscape. With courses designed to give you absolute flexibility, you can study with confidence knowing our trainers are there to support you in your learning journey. Get in touch today to achieve your career goals.
