A brand manager develops strategies that set a company apart from its competitors and build a long-lasting relationship with customers.

The title requires you to be familiar with many aspects of marketing, including market research, social media and digital marketing, and design. While brand managers aren’t necessarily expected to perform these responsibilities themselves, their knowledge will help guide respective teams to develop communication and assets that align with the brand to strengthen its position in the marketplace.

Here’s a more indepth look at a brand manager’s responsibilities, the tools used in the role, and what it takes to become one.

Tasks and responsibilities

Building a brand strategy means creating a unique story and experience for customers – something that connects them with a company and its products, and fosters loyalty over time.

Brand managers are responsible for overseeing any aspect of marketing that has to do with a company’s brand, and ensuring all branding decisions ultimately result in stronger sales. To achieve this, they usually work with multiple areas of marketing, including research, content, social, and design.

A brand manager may be responsible for:

• conducting market research;
• analysing data for trends, insights and information;
• advising multiple teams on branding strategy;
• communicating with marketing teams to ensure brand alignment;
• managing projects through various stages of development;
• managing budgets to support branding efforts; and
• maintaining relationships with company stakeholders.

Requirements

Becoming a brand manager requires a combination of higher education and experience. It’s often a position marketers hold after working in another type of management role, such as social media or content management. Here are some steps to consider to pursue this career:

1. A degree

Brand-manager job listings vary in terms of educational requirements. Typically, companies expect candidates to hold a bachelor’s degree, with some companies specifying majors in marketing, communications, or business.

Additionally, some brand managers earn their MBA with a concentration in marketing to hone their expertise and bring advanced knowledge to their role.

2. Related experience

Smaller companies may require somewhere between one and three years of experience, while larger companies may require more.

Working as a market research analyst, social media manager, content marketing manager, or digital marketing manager can provide you with the foundation you’ll need to move into brand management.

Through these roles, you can bolster your understanding of consumers and the successful messaging it takes to reach them, which are important components in managing a brand.

3. Skills

A brand manager typically needs to have advanced skills in the following areas:

• Writing – Messaging exists at the heart of brand strategy, so having strong writing skills will help you develop effective messaging while ensuring copywriters execute the task.
• Communication – You’ll need to be able to communicate your strategic recommendations to a company’s marketing team and stakeholders.
• Strategy – This involves understanding the market, how your company fits within it, and how to reach customers so you can develop or improve on your brand.
• Project management: Your ability to manage multiple projects at the same time will help, as you oversee new campaigns and guide teams to execute everything from graphic overlays to copy.
• Personnel management: Whether you are in charge of your own dedicated team or guide multiple subsections of personnel, experience in managing others will serve you well.
• Adaptability: Markets constantly change to reflect consumers’ needs, so it helps to be adaptable. Staying curious about trends and innovation allows you to develop a more responsive brand strategy.Income

The average salary for a brand manager is RM120,000 per annum in Malaysia, where management roles in online advertising, promotions, and marketing are projected to grow by 20% over the next decade.

Career advancement

Once you’ve become a brand manager, you’ll find additional roles to explore as you grow in your career. Some move on to become senior brand managers, or eventually marketing or communications directors.

The skills you hone as part of your time as a brand manager could help you move into higher-level roles that oversee more of the company’s overall marketing plan.

This article first appeared in jobstore.com, an online job site that specialises in providing jobseekers with the latest job opportunities by matching talented individuals with reputable companies in Malaysia. Find your dream job with over 40,000 job vacancies in Malaysia.