A brand manager is a specialist involved in promoting a certain group of products on the market, united by a brand (trade mark). As a rule, competent positioning of a brand in the market can significantly increase and stabilize profits from the sale of goods, so the position of a brand manager is very promising in terms of career and income.

Places of work

A brand manager is considered one of the key figures in the success of a business, so large and medium-sized manufacturing companies and retailers are constantly in need of qualified specialists of this kind.

History of the profession

The profession of brand manager arose relatively recently - around the middle of the twentieth century. After the American Great Depression, production increased and competition between manufacturing companies increased sharply. This means that new efforts were required in promoting their own brands and creating a recognizable, unique image for them.

Responsibilities of a brand manager

The list of what a brand manager does is quite serious. Here are its main points:

• Conducting regular research on the company's image.
• Analysis of competitors, trends, new products, and the market as a whole.
• Management of the range of goods and/or services, participation in pricing.
• Development of brand development strategies.
• Organization and implementation of various marketing events (advertising campaigns, presentations).
• Working with manufacturers and suppliers.
• Introducing new products and brands to the market.
• Work with managers (education, trainings, consultations, presentations).

In addition, there are additional job responsibilities of a brand manager, which will depend on the specifics of the company’s activities and the employer’s requirements. Here is an approximate list of them:

• Development and content of an Internet site.
• Writing and publishing press releases, news and articles.
• Participation in partner programs and industry exhibitions.

In addition, the functions of a brand manager often include reporting and collaboration with designers.

Requirements for a brand manager

Employers require from a brand manager:

• Higher education in the field of marketing and advertising, possibly economics.
• Confident PC user with good knowledge of office programs.
• Experience in organizing marketing events.
• Experience in brand management.
• Experience in a similar or related position (as a rule, the career of a brand manager begins with the position of a marketer or administrator).
• Ability to work with information, systematize it and conduct analysis.

Employers often put forward additional requirements:

• Knowledge of English at Intermediate level or higher.
• Willingness to travel.
• Having a category B driver's license (sometimes also having a personal car).

Brand manager resume sample

How to become a brand manager

The responsibilities of a brand manager can be successfully performed by people who have received higher education in the field of marketing, advertising and PR, or by graduates of economic universities.

Brand manager salary

The salary of a brand manager largely depends on the employing company and the qualifications of the specialist himself. As a rule, salary amounts here range from 40,000 to 150,000 rubles. The average salary of a brand manager is about 50,000 rubles.

The concept of “brand” today is not a highly specialized term, but a widely used concept, known to any consumer and associated with a name or name, behind which stands a whole set of characteristics. They are the ones who build the buyer’s trust in the product or service.

And this fame and recognition is ensured by the brand manager - a specialist responsible for the development and development of the brand, and ensuring customer loyalty to it.

About the document

A job description (JI) belongs to the category of internal regulatory documentation, the development of which is not mandatory from the point of view of labor legislation.

Purpose of compilation

For any organization, it is important to formalize the relationship between employer and employee. The development of a DI is the starting point for the formation of clear requirements for the experience and skills of a specialist holding the position of brand manager, allowing the employee’s responsibilities to be specified as much as possible.

What regulations governs

For the position of “brand manager”, the professional standard “Marketer” is currently being developed. After its adoption, all organizations will be able to use the text of the document in order to create their own DI for this position.

When developing instructions, it is necessary to use the internal provisions and regulations of the enterprise regarding:

• business processes in which the employee is included and within the framework of which he performs his duties;
• basic provisions for organizing marketing processes, concepts in the field of marketing;
• regulations regarding the development and promotion of the brand, the use of the company’s brand book when working with partners;
• general regulations on the organization and control of the activities of enterprise personnel.

Main types

An organization, when creating a job description, has the right to independently choose the form of the document, determine its structure and content.

With regard to DI for a brand manager, the employer can draw up general or standard instructions that apply to a specialist working as a brand manager in different areas. This document format is used if the responsibilities of these specialists are identical.

If we are talking about a highly specialized specialist whose duties are not repeated in the functionality of the positions of other marketing specialists, then it is necessary to develop an individual DI. For different companies, the content of the instructions will differ, taking into account the industry specifics of the company and the responsibilities performed by the specialist.

Also, when choosing a DI form, organizations can choose and create their own form, which will reflect the basic requirements of the position for a specialist.

Who should compile

The most effective option for drawing up instructions is to organize a working group, which should include:

• or ;

Wherein:

• The manager forms the job requirements for the employee, determines the functionality, describing in detail the employee’s responsibilities.
• HR specialists are responsible for the DI form, if necessary, adjust the text proposed by the manager, and coordinate the changes with him.
• The task of the legal adviser is to analyze the document for compliance with the requirements of labor legislation.

The final stage of development of a DI is its approval and signing.

Functions

A well-written job description is used in the following processes:

• department personnel management;
• assessing the quality of performance of duties by the employee;
• searching and hiring new specialists;
• adaptation of employees in the workplace;
• forming a system for assessing employees for compliance with the requirements of the position;
• formation of a personnel reserve.

Positions of the job description of a brand manager

The instructions for the position of brand manager must contain comprehensive information about the requirements for a specialist.

Are common

The structure of this section should include the following data:

1. Title of position and department.
2. Information about subordination, position of immediate and functional manager.
3. Working interaction between the employee and employees of other departments.
4. Requirements for education and work experience, which, as a rule, require the employee to have a higher marketing education and work experience of at least 2-3 years in a similar position.

Objectives of the position

If a brand manager is responsible for brand development, then the goal of his work should be to increase customer loyalty to the brand, increase recognition of a product or service among the target audience, increase sales figures or market share.

Requirements for knowledge and skills

To fulfill his duties, a brand manager must have a good knowledge of the industry market and be able to assess its capacity, have information about competitors, know and be able to apply marketing research techniques, master data processing and analysis methods, be able to plan and implement various types of marketing activities.

Job responsibilities

• A brand manager can perform brand development tasks or be responsible for its development from scratch. In the second case, such specialists usually work in manufacturing companies.
• Responsible for developing a brand, a specialist must create its history and philosophy, work on creating a logo and brand book.
• Organizing and conducting marketing research is a responsibility included in the functionality of almost any brand manager. To carry it out, he must prepare research plans, select partner companies to conduct them, process the results obtained and prepare proposals for further actions taking into account the data obtained.
• One of the key functional areas of the specialist is brand development and promotion. As part of this function, the employee determines the promotion strategy, selects forms and methods for its implementation, prepares documentation on the process, and conducts training for sales department employees to work under affiliate programs with the organization’s clients.
• In order to develop a brand, a specialist creates a marketing plan and the budget necessary for its implementation, prepares reports on budget expenditures and evaluates the effectiveness of the results obtained.
• One of the employee's responsibilities may be to participate in brand pricing. To do this, he organizes or independently monitors competitors’ prices, monitors the actions of dumping companies, and develops a system of discounts and bonuses for the company’s clients.

Rights and responsibilities

To fulfill his duties, the brand manager is given the right to receive information from related departments, interact with third-party organizations, and prepare proposals for improving the company’s performance.

The specialist's area of ​​responsibility includes the following obligations:

• provide up-to-date information about the market, product and competitors,
• maintain the confidentiality of information about the methods and techniques of the enterprise’s marketing activities,
• provide the management of the organization with information on the results of its activities in a high-quality and timely manner.

A lot of useful information for a band manager is presented in this video:

BM assistant DI positions

A brand manager's career often begins as an assistant brand manager. When developing a DI for the position of assistant, it is necessary to determine:

• his subordination to the brand manager;
• requirements for experience and education, which, as a rule, are much softer, since an employee without work experience can be invited to this position immediately after graduating from a university.

If, when determining knowledge and skills for the position of a brand manager, we are talking about developed skills in the professional field of activity, then for an assistant the most important qualities are: learning ability, ability to work with information, good user skills when working with a PC.

1. The brand manager is a member of the regional sales department.
2. A person with higher education and work experience in a similar position for at least 1 year is appointed to the position.
3. The decision on hiring and dismissal is made by the director of the Alice-Plus company in agreement with the manufacturer.
4. The brand manager reports directly to the regional manager.
5. The contract for the work of a brand manager with a manufacturer is concluded for a period of at least 2 years.

1. 2. Job responsibilities:

The brand manager should:

• organize the supply and sale of manufacturer's brand products;
• know and implement the concept, interests and policies of the manufacturer, promote and strengthen the image and prestige of products under this brand and the manufacturer itself. Do not allow your actions or inactions to discredit the brand, employees and the manufacturer as a whole;
• carry out independent planning of actions for the upcoming period (a month or two weeks), present this plan to the regional manager for approval and comply with it;
• constantly study the dynamics of consumer demand and market conditions affecting the sale of products;
• develop distribution in the retail network. Organize and support the distribution mechanism for the manufacturer’s products;
• exercise control over the movement of goods - be present when customers accept products, control the conditions of storage and transportation of products;
• provide comprehensive assistance to customers in the continuation of the manufacturer's products;
• develop and implement new trading mechanisms taking into account changing market conditions and specifics;
• conduct and develop marketing activities, monitor the use and placement of advertising materials;
• know information and existing competitive products in the region. Know and track trends in sales of distributors of competitive or similar products, know the schemes and conditions of their supply;
• together with the regional manager, develop a technology for interaction with the distributor to create and maintain conditions that allow the manufacturer’s products to be included in the distributor’s main product range;
• regardless of the distributor, know and have a list of all buyers;
• monthly submit an updated customer base in the prescribed form to the regional manager;
• engage in merchandising with customers, train them in this matter on the manufacturer’s products;
• provide customers with the necessary promotional products from the manufacturer;
• provide the regional manager with a report on claims regarding the quality of the manufacturer’s products once a month;
• Conduct a monthly analysis of product sales. Maintain appropriate statistical and reporting documentation and submit it to the regional manager in a timely manner;
• not to disclose information that constitutes a trade secret of the manufacturer.

During the work of the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC:

• participate in the formation of monthly plans for turnover, development and promotion of goods;
• know, comply with, control and provide comprehensive assistance in compliance with all agreements, regulations and other issues related to cooperation between the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC;
• solve operational tasks and problems during the work of the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC in order to move the manufacturer’s products;
• know and monitor compliance with product delivery conditions (credit limit, deferred payment);
• control the availability of the required quantity and range of products (including advertising) in the distributor’s warehouse. Maintain a weekly and monthly report on the movement of products through the distributor’s warehouse in the prescribed form for presentation to the regional manager;
• monitor and regulate the movement of manufacturer's products from Alice-Plus LLC along the chain: order - delivery - payment - order. This refers to the movement of products between the distributor and the stores;
• conduct trainings and consultations for distributor employees and customers on manufacturer’s products;
• inform sales staff and key customers about changes and additions to the assortment, quantity of goods and prices;
• jointly or independently of sales representatives, visit stores in order to control distribution, position products on the shelf, attract new customers, resolve conflict situations, marketing and advertising events;
• develop activities for the sale of hard-to-sell products and implement them in agreement with the manufacturer and the Alice-Plus company.

1. 3. Rights:

The brand manager has the right:

1. Represent the interests of the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC within the framework of the job description.
2. Submit proposals for improving the activities of the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC for consideration by management.
3. Interact with the structural divisions of Alice-Plus LLC.
4. Use the property of the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC to perform official duties.
5. Participate in all activities of the manufacturer and Alice-Plus LLC that contribute to the performance of his job duties.

1. 4. Responsibility

The brand manager is responsible for:

1. Improper performance or failure to fulfill one’s official duties as provided for in these instructions, within the limits determined by the current labor legislation.
2. Offenses committed in the course of carrying out their activities, within the limits determined by the current administrative criminal and civil legislation of the Russian Federation.

1. 5. Brand manager salary

1. The salary is set to ___________ per month. Pays __________.
2. Bonuses are paid as a percentage of wages in the following cases:

2.1. Implementation of a plan - _____%;

2.2. Attracting new customers - _____%;

2.3. Attracting 10 customers per month - _____%;

2.4. For constant cooperation with the Alice company (2 years) - ____%;

2.6. For increasing sales volumes of hard-to-sell goods - ___%;

2.7. For expanding and maintaining the buyer’s product range - _____%;

2.8. For exceeding the sales plan - _____%;

2.9. For attracting new customers outside the region - _____%;

2.11. For innovative proposals - _____%.

1. Deprivation of bonuses to a brand manager is made as a percentage of salary in the following cases:

3.1. Failure to fulfill the plan - ____%;

3.3. For a decrease in sales volumes - _____%;

3.4. For reducing the buyer’s assortment - _____%;

3.5. For a decrease in trade turnover - ______%;

3.6. For failure to carry out promotions and tastings for this assortment according to plan - ____%.

The brand manager profession appeared not so long ago, but it plays a significant role in the success of a business. Many companies have been in need of such specialists for a long time and the demand for them is quite high today. A brand manager is the person who is one of the key drivers of the work process in every company. What exactly functions does it perform and why its activities are so important, we will consider in this article.

Basic concept of profession

The position of brand manager was created so that a specific employee is responsible for the development and promotion of a brand in the market. His direct task is to ensure competent positioning of the brand to increase demand for the product, and accordingly increase the company’s profit. In many organizations, responsibilities may vary depending on the direction of the company's activities, but they all have similarities in one main task - to make the brand recognizable and in demand.

The area of ​​responsibility of this profession is directly related to marketing. In most cases, the brand manager is subordinate to the marketing director, but at the same time, lower-level managers may be subordinate to him. The joint efforts of these two departments usually form the brand development technology.

The development of the profession itself does not stand still. Over the years, the working functionality has expanded and acquired new types of profiles. For example, in some companies the brand manager may act as a communications specialist, establishing a connection between the product and the potential consumer; in other cases, he engages in market analysis and competitor research.

Direct obligations

Each company has its own specifics of work. It depends on the requirements what specific functions the employees will perform.

The main functions of a brand manager can be divided into several main categories:

1. Brand development. Careful planning of all components of the brand and its positioning. Logo development, naming, corporate identity, slogan, brand history, development plan.
2. Drawing up and planning of a marketing budget. The specialist must understand what exactly the allocated funds will be used for and correctly plan financial investments for promotion.
3. Development of marketing activities. Organization and control of advertising events in order to attract the attention of the audience.
4. Development of strategy and pricing. Establishing sales channels, preparing price lists and advertising materials. Timely entry and adjustment of prices.

The responsibilities of a brand manager include:

• Studying the features of the promoted product, identifying strengths and weaknesses.
• Conducting market analysis, trends, new products.
• Determining the target audience and segments of need.
• Interaction with manufacturers and suppliers.
• Introducing new products to the market.
• Developing a strategy for promoting the product.
• Determination of auxiliary tools for promotion (advertising, presentations, etc.).
• Development of pricing policy, forecasting sales volumes.
• Organization of sales channels.
• Determining product positioning among consumers.
• Identification of positive and unsatisfactory parameters.
• Demand tracking.
• Ensuring control of the full-fledged brand promotion process.
• Working with managers, conducting trainings and consultations.
• Writing and publishing news articles.
• Preparation of reports for management.

The duties and responsibilities of a brand manager may vary from company to company, but those looking to enter the field are advised to learn and gain experience in all aspects.

What knowledge is required for the job?

Requirements for future specialists:

• Having a higher education in the field of marketing and advertising. Perhaps some organizations are considering a candidate with an economic education.
• Most often, a person who already has experience in brand management is hired as a brand manager.
• Knowledge of marketing basics.
• Fundamentals of doing business and market economics.
• Ability to develop business plans and business contracts.
• Understanding pricing methods and generating demand for goods.
• Knowledge of the basics of psychology and sales principles, experience in sales is desirable.
• Knowledge of assortment classifications, purpose of products, brand features.
• Knowledge of a foreign language at the highest level.
• Ethics of business communication.

How the work process is structured

Despite such a vast scope of tasks, it is still difficult to imagine in a structured way what a brand manager does during his work. First of all, this specialist is the engine of the brand. That is, all the tasks that he performs must be implemented for only one purpose - promotion of the brand.

You can promote your brand in different ways. One of the most effective is creating an advertising project that will attract the audience to the product. The company allocates a budget for promotions. What exactly and in what quantity the finances will be distributed is decided by the brand manager, coordinating the decision with management. He works with marketing and advertising departments, analyzes and plans promotion, and allocates the budget.

A professional must have a good understanding of advertising and public relations as he helps the sales team make successful sales. The difference is that sales managers directly sell the product and find clients, while the brand manager enhances its positioning so that consumers know about it and want to buy it.

In the process of work, the specialist is guided by market analysis, audience needs, and research of competing companies. It also provides support for the product, that is, it maintains its competitiveness and is engaged in its development.

Importance of work

For every company, its importance and reputation in the market are important. Everyone is trying to compete with each other, constantly improving their products. A brand is the face of a company. Its successful promotion will bring the company greater profit and recognition, but a big business is built on a multi-structured platform, consisting of many different departments that support the company's activities.

A brand manager is one of the key positions, responsible for the very “heart” (product), around which all other work revolves. As a rule, if a product is not in demand, the life of the organization is at risk, since without sales in the required quantity, it is not able to recoup its own expenses. Positioning and promotion of a product is inextricably linked to its sales. To do this, you need an employee who is ready to be responsible for the success of the brand. This is why the work and skills of a brand manager are highly valued.

How to become a specialist

To start a promising career in this field, first of all, the candidate must meet the requirements of the applicants. Relevant higher education will be a mandatory criterion. A related requirement will be the ability to understand the specifics of production and adequately assess the company’s capabilities in order to set achievable goals.

To work in this area, the candidate will need knowledge of such disciplines as: economics, management, marketing, advertising and PR, sales.

The average age of readiness for such a level of responsibility, according to statistics, varies from 28 to 35 years.

Career

The demand for reliable specialists is only increasing. For this reason, the prospects for a career as a brand manager look quite bright. Usually, if one company limits employees' ability to develop further, then there will be no problem finding another company that needs a new project and a fresh mind. After all, there are countless products, but there are not enough creative ideas for them.

The next stage in your career growth may be the position of head of the marketing department or general director. The experience gained at this job can be so rich that it will even allow you to start opening your own business.

Pros and cons of the profession

Positive sides:

• Creative and varied work.
• High profit payment.
• High demand for personnel.
• Possible trips abroad.
• Rapid development.
• Lots of communication and new acquaintances.
• Gaining valuable experience.
• Prospects.

Negative points:

• A lot of work.
• Lots of stressful situations, tension.
• Irregular schedule.
• Possible processing.
• Huge responsibility.
• Required experience.

What personal qualities will help you achieve success?

What a brand manager does requires great communication skills. Many professional skills can be learned, but you can’t always force yourself to love your job. Communicative people who love communication and new acquaintances will find it easiest to cope with their responsibilities. The work of a brand manager requires active interaction with people, the ability to negotiate, and develop partnership qualities. In addition, personal qualities such as:

• Non-standard thinking.
• Ability to manage a team.
• Organizational skills.
• Self confidence.
• Good memory, attentiveness.
• Analytic mind.
• Demandingness.
• Determination.
• Stress resistance.

Education

To understand all the specifics of this industry and the opportunity to build a career, you can get an education at any institute in the Russian Federation. Areas that will prepare you for this profession:

• Advertising management.
• Marketing.
• Management, management.
• Enterprise economy.
• Marketing in trade.

If higher education has already been obtained in another field, there are special, narrowly focused courses. Many business schools offer courses in the area of ​​brand manager or marketer.

Before work, you should familiarize yourself with the basics of branding, brand strategy, verbal and visual identity. Having mastered these skills, you can learn many useful aspects for work, for example:

• Develop a brand communication strategy.
• Plan an advertising campaign.
• Develop a corporate identity and brand book.
• Research the market and consumer preferences.
• Conduct strategy analytics and much more.

In the same way, you can improve your professional level by attending trainings and seminars on brand management.

Income

In most cases, the salary level depends on the success of the company, but by general standards, the salary range for 2018 is from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles. in Moscow. In other regions today, brand managers earn from 35,000 to 60,000 rubles.

Brand manager

Brand (from the English “brand”) has two meanings: the first is “factory, trademark”, “stamp”, the second is “to be imprinted in the memory, to leave an indelible impression.” Thus, a brand can be understood as a trademark that reflects the image of an enterprise, as well as the industry orientation of the goods. A well-advertised brand that is provided with a stable positive image of an enterprise allows not only to stimulate the sale of goods, but can itself be an object of trade, bringing additional benefits to the copyright holder on the basis of licensing agreements, commercial concession agreements, etc. Often, the consumer is more focused on the brand of the product, and not on real characteristics, psychologically associating a well-known brand with quality.

A brand manager is a specialist who manages the sale of a certain category (group) of goods, united in their classification by brand. The task of a brand manager is precisely to convince the buyer to purchase the product. This manager is the last link that directly promotes the product (an already developed and advertised brand) to the buyer. This is a kind of indicator that allows you to evaluate the quality of brand development and the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. A positive assessment will be stable demand for goods.

When promoting a product, the brand manager mainly focuses not on the technical sale itself, but on its information and advertising support, thereby facilitating the promotion of the brand to the market. A brand manager should focus not so much on the price characteristics of a product, but on the quality and operational parameters, and know the features that make it possible to identify its advantageous indicators when conducting a comparative analysis with similar products of other brands. In this case, he acts as a representative of the manufacturer of the product and therefore must know not only economics and marketing, but also the production technology of the product being promoted.

A brand manager can work both in the structure of a manufacturer that independently sells its goods, and in a trading company that is a distributor or dealer of the manufacturer on a mutually beneficial contractual basis.

Job responsibilities brand manager:

1. Study of the features of the promoted product, analysis of consumer requirements for the product based on the results of marketing research.

2. Carrying out market analysis, identifying target consumer market segments for product promotion.

3. Development of a strategy for promoting the product on the market (taking into account proposals from marketing and advertising departments for conducting advertising campaigns, exhibitions, and presentations).

4. Organization of product presentations to potential buyers and consumers, thematic seminars (professional consulting on consumer properties and qualities of the product).

5. Development of a pricing policy for the product, determination of the conditions for the sale of goods (system of discounts and benefits for certain groups of buyers).

6. Sales volume forecast.

7. Drawing up a budget for the product, calculating the expected profit and profitability from the moment the product is introduced to the market, determining the possibility of losses for the enterprise in the first stages of product promotion and developing proposals to minimize them.

8. Development of a product sales scheme (from the creation of new sales divisions to the reconstruction of existing sales channels).

9. Organization of contractual work in the department that deals with the product, keeping records of payment transactions, analyzing operational data on sales results.

10. Product merchandising coordination.

11. Monitoring the position of the product on the market (sales progress of the product, demand for it), determining and analyzing consumer attitudes towards the product.

12. Identification of unsatisfactory parameters of the product, customer requirements for the product (not taken into account in the product) and reporting them to the design, technological and production departments to adjust the product, giving it new consumer properties.

13. Monitoring the pricing policy and demand for competitors’ brands, determining the position of the product relative to similar or similar competitors’ products.

14. Coordination and control of the work of subordinate employees.