How do you identify the key responsibilities of a brand manager?

Start with the brand itself - its history, what it is today for consumers (and customers), competition, and industry, and what it can and should be. The former two make the bedrock of the brand's strategy and the latter makes for the stepping stones for building the right strategy. As a BM, you are the sole custodian and owner of the brand. This includes what the brand stands for, wants to be, and how it manifests itself across all touchpoints. Also, strategy isn't only what big moves you make as a brand - it also includes how, when, and where you make it. It also defines guidelines for short-term solution approaches and long-term positioning - it defines how the brand does, what the brand does, and when and where the brand does it.

A great brand manager will help the entire organization discover how to create a total brand experience that customers cannot see themselves living without. In order to lead that journey, he/she must be the lead champion for the customer and design systems to listen to them well. In turn, the brand manager will help the organization continually design the brand experience and the strategies to deliver it. Then, design the metrics of success;ie. Loyalty, level of brand recommendation, real sales growth, pricing aligned value promise, etc.

Brand manager is a center-point and the biggest ambassador of their brand. What I love most about this role is collaborating with all of the company's departments to create a long-term strategy that makes sense for what the brand stands for, aligns with organizational goals and creates competitive advantage in the category. The most successful strategy is informed by all of the brand stakeholders led by the brand manager's strategic decisions.

So defining the brand strategy as a brand manager? It's like setting the GPS for where we want our brand to go. In my journey in brand management , I’ve seen it’s all about really getting what our customers want and blending it with our brand's heartbeat. It’s like having a direct one on one chat with your audience, understanding their likes, dislikes, and crafting a path that makes them feel seen and heard. It's about digging into the data, understanding the whispers in the market, and then painting a picture that aligns the brand’s journey with the audience's desires.

Having been a 3x founder, leading 2 startups in addition to my 14 years of B2B experience, it’s not a 1-size fits all. There are 2 stages of companies in this question: 1. Startups: I’ve seen them obsess over their brand guidelines, that they have inertia in doing anything. At this stage what matters are logo, name & most important personality of the brand! The marketing at this stage needs to be focused 70% on closing business to keep the doors open, and 30% on brand awareness. 2. Cash flow positive: You then build towards 70% brand awareness, to cater to the 95-odd% who are currently not in the market, but will evaluate you at a later stage. This is when all parameters start to matter.

A brand manager is also responsible for updating the brand’s identity after a few years. Brands do not stay the same way they were in the first year of their life cycle; brands are fluid and tend to adapt to market trends and changes. Successful brand managers know how to navigate brand refresh strategies without losing what makes the brand unique.

Brand managers should elevate internal communications and the involvement of staff in projecting the brand identity. Employee attitude and knowledge base is a key part of an organisation's brand identity. They are the proof that whatever story you have amplified about the organisation is true. If they do not deliver what has been promised, word of mouth by a few influential customers will taint the brand identity.

A brand manager's primary role is to ensure the integrity of the brand is never compromised. This role ensures that the brand identity in all campaigns or areas where the brand is visible is consistent at all times. Consistency of the brand includes: 1. The logo (font, colours, names etc)consistency on all marketing material. 2. The tone of the brand on all campaigns in PR and Advertising 3. Imagery on all campaigns. speaks to your brand and is a true reflection of who and what your brand stands for. 4. Brand identity is relevant across all channels that reach your intended stakeholders. Brand Management is a very vital and senstive role as it can either compromise or uphold your brand, and picking a diligent Brand Manager is key.

Visual identity is the first thing that people will see when they come across your brand, so it's important to make sure it's strong and memorable. We still remember many products from beverages to automobiles in terms of colors and typography. This is the first image our brain shows us to identify the product. A consistent tone of voice and messaging style that reflects the brand's personality is difficult to maintain, but with the rise of technology, we can make it easier to maintain. For example, we can use analytical tools to find gaps where we can improve the tone of voice and messaging style and use social media management tools to maintain consistency, throughout all the digital channels.

Brand managers need to unlearn and learn. A lot of testing and hypotheses comes into play when developing brand campaigns. Brand managers shouldn’t be afraid to measurable risks

A campaign is not just any event. Brands should first dwell deep into what they want to achieve from a campaign like - Customer Engagement, Customer Acquisition, Product awareness, creating a Brand Identity, Leveraging on competition etc. This can be done by analyzing Past data and aligning them with future goals that brand would like to achieve.

Selection of the right channels and designing the most relevant campaign for that target audience on those channels is the key. Gorilla marketing doesn't work in every case when you go all in on every marketing channel

From my experience, it is crucial to balance Brand and Activation: brand manager should allocate the budget with a bias towards brand building (at least 60%) over sales activation (40%) since brand building creates the mental structures that predispose customers to choose meaningful brand over others

Developing brand campaigns involves a series of essential steps. Firstly, thoroughly understand your target audience through comprehensive market research, gathering insights into their demographics, preferences, and behaviors. Next, establish clear campaign objectives, defining what you aim to achieve, whether it's boosting brand awareness, driving sales, or launching a new product. Craft a compelling message aligned with your brand's voice and values, ensuring it resonates emotionally with your audience. Choose the appropriate channels to reach your target demographic effectively, considering social media, email marketing, digital advertising, print media, or events.

Beware the vanity metrics! Do your campaigns end up increasing sales or, at least, the number of followers/leads? If not after numerous efforts and A/B tests, then you might have been running campaigns that are detached from how the product actually relates to customer needs. Going viral and getting a high number of likes is nice, but what did your campaign go viral for? For the comedy/controversy or for how creatively and successfully it conveyed the message about what’s great about your product? Winning marketing awards for your campaigns is also nice, but those trophies aren’t covering for the COGS. As a brand manager, don’t be averse to sales. That’s the real measure of performance.

Brand managers are in charge of managing all facets of a business's branding strategy and making sure that all choices made about branding eventually lead to higher sales.

Brand managers must be able to look beyond just likes, follows, etc. You must understand what makes your customers choose you, why your customers love you, what makes your customers happy and then you can leverage all these to boost your brand.

Most campaigns/plans are planned with a tight deadline. While a lot of time is spent planning and executing, not enough time is spent in ascertaining measurement indices. Some questions to ask could be: 1. What is success ? (To reach X people OR to create an award winning campaign OR to get people to remember the brand's USP and consider it). 2. How will I measure it? (X percent improvement in mind measures, how many did I reach, how efficiently did I reach them? Did it generate conversations? Did it beat the industry benchmarks Etc.) With the right kind of measurement framework in place, one is able to objectively ascertain whether a certain initiative is working and should be replicated in the future.

Metrics used to analyse brand campaigns look simple but more often people don't understand how extensive they are. Sometimes people start talking in terms of how many leads got generated from the brand campaign but it's more than that. Brand campaign is not a lead generation activity, it is to be visible at the right platforms to the right audience in the right frequency which enhances your brand's enigma.

Today technologies like AI can help us improve how we create a brand experience. Making it easy for customers to interact with your brand is a big deal for them. This can boost customer happiness, loyalty, and how engaged they are with your brand. Having an improved customer support channel is essential for any brand. Customers should be able to get in touch with the brand in a way that is convenient for them. Offer multiple channels for customer support, such as phone, email, chat, and social media. One more thing before we wrap up: let's make that customer journey a walk in the park! Simplify the process of finding what customers need and help them seamlessly complete their transactions.

Go where the magic happens: to truly enhance the brand experience, a Brand Manager needs to know how and where customer interactions happen. For example: Spend a day with the support team, go on field trips, or conduct mystery journeys once a month and document experiences. Such initiatives allow you to directly observe and understand the customer's journey, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities for improvement. This hands-on approach ensures that strategies for enhancing the brand experience are grounded in reality and informed by direct observation and customer feedback. Only by checking in with the real-world experiences of your customers can you effectively tailor and elevate the brand experience.

Brand managers need to recognize that the brand experience cannot be separate from and isn’t superior to the product and service experience. The setup of your restaurant maybe fancy and the photos on its Instagram account maybe top quality. But if the steak is chewy, that’s what’s really going to shape the customer perception. Brand managers need to get involved with the product to make sure that its quality backs the design for the brand experience. Essentially, any attempt at enhancing brand experience will bring customer focus on the product quality. The brand experience can enhance the product experience but cannot make up for what it lacks.

Enchancing the brand experience is entwined with an unrelenting focus on customer journeys. A mass-produced formula might work for the short-term, but customers come back to a brand because there's some kind of trade-off: that is, the brand makes them feel something. And this feeling, 99% of the times, comes down to a personalised, customer-first approach. Here, the dyanism of the brand is put to the test. Is your brand able to redefine and reimagine its value proposition based on changing customer expectations and feedback?

Ultimately, a strong brand is one that can make you feel deeply. And this sentiment has to echo through all its streamlined messaging across whichever platform you choose. There was an article in Forbes that said that the goal is to create "super fans" - loyal brand advocates. And this is only possible through consistently exceptional customer service, personalised customer journeys, and making sure that the brand offers something to anyone who interacts with it - whether it's knowledge or services.

Being a brand manager means taking on a broad role that often requires familiarity with many aspects of marketing, including market research, content marketing, digital marketing, social media marketing, and product design + management. They have to understand products from both a technical level, a branding level and customer level to be able to craft effective messages that truly sell the products value. Brand managers aren’t necessarily expected to perform these responsibilities in isolation or alone, but their knowledge will help guide each respective team to develop messaging and assets that align with a brand and strengthen its position in the marketplace.

A brand manager in a leadership position is a jack of all trades and master of FEW. It is very important that they have a working understanding of Performance Marketing, App Store Optimization, SEO, Content, CRM, Media Planning and Branding. The role requires constant upskilling and re-learning of concepts as well as train team members to follow the same principle.

Leading the brand team involves more than just managing tasks—it’s about inspiring a diverse group of internal staff, external partners, and cross-functional collaborators to work towards a unified vision. Effective communication is key; ensuring everyone understands their roles and contributions fosters a sense of purpose and alignment with the brand strategy. Motivation and empowerment are crucial, as a motivated team is more innovative and dedicated to achieving exceptional results. Creating a collaborative and supportive environment allows the team to thrive. Efficiently, ensures that projects are delivered on time and within scope. This leadership style encourages continuous growth and cohesion within the team.

A brand manager today needs to be versatile. More aware of their surrounding. I have found that external factors local and global shape consumer behaviour. Understanding trends and shifts ,listening to the market is what makes a brand manager outstanding. Internal buy in strategy is key. The teams that will execute your plans need to understand them. Stick to simplicity and focus. (Steve jobs framework).

Clarity is key - clarity with your internal team first. The brand identity is the backbone of the company and if you fail to communicate your brand internally then you don't have a chance to do it externally. Message to the inside by being transparent and inclusive, you never know who is going to have a killer idea for a campaign or how the brand is perceived. Once you have it down inside, the cross functional work becomes easy and the final step, piecing it all together to communication to the customer is something everyone feels invested in.

There’s no brand without a customer. Always remember it’s not you but the customer creates the brand. It's the perception, emotions, and experiences that customers associate with a company's offerings. A brand manager just creates the opportunity for it.

You are looking for someone who can craft and implement strategies to enhance brand value and recognition. You want someone who will ensure that everything, from product design to marketing campaigns, aligns seamlessly with the brand's image and guidelines. This individual should excel in conducting market research, analyzing consumer preferences and staying updated with the latest market trends. You expect them to oversee the brand budget meticulously, ensuring its effective allocation and management. Collaboration is key; you need someone who will work closely with sales, product, and other departments, maintaining brand consistency across all touchpoints.

What does it take to be a successful brand manager? - A willingness to learn new skills outside your scope of work. A successful brand manager will not be satisfied with using the same set of skills in their role. Consider learning design and typography basics or take an introduce to product management course. Key responsibilities of a successful brand managers - Study and report on internet and industry trends and insights - Represent the brand/business at events and conferences - Speak on behalf of the brand/business on industry panels - Run regular brand audits - Work with the executive management team to refine the brand’s voice and perception

Continuous innovation is also important. Don't just stand still, you will get over run or overtaken by those even doing less than you. I'm not saying start new product lines, I'm saying find innovative ways to use or reuse existing products and market the hell out of those too. Check in with forums, communities, Socials and even funny/experiment type pages, you will get alot of outside the box ideas on how consumers try to use products and the outcomes. No info need be wasted. Even errors can have market value.

Create experiences, emotions, convenience and give value to your audience. Keep messages precise and stay true and transparent. Always be aware of societal environment because thats where your customers live and breathe.