What is a Brand Manager
To fully understand and be able to discuss the role of a brand manager one first has to identify what is meant by the term ‘brand,’ and how it is used to encourage consumers to purchase goods or services and thus enable the firm to achieve its business goals.
According to Phillip Kolter, who is regarded by many as one of the foremost academics on marketing, a brand consists of a symbol or name that is uniquely associated with a specific product or service with the intention of differentiating this from those offered by competing firms. A brand can be applied in two ways. In the first place it can use the corporate name to create an immediate association with a particular product, or service, as would be the case with MacDonald’s, being associated automatically with Fast foods and Mercedes with automobiles. Alternatively, a brand can be applied to a specific individual product offered by the corporation. For example the IPod, manufactured by Apple, has become a brand in its own right as distinct from the corporation that manufacturers it.
From this brief overview it is immediately apparent that the role of a ‘brand’ manager is to ensure the successful marketing and promotion of the product or service that the brand relates too. To achieve this situation the manager will need to have developed a number of key skills, which can be generally related to the following areas.
- Understanding the product
Although it has often been said that a good salesperson can sell anything, this is not strictly true. A proficient salesperson makes his or her task easy because they devote the time and effort to understanding the product or brand they are employed to promote. In other words the brand manager will need to be adept at identifying its unique selling points (USP’s) and using these as a central theme within their marketing plan.
- Understanding the consumer
There is no point in having a great product or service unless you, as the brand manager are fully aware of the target market that is likely to purchase. Furthermore, to maximise the sales and revenue the brand manager will also need to be aware of what it will take to create a sustainable relationship between the branded product/service and its customers. It follows therefore that understanding the customer will be one of the key tasks of a brand manager.
The main skills a brand manager will require in order to fully understand and identify the appropriate target market for the brand are essentially related to his or her ability to conduct effective research. For example, the manager will need to evaluate whether the product or service will appeal to business or end user consumers. Secondly, particularly with consumers, there is a need to assess the potential age and gender demographic of consumers that are likely to purchase the brand product or service. For example, it is less likely that the older age group would be interested in extreme sports activities or products than their younger counterparts. Third, the brand manager will need to assess which consumer bracket has the disposable income to be able to purchase the product being offered. There is no point in promoting a Mercedes to those consumers whose disposable income limits their automobile purchase to a Ford or other range.
- Finding the right areas to promote the product
The next area of skill that a brand manager requires is the ability to identify how best to promote the message related to the product or service to the consumer/business segment they have identified as being the most likely to purchase, in other words the target market. For example, if the target market consists of a younger age group, that decision might involve use of the Internet and social networking sites as the best form of promotion. Conversely, with older age groups the most appropriate avenue could be television or magazines.
Similarly, it is equally important for the brand manager to be able to decide the most appropriate content for use within their promotional message. For example, with younger segments modern pop music or celebrities could be seen as the most effective ways in which to attract the consumer, whereas other segments might respond more positively to promotions that contain nostalgic images.
It is apparent from the issues that have been discussed in this article that a brand manager has to have the ability either to acquire or already possess a range of skills and competences that this role requires. Amongst these understanding the product or service, the market to which these will be promoted and the most effective means of promotion will rank highly.
Sources:
Arnold D (1992). The Handbook of Brand Management. Century Business: The Economist Books. London, UK.
Kolter, Phillip (2002). Marketing Management. 11th edition. FT Prentice Hall. London. UK
