Marketing
What does a brand manager do? In answering, you should discuss the value that brands add to both marketers and consumers. Use concepts from academic branding, literature and industry practice.
Brand is a universal concept that is applicable to the tangible as well as the intangible offerings of an organization. Branding helps organization in a number of ways. Effective branding helps organizations to create perceived differences among the products, develop loyal customer franchise and create brand value that can translate into financial profits. The brand may be defined as a multi-dimensional construct through which the managers augment products or services with values. A brand facilitates the process the customers recognize and appreciate the values created by the products or services of an organization.
The role of brand managers becomes even more critical and challenging due to the fact that it is the brand managers that create strategies to ensure that the brands are recognized and accepted by the target consumers. The brand managers may devise various types of branding strategies so as to position the brand in the minds of the target customers. Correct brand positioning in the minds of the target consumers is a vital activity in the branding arena as it is the impression that the target consumers have about a brand ultimately motivates or demotivates them to take their decisions to use the services or products of a particular organization. Effective branding can ensure that the products and services of the company are recognized by the consumers and also referred by the consumers owing to their characteristics such as quality, durability and price. The various types of branding strategies used by branding managers may include brand extensions and brand pruning.
Job Profile of a Brand Manager
As a brand manager one has to deal with all kinds of people from diverse functions such as marketing, research and adverting to ensure that the brand stays on top. Brand managers are closely associated with advertising and promotions to ensure that the brands have a high brand recall among the target customers. The brand managers devise branding strategies for various functions such as a brand launch, a brand relaunch, a brand revival, co-branding and so on. Brand managers make the brands useful and attractive in the eyes of the customers.
For example, the brand manager for an eCommerce company needs to devise online branding strategies so as to attract the target customers and connect with them. It is the responsibility of the brand manager to ensure an increase in the value of the brands for the organizations. The performance of a brand manager is directly linked to the performance of the brands they promote.
