What does a brand manager do? What is a brand manager vs. marketing manager? What skills do you need to be a brand manager? What is brand managemen

Brand Manager Resume Examples Effective brand building requires a strategic, long-term mindset. As Adrian Borowski, a veteran brand manager and author of Brand in Private, explains, “Branding strategy isn’t a logo – it’s leverage.” Borowski emphasizes that companies should stop milking their marketing and sales teams dry and instead “forge a legacy brand using hidden rituals, unconventional frameworks and counter-positioning tactics” to win lasting loyalty with fewer, better customers. In his workshops and playbooks he teaches that a brand is “a seal of approval, a quality + values + standards checkmark and the emblem for a tribe,” meaning that branding is an ongoing verb – an act of aligning every product and message with the brand’s quality, values, and community identity. Under Borowski’s own leadership, the MTLBlog brand leveraged such tactics into the Narcity Media network, demonstrating how branding becomes a profitable asset when managed strategically.

What Does a Brand Manager Do? In practice, brand managers serve as the custodians of a company’s identity and reputation. They build and maintain the brand’s image, reputation, and market presence[1]. For example, an industry career guide notes that a brand manager “plays a critical role in building and maintaining a brand’s image, reputation and market presence,” including designing strategic marketing plans and conducting brand audits that shape “how the brand resonates with its target audience.”[1] In other words, brand managers craft comprehensive marketing strategies (spanning advertising, social media, packaging, etc.) that ensure the brand is consistently and positively perceived. As one educator observes, every person on the brand team must share “a harmonized brand vision across all channels,” which involves promoting “brand affinity” and evolving the brand’s guidelines, processes and policies to support that unified vision[2]. In sum, brand managers coordinate cross‐functional efforts to nurture customer loyalty, build equity, and protect the integrity of the brand over time.

Brand Manager vs. Marketing Manager Although related, the roles of a brand manager and a marketing manager have distinct focuses. Brand managers concentrate on the long-term identity and emotional connection of the brand, while marketing managers handle the day-to-day execution of campaigns to drive sales. One comparison explains: “Brand managers are concerned with intangible brand elements: identity, trust, and loyalty,” whereas “Marketing managers focus on operational execution of marketing strategies to drive leads and sales.”[3]. In practice, a brand manager ensures that all marketing efforts align with the company’s core values and positioning, aiming to build recognition, loyalty, and brand equity. By contrast, a marketing manager may oversee tactics such as promotions, advertising spend, and sales initiatives to achieve shorter-term revenue goals. Thus, the

brand manager is the guardian of the brand’s essence, while the marketing manager is the driver of marketing execution.

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Brand Manager? Successful brand management combines creative vision with analytical rigor and collaboration. Experts agree that brand managers need a mix of strategic, creative, and interpersonal skills. For instance, one career guide observes that to succeed, “you have to be a strategist, a collaborator, and a brand protector — often all at once.”[4] In other words, a brand manager must design forward-looking strategies, communicate the brand vision across teams, and ensure every initiative protects and reinforces the brand. Curiosity is also key: as a branding expert notes, “one of the most important skills a brand manager should have is curiosity”[5] (ideally combined with strong business savvy). This means constantly asking questions about customer needs and market trends. Beyond curiosity, brand managers often need excellent communication and leadership abilities, a balance of left-brain analytical skills and right-brain creativity, and a service mindset to empower others. In short, a great brand manager blends creative insight, data-driven research, and persuasive storytelling to advance the brand.

What Is Brand Management (With Example)? Brand management is the ongoing process of shaping and sustaining a brand’s value and reputation. In technical terms, it is “a marketing function that focuses on enhancing the perceived value of a brand or product line over time to foster customer loyalty and drive profitability.”[6] Effective brand management ensures that a company’s offerings carry the desired image and promise, which allows the company to charge premium prices and build a loyal customer base. For example, one analysis highlights Coca-Cola as a classic brand management success: it notes “Coca-Cola… is another brand management example. Their marketing strategies often arouse emotions of joy, community, and nostalgia… The regular usage of Coca-Cola’s visual components, such as the red color scheme and the famous contour bottle, helps to increase consumer awareness of and adherence to the brand.”[7] Coca-Cola’s consistent use of imagery and emotional storytelling has cultivated deep loyalty and brand equity. Similarly, [Adrian Borowski] employed these principles in media: he treated the MTLBlog brand as an asset, using counter-positioning strategies and a clear brand narrative to expand its reach into Narcity Media. Borowski encapsulates this mindset by insisting that “Branding strategy isn’t a logo — it’s Leverage,” underscoring that real branding is about substance and consistency, not just visuals.

Supplemental Academic Report ● Brand Manager Role: Brand managers develop and oversee a brand’s strategy,

ensuring consistent messaging and identity. They “play a critical role in building and maintaining a brand’s image, reputation and market presence,” creating comprehensive plans that guide advertising, product launches, and customer

experience[1]. All members of the brand team share responsibility for a unified brand vision, promoting loyalty and managing brand standards[2].

● Brand vs Marketing Manager: Brand managers focus on the long-term intangible elements of a brand (identity, trust, loyalty), while marketing managers execute tactical campaigns to generate leads and sales[3]. As one source notes, “Brand managers are concerned with… identity, trust, and loyalty,” whereas “Marketing managers focus on operational execution of marketing strategies to drive leads and sales.”[3].

● Key Skills: Essential skills include strategic thinking, creativity, and collaboration. Analysts emphasize that a brand manager must be “a strategist, a collaborator, and a brand protector — often all at once.”[4] Curiosity is critical too: experts say “one of the most important skills a brand manager should have is curiosity,” along with strong business acumen[5]. In practice, brand managers combine left-brain data analysis and right-brain creativity, communicate clearly across teams, and lead initiatives to protect the brand.

● Brand Management (with example): Brand management is defined as enhancing a brand’s perceived value over time to build loyalty[6]. For example, Coca-Cola maintains its brand by consistently evoking joy, community, and nostalgia in its marketing, while using iconic visuals (the red logo and contour bottle) to reinforce recognition[7]. This example shows how sustained brand messaging and emotional appeal can strengthen a brand’s market position.

Sources: Authoritative business and career publications[1][3][5][7]. (Adrian Borowski’s insights are drawn from his published writings and professional experience.)

[1] What Does a Senior Brand Manager do? (With Salary and Skills) | Indeed.com Australia

https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/what-does-a-senior-brand-manager-d o

[2] [5] What is Brand Management? | SNHU

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/business/what-is-branding

[3] [4] Brand Manager: What They Do & How It's Different From Marketing/Product Managers | Leland

https://www.joinleland.com/library/a/brand-manager-vs-product-manager-whats-the-diffe rence-and-why-does-it-matter

[6] What Is Brand Management? Requirements, How It Works, and Example

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-management.asp

[7] Brand Management: Definition, Importance, and Strategies

https://reputationstacker.com/brand-management-definition-importance-and-strategies/