What is a brand manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Expert
Tobias Sellier
introduction image

A brand manager develops and executes strategies to enhance the reputation and sales of a brand. They oversee the marketing, advertising, and promotional activities and monitor trends and customer behavior. A brand manager collaborates with product development and sales teams to ensure consistency and quality of messaging across all channels. They also conduct research to gain insights into customer needs and preferences and use this information to improve the brand's offerings.

What general advice would you give to a Brand Manager?

T

Tobias SellierTobias Sellier LinkedIn Profile

Senior Director, American Public Power Association

There are exciting opportunities to work for community-owned, not-for-profit, hometown public power. From engineers and customer service representatives to lineworkers and administrative professionals, there are many opportunities. And utility employees, being essential workers, even during these challenging times, there are still many jobs that will need to be filled.
ScoreBrand ManagerUS Average
Salary
7.5

Avg. Salary $97,789

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
7.5

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 48.52%

male 51.48%

Age - 38
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38
Stress Level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
9.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
3.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Brand Manager?

Pros

  • High level of responsibility and autonomy

  • Potential for high earnings and career advancement

  • Opportunity to travel and attend industry events

  • Ability to see the impact of your work in real-time

  • Chance to build and lead a team

Cons

  • Constant need to justify budget and ROI

  • Limited job security due to high competition in the field

  • Risk of burnout due to high workload and pressure

  • Potential for ethical dilemmas when making branding decisions

  • Difficulty maintaining work-life balance.

Brand Manager career paths

Key steps to become a brand manager

  1. Explore brand manager education requirements

    Most common brand manager degrees

    Bachelor's

    74.5 %

    Master's

    16.7 %

    Associate

    5.5 %
  2. Start to develop specific brand manager skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Brand Management7.76%
    Digital Marketing7.07%
    Customer Service4.97%
    Project Management4.70%
    Brand Marketing4.54%
  3. Complete relevant brand manager training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New brand managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a brand manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real brand manager resumes.
  4. Research brand manager duties and responsibilities

    • Direct and coordinate photo shoots; conduct live training sessions; manage marketing asset library; CRM strategy.
    • Manage paid search campaigns including keyword generation, ad copy testing, landing page optimization, PPC and SEM.
    • Manage global product development teams with cross-functional oversight for manufacturing, sourcing, finance, design and supply chain management.
    • Manage POS merchandising and distribution of promotional items.
  5. Prepare your brand manager resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your brand manager resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a brand manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Brand Manager Resume templates

    Build a professional Brand Manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Brand Manager resume.
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  6. Apply for brand manager jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a brand manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Brand Manager Job

Zippi

Are you a Brand Manager?

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Average brand manager salary

The average Brand Manager salary in the United States is $97,789 per year or $47 per hour. Brand manager salaries range between $72,000 and $131,000 per year.

Average Brand Manager Salary
$97,789 Yearly
$47.01 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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How do brand managers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Brand Manager reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020
Pros

The ability to do tasks in a lot of different areas of marketing


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019
Cons

Nothing


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019
Pros

B2B Communication and Building Relationships, Product\Strategy Development and Implementation, Solving Problems


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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