Who needs a brand manager and how to become one

The profession of a brand manager no longer belongs exclusively to FMCG giants. Over the past 5 years, the number of vacancies has increased by 67%. The reason for this is a shift in focus from the product to perception. To sell not the price, but the value, businesses need to manage associations, images, emotions. This is where the brand manager comes into play: from modest technological startups to international media agencies.

Companies are not just looking for marketers. They need a link between strategy and the consumer. This is not an aesthete or creator – this is a product label architect who launches meaning, manages perception, and builds loyalty.

Why Businesses Need Brand Managers

A brand is not just design. It is a managed system of expectations. When a product enters the market, it encounters not only competitors but also noise, consumer fatigue, information overload. To avoid getting lost in the flow, businesses need clarity, consistency, and emotional connection.

Here is the answer to the question of who needs a brand manager. Those who want not just to sell a product but to stay in the minds of consumers. Those who build not just a campaign but a sustainable symbol.

Strategic Value:

1. Increasing LTV (Lifetime Value) through emotional attachment.
2. Reducing retention costs through recognizability.
3. Increasing conversion through consistent communication.
4. Growing NPS (Net Promoter Score) through a positive interaction experience.

A good specialist ensures a return on investment not only in marketing but also in trust.

What Brand Managers Do

The formulation “develops a strategy” does not give an understanding of what a brand manager does in the marketing department. In reality, their tasks are much broader.

Specialist responsibilities:

1. Analyzes the market and competitors using sales data, audience, and user behavior.
2. Develops positioning and visual identity in collaboration with designers and producers.
3. Develops media plans and creative concepts for campaigns.
4. Manages the marketing budget, including traffic purchases and integrations.
5. Tests hypotheses, A/B campaigns, evaluates the ROI of each activity.
6. Interacts with PR, digital, product teams, and sales department.
7. Influences the product: changes packaging, functionality, messaging.

Each step requires not only expertise in marketing but also developed business thinking. That’s why companies are looking for someone who can think strategically and act precisely at the same time.

Where Brand Managers Work: Who Needs Specialists

The profession is no longer associated with a single industry. The geography and business landscape have changed. Now brand managers in different companies perform adapted roles – depending on the goals and nature of the product:

1. In IT, they manage the perception of new features, build context and interfaces to meet user expectations.
2. In retail, they are responsible for recognition and loyalty, especially in conditions of high competition and low differentiation.
3. In startups, they act flexibly: taking on product packaging, storytelling, and digital marketing.
4. In media, they control the tone, formats, and distribution channels of content.
5. In NGOs, they adapt the mission in communication for different target audiences.
6. In entertainment, they build viral concepts, connect fans with symbols.
7. In agencies, they coordinate campaigns for multiple brands – with different archetypes, tasks, USPs.

Everywhere – different focus, but the same essence: control of perception and purposeful creation of meaning. That’s why those who need a brand manager strive to manage not just sales but the market’s relationship with the product.

Building a Brand Manager Career

The starting point is analytics, project management, or marketing. Then – specialization. To have a chance in the profession, you need to understand:

• positioning principles;
• brand management through content and visuals;
• basics of unit economics and marketing analytics.

The average age at the junior position is 25-27 years. Within 2-3 years, a transition to the middle level. After 5 years – a strategic level. A brand manager’s career often includes not only vertical growth but also horizontal transitions between industries. This approach accelerates thinking, expands horizons, and develops adaptability.

According to hh.ru data, brand manager vacancies are most often posted by companies in the FMCG, EdTech, fintech, and retail sectors. The geography includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg. Remote positions are more common in technological projects.

Flexibility of the Profession: Remote Work and Multi-format

Modern work as such a specialist no longer requires physical presence in the office. Especially in IT, digital, and creative industries. Many companies offer remote work – while maintaining requirements for efficiency and synchronicity.

A successful case is an American IT company that built personal brands for its products solely through Zoom meetings and Slack channels in 2 years. The result was a 47% revenue growth in a year thanks to consistent communication and visual style.

When a Brand Without a Manager is Like an Orchestra Without a Conductor

A brand without management turns into a chaotic set of messages. Loss of consistency means loss of trust. That’s why those who need a brand manager are looking for not just an executor but a strategic label leader.

If you stop managing the image, the market will come up with who the company is on its own.

How to Become a Brand Manager

The path to the profession requires a systematic approach, not just a diploma. Universities do not directly prepare such managers – they learn this role through practice and multidisciplinary competencies.

Entry Stages:

1. Analysis and communication. The first steps involve learning marketing analytics, behavioral economics, and positioning structure. Without understanding how the consumer thinks, brand management is impossible.
2. Real experience in projects. Working in an agency or participating in a startup allows you to quickly learn how a brand works under the pressure of deadlines, constraints, and KPIs. These conditions reveal the key: manageability of perception.
3. Formation of strategic thinking. Experience with media planning, engagement, and customers at different stages of CJM development fosters systematic thinking. Strategy is not just an idea but a structural plan of action.
4. Product interaction. Interacting with designers, developers, and project managers builds flexibility. Understanding how a product lives from idea to release turns a brand manager into a link between function and meaning.
5. Specialization. Depending on interests, it is possible to delve into visual branding, audiovisual content, communication architecture, personal brands, or the B2B segment. Specialization accelerates career growth and increases the specialist’s value.

Professional growth accelerates in an environment where strategy combines with deep expertise in the chosen niche. Building a strong personal brand strengthens positions and opens access to more complex tasks.

Who Needs a Brand Manager: Conclusions

Companies that invest in brand management strengthen their market positions and build loyalty. In conditions where price no longer convinces and content has turned into noise.

Those who need a brand manager choose a conscious strategy, not random actions. A strong brand creates not just a product but a specialist who precisely manages perception and turns attention into capital.