{"id":1288,"date":"2018-10-23T11:27:03","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T11:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2025-04-19T09:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T07:48:07","slug":"what-does-brand-manager-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/digital-marketing-blog\/what-does-brand-manager-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does a Brand Manager Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DSM<\/div><\/div>

There are countless titles in the marketing field more so now with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the ubiquity of social media. One of these titles is \u201cbrand manager\u201d. Now, you will probably be asking what a brand manager does. To answer this properly, we\u2019re going to first need to delve into what a brand is before we can show you how to manage a brand.<\/p>\n

Managing a Brand<\/h2>\n

What is a \u2018brand\u2019?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Internationally renowned marketing gurus Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller, in the 12th<\/sup> Edition of their seminal work entitled Marketing Management <\/em>(2006), look at how the American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a \u2018brand\u2019. The association defines this concept as:<\/p>\n

\u201cA name, term, sign, symbol or design \u2013 or a combination of them \u2013 intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or design or a combination of them intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, the elements that Kotler and Keller mention are indeed integral to what makes up a brand. However, the true anatomy of a brand, and the effect that it has on people\u2019s perceptions, goes much, much further than this. \u00a0For example, a number of years ago there was a stock outage, at a well-known supermarket chain, of Coca-Cola. This lasted for a\u00a0 lengthy period of time. It had the effect of substantially decreasing revenue for the chain because when customers saw that they couldn\u2019t buy Coca-Cola, they would not resort to buying a similar product which tasted the same as Coca-Cola. Instead they would go to another outlet to find their desired product but, unfortunately for the supermarket, they didn\u2019t purchase any other items on their shopping list \u2013 they bought them with the Coca-Cola at the next shop. Thus the power of the Coca-Cola brand caused the supermarket chain to lose millions.<\/p>\n

\"DSM<\/strong><\/h2>\n

How does someone manage a brand?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The brand manager is responsible for making sure that there exists a rock-solid link, in the minds of consumers, between the brand and the product or service that the company offers. In other words, they are responsible for maintaining brand equity for the company.<\/p>\n

Kotler and Keller define \u201cbrand equity\u201d as \u201c\u2026 the added value endowed to products and services.\u201d The brand manager has to make sure that when consumers think of their brand, there are extremely positive emotions associated with it so that when the company launches a new product or service they will feel like they have no option but to purchase it. Take Apple, for example. The company has become masters at building phenomenal brands by living their company ethos, which was defined by Steve Jobs, as \u201cTo create great things that change people\u2019s lives\u201d. The advantage is that when they launch a new product, there is a lengthy waiting list of people who\u2019ve ordered the product and will receive it as it hits the shelves.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve highlighted just a snippet of what a brand manager does. To learn more about how brand management forms an integral part of your digital marketing strategy, we suggest that you sign up for the Digital School of Marketing\u2019s Brand Management Course<\/a>. On this digital marketing course, you\u2019ll learn how to:<\/p>\n