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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Assistant Brand Manager

💰 $ - $

MarketingBrand ManagementConsumer Goods

🎯 Role Definition

The Assistant Brand Manager supports the Brand Manager in developing and executing brand strategy to grow market share, drive revenue, and build long-term consumer loyalty. This role combines market research, cross-functional project management, campaign execution, retail and eCommerce activation, and performance analytics to ensure the brand meets business objectives across channels and customer touchpoints.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Marketing Coordinator or Brand Coordinator
  • Sales Support or Category Analyst (retail/CPG)
  • Product Specialist or Assistant Product Manager

Advancement To:

  • Brand Manager
  • Senior Brand Manager
  • Marketing Manager / Category Lead
  • Head of Brand or Director of Marketing

Lateral Moves:

  • Trade Marketing Manager
  • eCommerce Manager / Marketplace Lead
  • Shopper Marketing or Category Management

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Support development and execution of the annual brand plan by translating strategic objectives into measurable marketing initiatives, timelines, and budget allocations that align with company revenue and growth targets.
  • Assist in managing the brand P&L by tracking monthly sales, margin, promotional spend, and ROI; prepare variance analyses and recommend corrective actions to achieve profitability goals.
  • Lead and coordinate product launch plans including go-to-market strategy, packaging rollout, pricing strategy, retailer onboarding, merchandising, and launch reporting to ensure new SKU success.
  • Develop and maintain the brand calendar; plan integrated marketing campaigns across ATL and BTL channels, including digital, social, in-store, and trade promotion activities.
  • Generate consumer and market insights through primary and secondary research, synthesize findings into actionable recommendations for product, pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies.
  • Plan, execute, and optimize digital marketing (social media, display, SEM/SEO, and paid media) campaigns with agency and internal partners to drive awareness, consideration, and conversion metrics.
  • Manage creative development end-to-end—write or approve creative briefs, collaborate with creative agencies, review assets, and ensure brand consistency across packaging, advertising, POS, and digital content.
  • Coordinate with sales, distribution, and retail partners to design and implement in-store activations, planograms, and promotional mechanics that increase shelf velocity and visibility.
  • Analyze campaign and channel performance using data analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, marketing automation, sales dashboards), provide weekly/monthly performance summaries, and recommend optimizations.
  • Support pricing strategy, trade promotion planning, and promotional calendar development by modeling price elasticity, cannibalization, and incremental volumes.
  • Execute shopper marketing and trade initiatives including coupons, sampling, co-op promotions, and fixture design to improve conversion at point-of-sale.
  • Manage day-to-day relationships with creative, media, PR, market research, and digital agencies; ensure timely deliverables, clear scopes of work, and adherence to budget and brand standards.
  • Support cross-functional product development by coordinating R&D, packaging, regulatory and supply chain inputs to accelerate time-to-market and ensure compliance.
  • Produce high-quality sales presentations, sell-in decks, and training materials for internal stakeholders and retail partners that clearly articulate brand strategy and performance.
  • Administer CRM and loyalty marketing activities—segment audiences, develop nurture journeys, and measure customer lifetime value to improve retention and repeat purchase rates.
  • Maintain up-to-date competitive intelligence—track competitor promotions, product launches, pricing, and messaging; prepare competitive briefs and recommend tactical responses.
  • Assist with forecasting demand, inventory planning, and working with supply chain to mitigate out-of-stocks or overstocks that impact sales and margin.
  • Monitor and enforce brand governance: ensure correct brand usage, retailer compliance, and legal/regulatory adherence across all marketing materials and claims.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests and exploratory data analysis to validate hypotheses or inform tactical marketing decisions for the Assistant Brand Manager and cross-functional teams.
  • Contribute to the organization's digital commerce strategy by optimizing product pages, content, and marketplace listings for SEO, conversion, and discoverability.
  • Collaborate with eCommerce and DTC teams to develop promotional mechanics, A/B tests, and merchandising strategies tailored to online shopper behavior and platform requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies with marketing operations or consumer insights teams to prioritize deliverables and manage iterative campaign improvements.
  • Assist in managing influencer and partnership programs, negotiating terms, briefing talent, and tracking content performance to extend reach and credibility.
  • Train and support sales teams and retail merchandisers on brand selling points, new product features, and promotional mechanics to drive correct execution in the field.
  • Coordinate competitive and ad-hoc consumer research projects (surveys, focus groups, ethnographies) to validate product concepts and refine positioning.
  • Draft and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for recurring brand processes including campaign approvals, asset storage, and retailer onboarding.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Brand strategy development and tactical execution for FMCG / CPG or consumer brands.
  • Marketing analytics: proficiency in Google Analytics, Excel (advanced modeling), and experience with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker).
  • Digital marketing: paid social, SEM/SEO fundamentals, programmatic basics, and experience managing media agency relationships.
  • Trade promotion planning and in-store activation experience, including knowledge of planogram essentials and shopper marketing tactics.
  • Product launch management and new product development (NPD) processes, including cross-functional project coordination.
  • CRM and email marketing platforms (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot, Klaviyo) and audience segmentation skills.
  • eCommerce and marketplace optimization (Amazon, Walmart, Shopify) including content, SEO, and conversion rate optimization.
  • Budgeting and P&L support skills: spend tracking, ROI calculation, and scenario modeling.
  • Strong PowerPoint/Google Slides skills for persuasive leadership and retailer presentations.
  • Familiarity with consumer research methods, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and primary research fieldwork.
  • Basic graphic and creative oversight skills; familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator) is a plus.
  • Basic SQL or ability to collaborate with analysts/data engineers to extract transactional datasets for performance insights (preferred).

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration—able to align Sales, Supply Chain, Finance, Creative and Agencies.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication; able to craft clear messaging for internal and external audiences.
  • Analytical mindset with attention to detail and the ability to translate data into business decisions.
  • Project management discipline: prioritization, timeline ownership, and multi-tasking across concurrent initiatives.
  • Problem-solving orientation and adaptability in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
  • Creative thinking paired with commercial focus—balancing brand-building with short-term sales impact.
  • Leadership potential with ability to influence without direct authority and mentor junior team members.
  • Time management and organizational skills to manage multiple launch and campaign deadlines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Economics, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or Master’s degree in Marketing/Business or a related discipline (preferred, but not required).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Marketing
  • Business Administration
  • Communications
  • Consumer Psychology
  • Market Research / Statistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive marketing experience, ideally within FMCG/CPG, retail, consumer packaged goods, or brand-led organizations.

Preferred:

  • 3–6 years with direct brand management, trade marketing, or product marketing experience; demonstrated experience launching consumer products, managing cross-functional projects, and driving measurable sales growth.
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