Market&Brand Management

MARKET&BRAND MANAGEMENT Vault Career Guide to Marketing & Brand Management

Looking for a new challenge? The Vault Job Board has thousands

of top marketing jobs for all experience levels. Visit www.vault.com. xi

INTRODUCTION 1

Functional Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

BUILDING YOUR MARKETING FOUNDATION 11

The Marketing Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Three Crucial Marketing Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

What is a Brand? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Top 12 Ways to Revitalize a Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

The Basics of Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Evaluating an Ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

The Medium is the Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

ON THE JOB 29

Key Responsibilities and Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

A Day in the Life of an Assistant Brand Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

The Functions of the Brand Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

The Traditional Brand Management Career Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

GETTING HIRED 43

Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Is Marketing Right for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

How to Create a Winning Resume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Cover Letters that Kick Butt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Networking and the Headhunting Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

What Should I Look for in a Marketing Company? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

THE INTERVIEW 55

The Inquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

The Case Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Vault Career Guide to Marketing & Brand Management

FINAL ANALYSIS 67

APPENDIX 69

Marketing Jargon/Buzzwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

MARKETING CASES

Hallmark Cards Ð'-- Creating a Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Sears Ð'-- Brand Repositioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Snackwell's Ð'-- Creating Consumer Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Saturn Ð'-- Building a Sustainable Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

xii Ð'© 2001 Vault Inc.

Looking for a new challenge? The Vault Job Board has thousands

of top marketing jobs for all experience levels. Visit www.vault.com. 3

What is a marketer? The allure of brand

management

Marketing encompasses a wide variety of meanings and activities. Some

marketing positions are very close to sales, while others set overarching

marketing strategy. What marketing positions have in common is the sense

of ownership over the product or service, as well as the need to understand

customer needs and desires and translate those needs into some kind of

marketing communication, advertising campaign or sales effort. The

manager of product or service marketing is called the brand manager Ð'-- he

or she is the ruler of that marketing universe.

Careers within the marketing/branding arena are high-profile. The business

world is now realizing that strong brands and solid marketing programs drive

shareholder value, and that companies can no longer make fundamental

strategy decisions without truly understanding how to market a product.

Today's business challenges Ð'-- the quest for company growth, industry

consolidation and deregulation, economic webs, and the emergency of new

channels and technologies Ð'-- make marketers even more valuable.

The titles of brand manager, product manager, and to a lesser extent,

marketing manager are often used to describe the same function Ð'-- some

companies use one title, others use another. Marketing manager tends to be

used in industries other than consumer packaged goods; product manager is

often used in tech industries. "Brand management"