Digital marketing manager to brand manager
A digital marketing manager already meets 37% of what the brand manager role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.9/ 100
1 How much of what a brand manager is expected to do is already part of a digital marketing manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the brand manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A brand manager role treats 12 of its required skills as things a digital marketing manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply social media marketing
- company policies
- design brand's online communication plan
- execute marketing plan
- identify new business opportunities
- implement marketing strategies
What stands in the way is 19 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A brand manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a digital marketing manager background worth leading with.
- already held design brand's online communication plan management skills
- already held set brand positioning communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held carry out event management management skills
- already held stimulate creativity in the team management skills
- already held perform customers’ needs analysis communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held services marketing business, administration and law
All 15 carried skills, including the 12 the brand manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn carry out naming strategies required
- still to learn create brand guidelines required
- still to learn organise participation in local or international events required
- still to learn apply strategic thinking required
- still to learn coordinate advertising campaigns required
- still to learn create annual marketing budget required
- still to learn define brand identity required
- still to learn lead the brand strategic planning process required
- still to learn manage brand assets required
- still to learn select optimal distribution channel required
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held perform multiple tasks at the same time optional
- still to learn perform brand analysis required
- still to learn carry out sales analysis required
- still to learn comprehend financial business terminology required
- still to learn maintain financial records required
- optional, not held price product optional
- optional, not held seek innovation in current practices optional
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn channel marketing required
- still to learn consumer goods industry required
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- still to learn implement sales strategies required
- optional, not held build rapport with people from different cultural backgrounds optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
- optional, not held plan new packaging designs optional
- still to learn have computer literacy required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a brand manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 carry out naming strategies practise this
- 02 create brand guidelines practise this
- 03 organise participation in local or international events practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held apply social media marketing skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held design brand's online communication plan skill
- already held execute marketing plan skill
- already held identify new business opportunities skill
- already held implement marketing strategies skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held perform customers’ needs analysis skill
- already held perform market research skill
- already held plan marketing campaigns skill
- already held set brand positioning skill
- already held stimulate creativity in the team skill
- already held carry out event management skill
- already held conduct search engine optimisation skill
- already held services marketing knowledge
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held build rapport with people from different cultural backgrounds optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
- optional, not held price product optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held perform multiple tasks at the same time optional
- optional, not held plan new packaging designs optional
- optional, not held seek innovation in current practices optional
34 held skills the brand manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advertising techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
- not needed by the target role apply customer engagement strategy skill
- not needed by the target role brand marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct online competitive analysis skill
- not needed by the target role content marketing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role creatively use digital technologies skill
- not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role digital communication and collaboration skill
- not needed by the target role digital marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
- not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role ethics of sharing work through social media knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute email marketing skill
- not needed by the target role integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy skill
- not needed by the target role interactive media knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mobile marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role neuromarketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role online ads campaign techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role pay-per-click knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform online data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role plan digital marketing skill
- not needed by the target role plan social media marketing campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role relationship marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role reputation management knowledge
- not needed by the target role social media management knowledge
- not needed by the target role social media marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role use e-services skill
- not needed by the target role web analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role web strategy assessment knowledge
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn channel marketing required
- still to learn consumer goods industry required
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held international business optional
Other moves recorded from digital marketing manager
- employer branding manager 53% covered · moderate
- online marketer 52% covered · substantial
- search engine optimisation expert 47% covered · moderate
- publications coordinator 45% covered · substantial
- online sales channel manager 38% covered · substantial
- chief marketing officer 26% covered · career change
- marketing consultant 26% covered · career change
- eBusiness manager 25% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can a digital marketing manager become a brand manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A digital marketing manager already covers 37% of what a brand manager is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 12 of which the brand manager role treats as required.
What skills does a digital marketing manager need to become a brand manager?
19 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is carry out naming strategies.
How hard is the move from digital marketing manager to brand manager?
Its learning distance is 69.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.