Brand & Category Manager - FMCG

Brand Manager - Category

Theme of the role :

1. Separate focus on each product segment from the perspective of Category specific insights to drive differentiation and market share gains with sales development.

2. Innovation and new product launch keeping in mind the market trends and competitive situations.

3. Sales planning linked to marketing inputs, including field retail needs and vice-versa, by geography and key SKUs.

4. Forward looking marketing calendar at quarterly and half yearly and annual level.

- Effective and efficient brand communication, with consistency across brands in both ATL & BTL. Good content and digital marketing for the brands.

- Maintaining a repository of insights & information on major categories and brands

- Ensuring design-based approach is applied consistently across brands with a harmonized brand architecture and consistent brand identity guidelines across touchpoints.

Responsibilities:

Brand and Category Manager is responsible for:

- Insights about their categories .consumer insights,monitoring market trends and competitive activities,planning market research

- Sales development and market share gains, jointly shared with sales function,including demand forecasting for their category, key SKUs

- working with ZSMs/RSMs on low base key products to take remedial actions

- Select proper products for conducting BTL in each of the geographies in consultation with ZSMs/RSMs

- Create high-quality content for all BTL activities

- Planning, implementing and evaluating post- performance of marketing activities (ATL digital, retail). Develop monthly and quarterly marketing and field input plans with ZSMs/RSMs

- Managing marketing expenses (sales and marketing i.e.,schemes and A&SP)

- Innovation roadmap for the category.

- Planning NPDs with R&D on a forward basis

- Planned field launch of new products with sales function and drive sales of 'Young Products' to achieve desired results

- Coordination with other functions in supply chain and operations for smooth functioning of their category in market

- Brand and Category Manager is also responsible for their respective categories:-

- Driving execution of brand communications by managing creative development and implementation for key brands via proper briefing processes and coordination with

creative agency for all ATL, BTL and digital content

- Driving media strategy and implementation in coordination with media support function to

- Leads annual media planning for their respective brands, as per brand plans

- Driving media efficiencies and effectiveness through deals,media-mix analysis, TG analysis, trends and past learning's

- Monitor Post-Campaign evaluation metrics in a timely manner

- Ensuring that estimation, billing with the agencies follow PM Authorization matrix and SO

- Ensuring the ATL expenditure on brands as per budgets

- Support GM Marketing & Sales in any corporate communication activity like employer brand, corporate communications, workshops etc.

- Brand and Category Manager is also responsible for

- Conceptualization and execution of Digital Marketing creative & media strategy for their respective brand/s in coordination with digital support function in

- Planning and executing digital marketing campaigns for major brands, including SEO, SM (social media), video and display advertising, eCommerce through performance marketing, SEM

- Collaborate with various stakeholders to make effective & engaging digital marketing creatives including videos & display

Brand and Category Manager is also responsible for:

- Planning & execution of annual market research plans for major categories and brands

- Collation of marketing insights for brands / categories across touch points - internal (like retail surveys, panels,market visits) as well as external (like ad tests, concept tests, U&A studies, market sizing, product tests, brand equity studies) to provide inputs to business planning;

be single point source of data & insights for their category

- Utilizing data & insights across all brand touch-points

- Creating and keeping regularly updated dashboards & Insight summaries by integrating all sources and creating actionable insights

- Planning and implementing corporate initiatives like employee surveys, consumer immersions etc.

- Ensure proper presentation of research studies by agencies and follow-up actions

- Managing market research annual budgets for brand/s

- Driving relationship and KRAs with research agencies and other vendor partners

- Brand and Category manager is also responsible for

- Bringing value to business by understanding needs of various brands through design thinking

- Working on multi-disciplinary projects that can span from brand identity, packaging structure and design, retail design, exhibitions and events, etc.

- Briefing and supervising the functioning of external design agencies / in-house teams for design development and taking it through various stages of the project till completion to ensure overall effectiveness

- Ensuring brand identity guidelines are followed consistently by brands across various touch-points

- Works on certain subjects where lead is taken by GM Marketing & sales

- Ideation for big new products/categories

- Brand communication (ATL, digital, BTL)

- Strategy for overcoming obstacles in scaling up volumes of new products and Young products

- Developing strategy for competition fighting

- Product or SKU rationalization/Cost reduction/improved product mix

- Identification of packaging innovation

- Brand architecture initiatives

- Identification and design of any other new major initiative

Competencies 'Must have':

- Experience and understanding of sales function and channel management

- Stakeholder management

- Business acumen

- Data management and analysis

- Digital: Social Media management & content development

Competencies:

'Desirable':

- Design development exposure, including packaging

- Market research

- Communications development, including ATL/digital content

- Skills required Strategic, analytical, and operational excellence

- Brand / Product management

- Thorough understanding of sales & distribution system

Profile & experience:

- MBA from a grade 2 B-School with 6-9 years of experience, of which at least 3-5 should be in field sales

OR

- Even a non-MBA risen from sales function with an aptitude for marketing

- Channel development and distribution experience (minimum 3-5 years), Brand / product management experience is optional

Reports into GM Marketing & Sales

Reporting's into the position

None

Other key interfaces:

- ZSMs/RSMs

- R&D, including packaging