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The differences between brand managers and brand strategists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a brand manager and a brand strategist. Additionally, a brand strategist has an average salary of $120,948, which is higher than the $97,789 average annual salary of a brand manager.
The top three skills for a brand manager include brand management, digital marketing and customer service. The most important skills for a brand strategist are brand strategy, digital marketing, and project management.
| Brand Manager | Brand Strategist | |
| Yearly salary | $97,789 | $120,948 |
| Hourly rate | $47.01 | $58.15 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 127,429 | 53,223 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A brand manager is an individual responsible for adapting a brand strategy that targets the potential market for a company's product while maintaining its integrity. Brand managers assist in developing products while managing budgets for the advertising and promotion of their new products. They usually work under the supervision of marketing managers or chief marketing officers (CMOs) to implement and execute their marketing initiatives. Brand managers also provide an analysis of sales forecasts and create reports on product sales.
A brand strategist is in charge of spearheading the marketing campaigns designed to improve brand awareness and visibility. Working together with marketing experts and managers, a brand strategist must perform marketing research and analysis to identify marketing opportunities and customer needs, developing marketing programs and projects along the way. Furthermore, a brand strategist must coordinate with different teams to put the strategies into motion. They may participate in creating campaign materials, managing the budget, liaising with clients, and producing progress reports as needed.
Brand managers and brand strategists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Brand Manager | Brand Strategist | |
| Average salary | $97,789 | $120,948 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $131,000 | Between $89,000 And $164,000 |
| Highest paying City | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a brand manager and a brand strategist in terms of educational background:
| Brand Manager | Brand Strategist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Marketing |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Wisconsin - Madison |
Here are the differences between brand managers' and brand strategists' demographics:
| Brand Manager | Brand Strategist | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5% | Male, 48.8% Female, 51.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |