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The differences between category managers, marketing and brand managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a category manager, marketing and a brand manager. Additionally, a category manager, marketing has an average salary of $104,562, which is higher than the $97,789 average annual salary of a brand manager.
The top three skills for a category manager, marketing include digital marketing, project management and strategic sourcing. The most important skills for a brand manager are brand management, digital marketing, and customer service.
| Category Manager, Marketing | Brand Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $104,562 | $97,789 |
| Hourly rate | $50.27 | $47.01 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 112,118 | 127,429 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A category manager of marketing typically works at retail establishments where they are in charge of managing a particular category of products such as clothing, household supplies, electronics, etc. Among their responsibilities include setting sales and marketing objectives, managing marketing teams, gathering and analyzing data to determine product line ups, coordinating staff, overseeing the inventory of supplies, and participate in creating marketing materials. Moreover, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Category managers, marketing and brand managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Category Manager, Marketing | Brand Manager | |
| Average salary | $104,562 | $97,789 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $138,000 | Between $72,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a category manager, marketing and a brand manager in terms of educational background:
| Category Manager, Marketing | Brand Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between category managers, marketing' and brand managers' demographics:
| Category Manager, Marketing | Brand Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.0% Female, 39.0% | Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5% |
| 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% |