Marketing director vs brand manager

The differences between marketing directors 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 marketing director and a brand manager. Additionally, a marketing director has an average salary of $114,906, which is higher than the $97,789 average annual salary of a brand manager.

The top three skills for a marketing director include digital marketing, marketing campaigns and market research. The most important skills for a brand manager are brand management, digital marketing, and customer service.

Marketing director vs brand manager overview

	Marketing Director	Brand Manager
Yearly salary	$114,906	$97,789
Hourly rate	$55.24	$47.01
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	93,503	127,429
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	10	10

What does a marketing director do?

Marketing directors are responsible for the overall branding and marketing direction of the company. They are in charge of identifying goals and strategies related to marketing. They create strategies that cater to the target market of the organization's products and services to help with sales. They lead the company's marketing department and create the company's brand promise. They ensure that all marketing collateral is in line with the rest of the marketing campaigns of the organization. They should be updated on all the current trends in the marketing world.

What does a brand manager do?

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.

Marketing director vs brand manager salary

Marketing directors and brand managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Marketing Director	Brand Manager
Average salary	$114,906	$97,789
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $193,000	Between $72,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Brookfield Properties	Meta
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Manufacturing

Differences between marketing director and brand manager education

There are a few differences between a marketing director and a brand manager in terms of educational background:

	Marketing Director	Brand Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Georgia

Marketing director vs brand manager demographics

Here are the differences between marketing directors' and brand managers' demographics:

	Marketing Director	Brand Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%	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%

Differences between marketing director and brand manager duties and responsibilities

Marketing director example responsibilities.

Manage staging of NCAA athletics events.
Manage RFP, RFI & SOQ process; track, analyze and report on sales pipeline.
Train, manage, and develop customer service / sales team strategies and oversight of day-to-day operations.
Manage the portal website build, including PPC and search engine optimization, email broadcasts and affiliate marketing efforts.
Manage all marketing operations - recruiting, hiring, training, retaining, payroll, and continual staff education.
Utilize marketing/sales automation tools (salesforce.com, pardot.com) to help track, manage and properly distribute each individual lead.

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Brand manager example responsibilities.

Direct and coordinate photo shoots; conduct live training sessions; manage marketing asset library; CRM strategy.
Manage paid search campaigns including keyword generation, ad copy testing, landing page optimization, PPC and SEM.
Manage global product development teams with cross-functional oversight for manufacturing, sourcing, finance, design and supply chain management.
Manage POS merchandising and distribution of promotional items.
Develop and manage new health brand strategy including creation of healthcare professional/dietitian program.
Obtain certification through a cheese and wine class.

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Marketing director vs brand manager skills

Common marketing director skills

Digital Marketing, 12%
Marketing Campaigns, 6%
Market Research, 5%
Sales Strategies, 4%
Integrated Marketing, 4%
CRM, 4%

Common brand manager skills

Brand Management, 8%
Digital Marketing, 7%
Customer Service, 5%
Project Management, 5%
Brand Marketing, 5%
Product Development, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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