Post job

Product manager vs brand manager

The differences between product managers 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 product manager and a brand manager. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $97,789 average annual salary of a brand manager.

The top three skills for a product manager include product management, QA and product strategy. The most important skills for a brand manager are brand management, digital marketing, and customer service.

Product manager vs brand manager overview

Product ManagerBrand Manager
Yearly salary$111,729$97,789
Hourly rate$53.72$47.01
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs125,678127,429
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age3939
Years of experience1010

What does a product manager do?

A product manager is responsible for ensuring product development, providing the best marketing strategies, and effectively handling the sales and marketing team. Product managers' duties include monitoring the market trends and conditions, identifying business opportunities and plan initiatives, and collaborating the product launch process with the appropriate departments. A product manager is also responsible for generating ideas on improving product features, determining timetables and reasonable pricing, and analyzing product sales. A product manager must have excellent strategic and decision-making skills to contribute to its growth and profitability.

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.

Product manager vs brand manager salary

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

Product ManagerBrand Manager
Average salary$111,729$97,789
Salary rangeBetween $81,000 And $152,000Between $72,000 And $131,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAParsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Highest paying stateCaliforniaRhode Island
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryRetailManufacturing

Differences between product manager and brand manager education

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

Product ManagerBrand Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Product manager vs brand manager demographics

Here are the differences between product managers' and brand managers' demographics:

Product ManagerBrand Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 65.3% Female, 34.7%Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between product manager and brand manager duties and responsibilities

Product manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead collaborative efforts within the PMO, vendors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Manage developers accountable for coding, database development, UI implementation, and system architecture.
  • Manage inventory service levels / overstocks /defective inventory and supplier buy-in opportunities to maximize ROI.
  • Lead customization of the company's administrative SaaS software solution by defining features and functionality for internal/external stakeholder teams.
  • Lead weekly meetings between engineering, sales/marketing, and QA departments to facilitate communication, collaboration and resolution of product issues.
  • Handle design and specification of administration system requirements to efficiently manage, operate, and support client API configurations and sessions.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Product manager vs brand manager skills

Common product manager skills
  • Product Management, 11%
  • QA, 5%
  • Product Strategy, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Market Research, 4%
  • User Stories, 4%
Common brand manager skills
  • Brand Management, 8%
  • Digital Marketing, 7%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Brand Marketing, 5%
  • Product Development, 4%

Browse executive management jobs