Posts Tagged ‘assistant brand manager’

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Top 10 LinkedIn Groups for Aspiring Brand Managers

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

LinkedIn is the leading professional network on the web, so if you don’t have an account already, get one today! If you have one already, you’re off to a great start.

LinkedIn is an invaluable asset to all professionals and students out there providing you many unique features, including your own professional online resume, its own job board, a comprehensive company directory and more.

 

LinkedInGroupsOne feature you job seekers may not know about or have fully explored is LinkedIn Groups. LinkedIn Groups are free to join, and you can choose to join up to 50 groups from a list of thousands of user-created groups for literally just about anything. Not only do these groups provide you access to connect with and contact fellow group members who could become future partners, employees, investors, customers etc., but the groups’ discussion board and news sections can provide more networking opportunities, answers to your questions and insightful advice, tips and support. You can also contribute answers, comments and your own expertise to the groups’ discussion boards to establish your own online personal brand on LinkedIn.

 

While there are thousands of quality groups out there that I encourage you to check out, here are the Top 10 LinkedIn Groups for Aspiring Brand Managers to help you build your own brand and launch your career:

 

 

*These groups are not listed in any particular order.

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A Day in the Life of an Assistant Brand Manager

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

schedule The wonderful thing about RB is that there is never a dull moment and I do mean NEVER. There are ALWAYS projects to manage and drive to completion and new projects on which to begin working with your team.

And this doesn’t include any initiatives you suggest and pursue as you begin to contribute your own ideas, skills and propositions to the business.

I thought it would be interesting to share what one potential day in the life of an Assistant Brand Manager (ABM) is like to provide you a little more insight into what we ABMs do.

 

A couple disclaimers:

1) I cannot be very specific in the details that I am sharing as a number of these projects and meetings are confidential; however, I have done my best to give you a good idea of what each meeting and/or activity is all about.

2) While I am listing a lot of the scheduled meetings and activities in which I participate, none of this takes into consideration the plethora of calls, emails, in-person discussions, last-minute meetings, idea brainstorms, requests and questions that happen in and around these scheduled events each and every day.

 

  • 7:30 AM: Arrive at RB
  • 7:35 AM: Get organized for the day, read, respond to and send out new emails, review case cut and daily sales reports, update consumer promotion summaries and tie up any other loose ends from the previous day/week
  • 8:15 AM: Pull syndicated sales data for any new or remaining analysis requested
  • 9:00 AM: Meet with direct manager and immediate team members to discuss any new project updates and align on priorities for the day and/or week
  • 10:00 AM:Visit onsite design agency account manager to check on status of artwork mockups being prepared for upcoming management review and brief him on new label or artwork requests/changes to previous requests
  • 11:00 AM: Meet with cross-functional team, including representatives from supply, R&D and Regulatory to discuss product formula transition, update timeline and assign next steps
  • 12:00 PM: Brief lunch with my teammates
  • 12:30 PM:Check emails and voicemails, respond with necessary follow up calls or emails
  • 1:00 PM: Work on any requests, including analyses, presentations and briefs, from my direct manager or director
  • 2:00 PM:Meet with our trade marketing managers to identify any account-specific issues, brief them on plans or changes to product launch timelines and logistics and fulfill any requests for brand-side analysis to share in retailer presentations and line reviews
  • 3:30 PM: Call plant project manager to discuss a few of my segments projects, request new cost estimates, notify her of early EPA approval for a label so to update the project’s timeline and move forward with the artwork
  • 4:00 PM:Return to design agency account manager to pick up the mockups, review them with my direct manager and my director for feedback, return mockups with collected feedback for changes or align to move forward for the management review
  • 5:00 PM:Conference call with web agency to discuss this year’s online program and assign budget, deadlines and deliverables
  • 5:45 PM: Work on ROI analyses for my segments’ recent media flights and FSI’s
  • 6:30 PM: Depart RB for home to eat dinner, spend some time with my wife and recharge to do it all again the next day

 

I hope this example of my schedule offers you a better view into the daily life of an ABM at RB.
Please let me know if you have any specific questions, as I am always happy to help in any way possible!

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Has it been 6 months already?

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Hello!  This is my first post as a member of the RB blogger team, and I am excited to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences with you in the coming months through my weekly contributions to My RB Opportunity.

I thought that the title “Has it been 6 months already?” truly sheds light on the speed and intensity of my career experience at RB thus far.  I have hit the ground running, and I haven’t had a moment to look back yet!

 

It was the morning of Monday, July 13, 2009 when I walked through the doors of RB’s U.S. headquarters in Parsippany, NJ, and joined the Lysol brand team as an Assistant Brand Manager for Toilet Bowl and Bathroom Cleaners.

There was little orientation and I wasn’t the “new guy” for long, immediately becoming a contributing member of the team and immersed in the day-to-day activities and projects of the brand, many of which I soon started managing and leading on my own.

 

It is very exciting and humbling to be on such a nationally-recognized and universally-trusted brand.  And while some people out there may not think too deeply about the world of household cleaning products, I have learned just how much thought, research, analysis, time and effort goes into every one of those products sitting on the retailer’s shelf. 

 

I have also learned what it takes to be in brand management.  A brand manager is in many cases the general manager of a business, and he/she often acts as a project manager or the hub of a cross-functional team.  A brand manager must be a solid relationship builder to keep teams strong, cohesive and productive, and must be “dangerously” knowledgeable in all the areas of the business in order to make meaningful and effective decisions for the direction of any given project.  It’s not easy; however, RB has given me this challenge and I am proud to have the opportunity to face it head on.

 

I can’t believe how fast my first six months have flown by, but that just goes to show you how engaging an opportunity is at RB.  It also helps that you get the opportunity to work with other similarly-motivated, ambitious individuals, as RB does a great job selecting team members whose values and motivations align with the company’s 4 Core Values: Achievement, Ownership, Team Spirit and Entrepreneurship.

 

Now, working on Lysol Bathroom Cleaners and Dual Action Wipes, as well as being a cross-functional team lead on the Lysol web team, I look forward to sharing more of my RB experiences and stories with you in the coming weeks!

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Why Reckitt Benckiser is THE place to be if you want to become a marketer

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

akhtar-profile1Hello all.
This is my first blog post here and I would like to share my ’story’ with you.
I have been with Reckitt Benckiser for 5 months now and the experience has been amazing.

 

I joined RB right after completing my MBA from one of the top varsities in Pakistan (IBA).
RB had been my top priority firm for many reasons, including a unique Management Trainee Program, fast and performance-oriented growth and global exposure and recognition of the experience gained.
RB’s MT program is different from the MT programs offered by other companies. The program is not function specific; it’s a comprehensive 3-year program.

 
In the first year each trainee is rotated across Field Sales, Trade Marketing, Brands and Supply Chain to ensure a complete understanding of the entire business and it’s functioning.
The 2nd and 3rd year are when the MT has to be in the live role of an Assistant Brand Manager or an Area Sales manager.
So, at RB, you end up covering more than just the 4P’s of Marketing (also known as the Marketing Mix) – product, price, place (location), promotion. One can only imagine the understanding and insight that an individual has gained through the experience.

 

After joining RB, for the first 3 months we were given exposure to sales. It was a first-hand experience and we visited all the sales regions of our country. We worked with sales team and we were taught how Reckitt operates in different regions: we were given the training of an Area Sales manager.
The next 2½ months we were given exposure to trade marketing in which we learned how to optimize our sales,  and we were given live projects.
I worked on the Dettol portfolio and Wholesale channel plan for next year.
At the end of every rotation we had to give a presentation to our General Manager and his management committee comprising of directors of all functions.
This activity not only gives us visibility at senior management level but also keeps us on our toes during our rotations.
And our suggestions are taken seriously – the initiatives I suggested during my presentations have been implemented.

 
Myself and other MTs who joined RB have finished the trade marketing rotation. We are now in the marketing department; I am working on Veet, Strepsils and Disprin.
And these days I am organizing a fashion show for Veet cream!

 
At Reckitt the career growth is really fast. Almost all the directors of various functions are in their 30s. They reached that position within 7-8 years.
And last but not least I must mention the global exposure one gets while at Reckitt. People are exported to various regions. It’s been 5 months at Reckitt for me and I saw people exported to Dubai and South Africa for work.
Working at RB is a complete marketing experience. For those who want to be marketers, RB is most definitely place for you.

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4 essential terms at RB – or how our entrepreneurial culture flies

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

 

1. Insights
Whether it’s identifying an unrevealed consumer belief or the way that shoppers behave, we are relentlessly on the lookout for insights to drive product development and communication.
As a mentor at RB once told me, you can tell it is a good consumer insight if you find yourself nodding by the end of the sentence.

 

2. Gross Margin
Throughout RB, teams are constantly innovating around ways to expand gross margin to inject back into brand building and top line growth.
Package Engineering, R&D, Materials Management, Purchasing, Quality and Marketing are scrutinizing every SKU (a warehouse term which stands for Stock Keeping Unit) in the portfolio for ways to cut costs without compromising product quality.
The best kind of squeeze is a value-in – where you can improve product performance in a more cost-effective way or simultaneously provide a more environmentally sustainable product.

 

3. Alignment
One of the important skills to be successful in brand management is the ability to set direction, align and lead projects.
Most of the projects we undertake could not be successful without the full engagement of a project team. RB is not a ‘consensus culture’, which is why it is important to have cross-functional teams involved in initial project meetings.
An objection from trade in the first project meeting can result in a fruitful debate that can widen the scope of the project and lead to a bigger opportunity.

 

4. Existing Product Development
At any one time a brand can have dozens of EPDs in the pipeline.
Associate Brand Managers spend a lot of time making sure projects are moving quickly and achieving the objectives we set out to achieve. It is also a chance to work with our Supply Managers who act as intermediaries between the brand and the supply organization.
On these projects we have the opportunity to take risks and have an impact early on.

 

If you have a good insight, it has good gross margin (it makes business sense) and you align it with your team you are on your way to an EPD.
It’s the simple straightforward way of interpreting the entrepreneurial culture around project management that exists at RB.
We have the opportunity to uncover possibilities and lead projects as long as they are based on real consumer insights and make business sense.

 

Sometimes you will have to fight for your projects to be prioritized and you will need to identify and deal with potential blockages that come up.
If you don’t follow your project closely, there is a chance it can get de-railed or de-prioritized.

 

Working at RB is not for everyone – it’s fast paced, dynamic and calculated risk taking is encouraged. But for me it presents an opportunity to get real responsibility early and fight for the projects and initiatives I feel most passionately about.

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