How to become a Brand Expert?
Would you like to work as a Brand Expert helping companies build solid corporate identities to gain trust and customer loyalty? Discover how to pursue this career path!
In a world in which the commercial offer is becoming increasingly wide and the competitors challenging, companies cannot rely only on marketing to prevail. They indeed need to invest huge resources in branding, in other words, in the whole process of creating a solid and distinguishable corporate identity that needs to be perceived as clear and unique by consumers.
This complex process is not limited to the analysis of distinctively visual elements like corporate logos and colours; it also perfects the entire experience a customer has with the brand: if the path results strong and easily recognisable from competitors, it also inspires trust and credibility, granting market success. To this end, the figure of the Brand Expert was born, a professional capable of creating strategies for launching and promoting products and reinforcing a company’s image, ensuring that it appeals to the public. These professionals collaborate with the marketing team to ensure that branding efforts match the company’s objectives, dealing with:
- Caring for the brand identity: with their team, they carefully study the name, logo, typography, colours and visual elements that represent a company so that they are consistent, attractive and always recognisable;
- Improve the brand position: they correctly position the brand on the market, differentiating it as much as possible from the competition;
- Refine brand messaging: they fine-tune a brand’s communication to be consistent with its history, values and target audience;
- Optimise the brand experience: they refine all touchpoints a customer has with a brand, from the website and social media to packaging and customer service, to ensure a positive experience that leaves its mark.
To achieve this, the Brand Experts:
- Identify products and aspects of a brand that need a change of strategy to be appealing;
- Conduct research and analyse market data to better understand the target audience, find out what they want and how to satisfy them;
- Work with marketing, advertising and creative teams to create effective advertising campaigns, online and offline content, websites and visual elements;
- Gather data and customer feedback to improve branding strategies and user experience;
- Help in the correct design of product packaging;
- Collaborate in the organisation of corporate events that present the brand to the public.
Emerging as a successful Brand Expert is only possible by investing in a targeted educational path. In fact, it is necessary to attend university courses and Academic Masters focusing on core topics such as branding, marketing, public and international communication, event management and public relations – all necessary fundamentals for devising comprehensive strategies. The next step is to identify internships or Junior Brand Expert roles in companies, communication agencies, public institutions or non-profit organisations to gain practical experience and useful contacts with industry professionals, working alongside marketing and branding experts.
Continuous training through specialisation programs, six-month courses, Academic Masters, or short courses dedicated to new trends represents added value. These programs guarantee specific skills and issue recognised certifications useful for enriching one’s cultural background and curriculum vitae.
Several specific skills and competencies are required of the Brand Experts, including:
- Strong creativity and propensity for problem-solving: these professionals must be able to produce innovative strategies that make the brand more and more distinguishable from its competitors, astutely overcoming any difficulties that arise along the way;
- Ability to communicate effectively and work as a part of a team: they must be effective both in conveying their ideas clearly to the many teams they work with and in creating messages that persuade potential customers;
- Expertise in data analysis: to guide their branding strategies, these professionals must be able to process a large number of insights related to industry trends and customer behaviour;
- Ability to use specific software and tools: in order to monitor the results of their strategies and simplify their implementation, these professionals must know how to juggle the various digital tools and platforms required to preside over the image of a company or product online and offline.
The Brand Expert, an extremely versatile professional, can work in different contexts, including:
- Large and small companies: is called upon to collaborate with marketing and branding teams to reinforce the identity of a company or product through the study of specific visual elements and the design of ad hoc communications;
- Branding, communication and advertising agencies: studies personalised branding campaigns for each client and coordinates marketing/advertising activities aimed at increasing brand visibility;
- Non-profit organisations and public institutions: optimises institutional communication and promotes the organisation’s image by running campaigns, events and initiatives that increase public awareness;
- Start-ups and technology companies: works on the branding of each new product created, verifying that the proposed image is consistent with market trends.