What are the responsibilities and job description for the Brand Manager position at Downeast Cider House?
Brand Manager
Reports To: Brand Director
Location: Hybrid, 1x a week on site in East Boston
The Mission:
This position is responsible for accelerating profitable growth of the assigned Brand, through marketing and communication initiatives that build equity alongside innovation initiatives that fuel growth.
Key Responsibilities:
Portfolio & Packaging
- Build and execute against an innovation pipeline, generating ideas through trend, competitive and category analyses.
- Analyze and actively manage portfolio mix, ensuring profitable growth while also covering all key consumer needs.
- Manage projects through the development process, ensuring on time and on budget launches.
- Analyze and assess channel & customer mix to inform distribution strategy and objectives for new launches.
Pricing
- Monitor competitive market pricing to ensure price competitiveness of owned portfolio.
- Set strategy for pricing across all new items (eg line price, price premium, value offered, etc.)
- Assess portfolio regularly, ensuring key price points are achieved across the portfolio to satisfy various consumer needs.
Communication, Advertising and Consumer Promotions
- Analyze brand positioning and, in partnership with manager, develop and evolve brand strategy to win in the marketplace.
- Develop and execute advertising and consumer promotions plans to build equity, awareness and trial.
- Lead the development of communication materials and brand creative to build equity.
Analytics & Research
- Monitor market trends, consumer trends and competitive activities. Synthesize findings and develop action plans as needed.
- Lead all aspects of consumer research related to owned brand including but not limited to concept testing, insights work and message testing.
- Provide standard reporting for owned brand, market/segment and competitive performance as needed.
Business Management & Planning
- Develop the annual brand plan for owned brand, including multi-year innovation pipeline.
- Develop and execute against annual budget – setting growth goals for sales and profit as well as setting plan for annual expenses.
Experience and Required Skills
- 3-5 years brand management experience
- Proficient with market data sources such as Nielsen, Circana and Numerator
- CPG experience preferred
- Proficient with PowerPoint and Excel
What we offer:
- Unlimited paid time off
- Paid holidays
- 401k with 4% company match
- Health and dental insurance
- Company provided short term disability insurance
- Computer Stipend
- Company-wide celebrations, including a summer offsite and holiday party
- Cider allowance (how big is your fridge)
All offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, conducted after a conditional job offer has been made. Candidates will have the opportunity to review and respond to any findings.
About Downeast Cider
We aspire to build an enduring company with a world-class brand, known as an extraordinary place to work. It’s been 12 years since our first batches of unfiltered cider were fermented in the dorms of Bates College, Maine, and while we’ve gained 231 new teammates and 1.6 million cases of tasty drinks - with a growing assortment beyond cider - we remain 100% founder-owned. We’re a scrappy team that enjoys the hard work of creating a company because we get to work on fun things with people we like. We like to hire the way we like our cider, unfiltered. With the understanding that we can learn and grow from each other’s differences, we are proud to hire regardless of gender, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, or anything else that makes us who we are.
