How do I get into FMCG Brand Marketing?
At Tarsh & Partners, we see many candidates with excellent marketing backgrounds who would love to make the move into an FMCG brand marketing role.
It’s easy to see why FMCG marketing is so attractive; creating innovative new brands and products to meet the needs of a fast-paced and constantly changing consumer world is very appealing, but why is the move so difficult to make? Surely, a passion for brands, a love of food/drink/cosmetics, a professional qualification and a strong suite of marketing skills are transferrable?
The truthful answer is, moving into FMCG is not that straightforward. There is a fairly specific set of skills and experience that employers look for, so what are they, and how you can align your own experience to maximise your chances of getting noticed?
Firstly, what does an FMCG marketer actually do? To put it simply, FMCG brand marketing is all about understanding the DNA of a brand; analysing consumer insights and then using that knowledge to develop compelling new concepts and propositions. These must be appealing to consumers AND able to be manufactured and sold profitably. Day-to-day work will include things like;
- Developing annual, 3 & 5 year brand and strategic plans
- Analysing consumer data sources such as Nielsen, IRI and Kantar to monitor what’s going on in the market
- Tracking brand performance and reporting to key stakeholders
- Identifying market trends and opportunities for new or existing product development. Writing briefs for R&D teams to develop new products or to tweak existing ones
- Understanding the impact of recipe changes, packaging updates and supply chain issues. Developing and sourcing new packaging or updating existing formats
- Ad-hoc market research studies; writing research briefs, concept testing with consumers
- Understanding market regulation and governance
- Working with commercial functions to allocate marketing support, promotions and exclusive products, whilst building and maintaining brand equity
- Driving repeat purchase outside of promotional periods to ensure volume and value targets are met
- Justifying and driving through price increases, to both the supermarkets and the consumer
- P&L management that extends well beyond managing the marketing budget. Understanding revenue, cost of goods, gross contribution, profit and EBITDA
Whilst it isn’t impossible to make the move into FMCG brand marketing, it can be challenging to make sure you have, and can highlight the experience you need. Get in touch with us for honest advice practical steps you can take to achieve your objectives.
