Career Options

 Brand Management 

Typically, brand management positions exist at companies that produce branded products and are considered part of the marketing function.  A brand manager’s role involves monitoring the competitive landscape of the category in which the brand resides, developing consumer messaging, and executing strategies to take advantage of market opportunities and deliver sales and profit projections for the business.  Brand managers operate much like small business owners and are considered part of the marketing function in most companies.  Backgrounds in business or liberal arts related fields are common among brand managers; however, consumer goods employers are very interested in the analytical and leadership skills that candidates with backgrounds in other disciplines bring to the table.  

 Corporate Finance and Operations

CPG and retail companies need business students with financial and operations skills to help solve problems, assess profitability, and acquire new businesses. In some companies, these finance and operations professionals have equal and occasionally greater authority than marketers. They aren't responsible for developing marketing plans, but they make many of the important recommendations and decisions that direct the course of business strategy and new product development.  

 Marketing Strategist 

Marketing strategists create, manage, and enhance products and services communication so they reflect well on the company’s brand. The four components of marketing are product, price, promotion, and place. Marketing takes a product with specific features and benefits, creates pricing and promotional strategies, and oversees the methods that will be used to bring it to market. Based on whether the product is high-end or low-end, based on its manufacturing specs and its price, the marketing team creates a selling approach that includes strategies for advertising, public relations, and other types of promotion, and the head of this team also coordinates with the sales team to determine how they will make the product or service available to customers. 

Market Research/Consumer & Data Insights

Careers in market research emphasize the collection and analysis of consumer behavior data to support the marketing and development of products through every stage of the business. They design and conduct market research studies, analyze accumulated data, and communicate findings to management to support business recommendations. A market researcher’s work could include creating focus groups to gauge consumer opinions on advertising campaigns, or finding out how audiences use a website.  In a similar vein, some CPG and retail companies have roles in insights teams in which analysts and marketers collect and analyze consumer marketing data to provide strategic and tactical recommendations, support decision-making on investments in brands and promote innovation. Qualitative and quantitative analytical abilities are both vital to these types of roles. 

Global Opportunities 

CPG and retail companies do business all over the world but have regional products, brands, and customers. Many of the largest companies such as P&G and Unilever, offer opportunities for people of almost every skill set in locations across the world.