Brand Manager Work Samples: Practical Exercises to Identify Top Talent

Brand Managers serve as the guardians and architects of a company's most valuable asset—its brand identity. They bridge the gap between consumer insights and business strategy, translating market opportunities into compelling brand experiences that drive growth and foster customer loyalty. Finding the right Brand Manager requires more than reviewing resumes and conducting standard interviews; it demands seeing candidates in action through practical work samples.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in brand management. While candidates may articulate impressive strategies or showcase past achievements, these narratives don't necessarily demonstrate how they'll perform when faced with your specific brand challenges. Work samples provide a window into a candidate's thinking process, creative problem-solving abilities, and practical skills in real-time scenarios.

The most effective Brand Managers combine analytical thinking with creative vision, strategic planning with tactical execution, and leadership with collaboration. These multifaceted skills are difficult to assess through conversation alone. By implementing structured work samples, you create opportunities to observe candidates applying these skills to situations that mirror the actual responsibilities of the role.

The following four activities are designed to evaluate the essential competencies of a successful Brand Manager: strategic thinking, creative direction, analytical skills, and cross-functional leadership. Each exercise simulates real-world challenges that Brand Managers face daily, allowing you to make more informed hiring decisions based on demonstrated performance rather than self-reported capabilities.

Activity #1: Brand Positioning Workshop

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to develop strategic brand positioning—a fundamental skill for any Brand Manager. It reveals how candidates analyze market opportunities, understand consumer needs, and articulate a brand's unique value proposition.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with basic information about a product category (either your actual product or a fictional one).
• Include current market research data, competitor analysis, and consumer insights.
• Allow 48 hours for preparation before the interview session.
• During the interview, give the candidate 20 minutes to present their positioning strategy, followed by 10 minutes of questions.
• Ensure the interview panel includes stakeholders from marketing, product, and sales teams.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided market information and identify opportunities for brand differentiation.
• Develop a comprehensive brand positioning strategy that includes:
• Target audience definition
• Key brand attributes and personality
• Core value proposition
• Competitive differentiation points
• Brand messaging framework
• Prepare a concise presentation explaining your strategy and the rationale behind your decisions.
• Be prepared to discuss how this positioning would influence various marketing touchpoints.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide immediate feedback on one strength (e.g., "Your consumer segmentation was particularly insightful") and one area for improvement (e.g., "The competitive differentiation could be more distinctive").
• Ask the candidate to take 5 minutes to revise their value proposition based on the feedback.
• Observe how receptive they are to constructive criticism and how quickly they can adapt their thinking.

Activity #2: Campaign Development Challenge

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to translate brand strategy into actionable marketing campaigns—a critical responsibility for Brand Managers who must bring brand positioning to life across multiple channels.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide a brief that includes brand guidelines, campaign objectives, budget parameters, and target audience information.
• Include any constraints or requirements (e.g., must include digital and traditional channels, must launch within a specific timeframe).
• Give candidates access to previous campaign performance data if relevant.
• Allow 3-4 days for preparation before the interview.
• Set up a 30-minute presentation session with key marketing stakeholders.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a comprehensive marketing campaign that aligns with the provided brand positioning and meets the stated objectives.
• Your campaign plan should include:
• Creative concept and central theme
• Channel strategy with rationale
• Key messaging by channel
• High-level timeline
• Budget allocation
• Success metrics and measurement approach
• Prepare a presentation that not only outlines your campaign but explains the strategic thinking behind your decisions.
• Be prepared to discuss how you would adapt the campaign based on performance data during execution.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide specific feedback on the campaign's strengths and one area that could be enhanced.
• Ask the candidate to spend 5 minutes revising one aspect of the channel strategy based on your feedback.
• Evaluate their ability to think on their feet and incorporate new perspectives into their planning.

Activity #3: Creative Brief Evaluation and Direction

This exercise tests a candidate's ability to provide effective creative direction and maintain brand consistency—essential skills for Brand Managers who regularly work with creative teams and agencies.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a deliberately flawed creative brief and corresponding creative concepts (e.g., ad mockups, packaging designs, or social media content).
• Ensure the materials contain issues related to brand consistency, messaging clarity, or strategic alignment.
• Provide the candidate with your brand guidelines and positioning statement for reference.
• Allow 30 minutes during the interview for review and feedback preparation.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided creative brief and concept materials.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in how well the creative execution aligns with brand strategy.
• Prepare constructive feedback that you would deliver to a creative team.
• Be ready to explain:
• What elements of the creative work effectively support the brand
• What elements need revision and why
• Specific direction for improving the work while respecting creative input
• How you would prioritize changes if time or budget were limited

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the candidate presents their evaluation, provide feedback on their assessment approach.
• Highlight one aspect of their feedback that was particularly effective and one area where their direction could be more helpful to a creative team.
• Ask the candidate to revise their most important piece of creative direction based on your feedback.
• Observe how they balance maintaining brand standards with respecting creative expertise.

Activity #4: Brand Crisis Management Simulation

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to handle pressure, make strategic decisions quickly, and protect brand equity during challenging situations—an increasingly important skill in today's fast-paced media environment.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a realistic brand crisis scenario relevant to your industry (e.g., product issue, social media backlash, competitive threat).
• Prepare a briefing document with the initial crisis information and relevant brand background.
• Set up a role-play scenario where team members act as various stakeholders (executives, customers, media).
• Allow 20 minutes for the candidate to review materials and prepare a response plan.
• Conduct a 30-minute simulation where new information is introduced at intervals.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the crisis scenario and quickly develop a response strategy that protects brand equity.
• Prepare initial statements for different stakeholders (customers, employees, media, etc.).
• During the simulation, you will need to:
• Respond to questions from various stakeholders
• Adapt your strategy as new information emerges
• Make decisions about communication channels and timing
• Balance transparency with brand protection
• Demonstrate how you would coordinate cross-functional response efforts

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the simulation, provide feedback on the candidate's crisis management approach.
• Highlight one effective decision they made and one area where their response could have been stronger.
• Ask them to revise their main public statement based on your feedback.
• Evaluate their ability to remain composed under pressure while making brand-aligned decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each exercise requires approximately 30-45 minutes of interview time, plus preparation time for candidates. We recommend selecting 1-2 exercises most relevant to your specific brand challenges rather than conducting all four. The Brand Positioning Workshop and Campaign Development Challenge are particularly comprehensive if you need to choose just one.

Should we use our actual brand for these exercises or create a fictional scenario?

This depends on confidentiality concerns. Using your actual brand provides more relevant insights into how candidates would perform in the role. However, if you're concerned about sharing sensitive information, creating a fictional brand in your industry can be effective. Ensure it has enough detail for candidates to demonstrate their skills meaningfully.

How should we evaluate candidates with different industry backgrounds?

Focus on transferable brand management skills rather than specific industry knowledge. Provide adequate context about your industry's unique challenges, and evaluate candidates on their strategic thinking, adaptability, and learning agility. Sometimes, fresh perspective from another industry can bring valuable innovation to your brand strategy.

What if a candidate's approach differs significantly from our current brand strategy?

This presents a valuable opportunity to gain fresh perspectives. Evaluate the candidate's rationale and strategic thinking rather than alignment with your existing approach. The best Brand Managers bring new ideas while respecting brand heritage. Consider whether their different approach is based on sound strategic thinking and could potentially address blind spots in your current strategy.

How do we ensure these exercises don't disadvantage candidates from underrepresented backgrounds?

Provide clear instructions and equal preparation time to all candidates. Ensure that examples and scenarios don't contain cultural references that might favor certain backgrounds. Have diverse evaluators assess the work samples to minimize unconscious bias. Focus evaluation on objective criteria related to the role's requirements rather than subjective "culture fit" assessments.

Can these exercises be conducted remotely?

Yes, all four exercises can be adapted for remote interviews using video conferencing and collaborative tools. For the Brand Positioning Workshop and Campaign Development Challenge, candidates can share their screens for presentations. The Creative Brief Evaluation can be conducted through shared documents, and the Crisis Management Simulation can utilize breakout rooms and chat features.

Finding the right Brand Manager is crucial for maintaining brand integrity while driving growth and innovation. These work samples provide a structured approach to evaluating candidates beyond traditional interviews, revealing how they think, create, analyze, and lead in realistic scenarios. By incorporating these exercises into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and fit for your specific brand challenges.

For more resources to optimize your hiring process, explore Yardstick's comprehensive tools for creating AI-powered job descriptions, generating effective interview questions, and developing complete interview guides. Our platform helps you design and execute interviews that identify the best talent for your organization.

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