Brand Manager - Innis & Gunn

C&C Group plc is a premium drinks company which owns, manufactures, markets and distributes a unique portfolio of beer and cider brands in its home markets and across the globe. You probably know us best from brands like Bulmers, Magners and Tennent’s.     

About the Role 

The Brand Manager will take ownership of the day-to-day management of Innis & Gunn as it becomes integrated into the C&C portfolio, playing a key role in establishing the foundations, structure and ways of working needed to successfully manage the brand within the business.

As the first dedicated C&C Brand Manager for Innis & Gunn, they will lead the development of the annual brand plan, setting clear priorities, identifying growth opportunities, defining activation activity, supporting commercial objectives and establishing measurable success criteria. The role will also bring discipline and consistency to the management of the brand across areas such as positioning, packaging, creative assets, trade activation, communications, performance tracking and stakeholder engagement. Working collaboratively with teams across Brand, Insight, Communications, Channel Marketing, Sales, Finance and Supply Chain, as well as external partners, the Brand Manager will help embed Innis & Gunn into C&C’s operating model while safeguarding and strengthening the brand’s unique identity, reputation and consumer appeal.

Key Accountabilities 

• Lead the development of the first C&C annual brand plan for Innis & Gunn, setting out the brand ambition, priorities, activation calendar, investment requirements, KPIs and critical actions required to support growth.
• Establish clear ways of working for the day-to-day management of the brand, creating structure around core brand processes including planning, performance tracking, stakeholder updates, budget management, project delivery and decision-making.
• Work with the brand lead to clarify and codify the Innis & Gunn brand strategy, positioning, target consumer, portfolio role and distinctive brand assets, ensuring these are clearly communicated and consistently applied across the business.
• Bring together all key commercial, consumer and brand information required to run the brand effectively, identifying gaps in insight, data, assets or process and putting practical solutions in place.
• Partner with Channel Strategy and Brand Activation Managers to translate the brand plan into compelling customer-facing activation, ensuring plans are tailored appropriately by channel, customer and route to market.
• Work closely with Consumer & Market Insight, Finance and Commercial teams to understand brand, customer and commercial performance, recommending remedial action where required and identifying opportunities for revenue and profit growth.
• Work with Marketing Communications and agency partners to develop and execute brand communications activity, including digital, media, PR, events and earned activity, in line with brand objectives and agreed KPIs.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships across Brand, Channel, Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain, Technical, Innovation and Operations to ensure Innis & Gunn is successfully integrated into C&C processes and priorities.
• Track and report brand performance against agreed objectives, ensuring activity is commercially grounded, financially disciplined and capable of delivering a clear return on investment.
• Manage brand expenditure effectively, making smart use of internal and agency resources while ensuring investment is directed towards activity with the greatest potential to grow the brand.

About you 

• Marketing qualifications allied to practical + proven experience.
• Experienced in commercial brand management – licensed trade and/or spirit marketing beneficial.
• Experience of applying strategic marketing principles and consumer insights, e.g. brand positioning.
• Experience of developing integrated brand communication programmes, including PR, digital, design, advertising and media.
• Experience in managing external agencies and internal stakeholders in a range of marketing disciplines.
• Efficient and effective budget management experience.
• Project management experience.