Brand Manager - Axe en Unilever

JOB PURPOSE

Are you ready to work on one of the most exciting brands in our business?

Launched in 1983, Axe has developed into one of the most iconic brands globally, quickly becoming the biggest Male PC brand in the world and a true cultural phenomenon. It is a powerhouse brand with leadership position in all its major markets. It is also at the forefront on innovation and is truly embedded in culture. But that’s not it. We want to bring our innovation and engagement programs to the next level, creating products and communication that create FOMO amongst young guys. Our objective is objective to drive unprecedented penetration and market share gains and reach our ambitious target of €1.5 billion TO by 2027. Our recent launch of our new Fine Fragrance Collection range has been one of the most successful initiatives in PC and will be the bedrock as well as the benchmark of the work we do in the coming years.

In this context, the vision of our BG team is to be the most SASSY brand in PC, delivering product innovations and advertising that are cool, bold, talkable and crafted for young guys.

We are looking for a new Global Brand Manager to lead design & development of the Axe Fragrance Experience across touchpoints that gets Axe into the hands (and noses) of as many young guys as possible.
 

RESPONSIBILITIES
• Reporting to the Axe/Lynx Global Brand Director, the core focus of this role is to help drive recruitment of young guys into the brand. You will be leading innovation and engagement for formats and programs designed to drive brand penetration. The main areas of focus are as follows:
o Axe Fragrance Experience - Key to drive recruitment for Axe is to get young guys to experience our world class fragrances. You’ll take strategic ownership of creating and delivering the best class fragrance experiences at every touchpoint. This would include strategy/ innovation for Trial, Sampling, Collabs, Events, Gifting among others.
o Contact Applicators – While Axe enjoys dominance with the aerosol formats, we want to replicate this success with contact applicators. You will lead the global program to deliver holistic superiority with the sticks format. You will also lead the x-category initiative on the refill strategy for sticks/ solid fragrances. This also means the candidate will get significant exposure to senior PC stakeholders.
• As part of your projects, you will lead cross-functional teams, including R&D, SC, CMI, Finance. You will also often work with external partners too, such as research agencies, world-class design & communication agencies as well as the best fragrance experts globally.
• The scope of this role will be global. This means that you will be partnering with the Axe local teams in our top BUs and across key markets (MX, UK, DE, FR) to design your innovations & comms. You can gain a deep understanding of different consumer needs, trends and unique market dynamics across the world.
• This role will be based in London (100VE) and will give you the opportunity to lead, develop and coach at least one Global Assistant Brand Manager.
 

ALL ABOUT YOU 

• Previous experience in Brand Marketing is essential.

• Previous experience in a Global Brand Teams as well as previous experience and/or good understanding of Deodorants, other PC categories or Male brands are preferrable.

• Demonstrable skills and/or inclination in the following areas:

  • Consumer understanding – understanding young guys better than anybody else, being connected to them and immersed in their culture.

  • Data-driven approach – being excellent at using data to make informed decisions and recommendations.

  • Entrepreneurial mindset and out-of-the-box thinking – not taking things for granted and challenging the status quo when it gets in the way, applying critical thinking and creativity to problem solving.

  • Team working – driving psychological safety and creating a team environment where everybody can express their idea and different views are respected.

  • Crafting skills – having an eye for what’s cool and paying a lot of attention to details and pride in creating superior propositions and products.

  • Influencing skills – being comfortable working with senior stakeholders and able to influence them.

  • Communication and leadership skills – leading and galvanising external partners, cross functional teams and local brand teams.

  • Passion for growth and high performance – putting great care and rigor into what we do, being accountable for and taking pride of our work.