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Brand management is making a sorely needed comeback. And no, I am not saying you should ditch performance marketing. There are multiple ways to combine the two marketing approaches.

Well, back to why you came here in the first place. If you're looking to make sure your brand is selected long before your buyers come in-market, these 11 brand management courses are a great place to start.

You'll learn about category entry points, incrementality, how to craft emotional narratives that build resonance with your prospects and more. Let's get to it.

Best Brand Management Courses Shortlist

Here's a shortlist of the best brand management courses I think are worth your time in 2024:

  1. Brand Strategy: Management of Your Brand Reputation (LinkedIn Learning)
  2. Brand Management (UCLA Extension)
  3. Brand Management: Build Successful Long-Lasting Brands (Oxford Learning Lab)
  4. Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behaviour (University of London)
  5. Mini MBA in Brand Management (Marketing Week)
  6. Strategic Brand Management (Chartered Institute of Marketing)
  7. AEM 3121 Branding and Brand Management (Cornell University)
  8. Brand Management (Great Learning Academy)
  9. Brand Management (University of Toronto)
  10. Branding and Marketing (University of Oxford)
  11. Fundamentals of Brand Development (Idorenyin Umoh) 

Find out more about each course in detail below.

Overview Of The Best Brand Management Courses

1. Brand Strategy: Management of Your Brand Reputation (LinkedIn Learning)

The Brand Strategy: Management of Your Brand Reputation course screenshot
The Brand Strategy: Management of Your Brand Reputation course (Source)

If you're looking to learn about building and protecting a brand's reputation, this course is a great place to start. You'll learn how to enhance brand perception through ethical practices and effective audience engagement. It's suitable for anyone interested in improving their brand reputation management skills.

  • Who It’s For: Beginners and marketing professionals
  • Topics Covered:
    • Corporate social responsibility
    • Diversity and inclusion
    • Influencer engagement
    • Managing negative feedback
    • Honing brand techniques 
    • Importance of tracking the brand’s reputation
    • Tools for managing online reputation
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 1 hour and 17 minutes
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price: Free for a month
  • Take The Course: LinkedIn Learning
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2. Brand Management (UCLA Extension)

Screenshot of The Brand Management course landing page
The Brand Management course (Source)

This course has great material on brand management and promotion. It's facilitator covers the importance of brand identity and its role in a company’s success in detail. You'll also explore how brands can create financial value for the business.

  • Who It’s For: Marketing professionals and business owners
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand history and development
    • Brand strategy
    • Brand positioning
    • Marketing and sales management
    • Brand leverage
    • Study brand wins and losses
    • Brand research through projects
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Both
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 11 weeks
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: 2 to 3 hours per session
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price:
    • Online: $855.00
    • In-Person: $895.00
  • Take The Course: UCLA Extension

3. Brand Management: Build Successful Long-Lasting Brands (Oxford Learning Lab)

The Brand Management: Build Successful Long Lasting Brands course screenshot
The Brand Management: Build Successful Long Lasting Brands course (Source)

This course covers the basics of creating and managing successful brands. I particularly like that they highlight the importance of internal and external factors on your brand's growth. You'll also learn how to build a brand model to guide your brand development process, focusing on the needs of different stakeholders.

  • Who It’s For: Entrepreneurs, marketers, anyone looking to build or manage a brand, marketing students, and start-up companies
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand development and management
    • Brand positioning strategies
    • Building brand loyalty
    • Creating a strong brand identity
    • Brand equity and value creation
    • 360 Branding
    • Brand differentiation
    • Brand audit
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 5 hours and 30 minutes
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements:
    • Basic marketing and business knowledge
  • Price: $79.99
  • Take The Course: Udemy

4. Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand, and Behaviour (University of London)

Screenshot of The Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behavior course page
The Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behavior course (Source)

You don't often see a course that bring together the trifecta of brand, business, and consumer behaviour. Well, you've got that with the University of London Brand Management course. This course teaches how we should think about branding, moving from just logos to a complete customer experience influenced by your organizational context. You'll also learn about brand management and how it drives value for customers and the organization.

  • Who It’s For: Beginners and marketing professionals
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand identity and purpose
    • Designing brand experiences
    • Aligning business and brand strategies
    • Employee engagement with the brand
    • Brand valuation
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 17 hours
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price: Free
  • Take The Course: Coursera

5. Mini MBA in Brand Management (Marketing Week)

Screenshot of The Mini MBA In Brand Management course website
The Mini MBA In Brand Management course (Source)

Mark Ritson is one of the best at brand management. And his course is probably the most popular brand management course on the interweb. Plus Mark's a great facilitator.

The course will leave you with a comprehensive brand planning process you can apply to improve your brands. It's also got a simulator where you can test all you've learned in a faux competitive setting. After completing the course, you get access to ongoing resources and monthly Q&A sessions.

  • Who It’s For: Brand managers and marketers
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand equity
    • Brand management
    • Targeting and positioning
    • Budgeting and diagnosing brands
    • Practical simulation
    • Relative differentiation
    • Brand codes
    • Brand objectives
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 12 weeks
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: 3 to 5 hours per week
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price: £1,895 + VAT
  • Take The Course: Marketing Week

6. Strategic Brand Management (Chartered Institute of Marketing)

Screenshot of The Strategic Brand Management course landing page
The Strategic Brand Management course (Source)

This course focuses on must-have skills and strategies for effective brand management. It covers various aspects of branding, including brand positioning, equity, and communication. The course is available virtually and comes with practical exercises that help you practice all you are learning in real-time.

  • Who It’s For: Marketing professionals, business owners, graphic designers, and design managers
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand value and architecture
    • Brand strategy and culture
    • Brand identity and experience
    • Employer branding and protection
    • Benefits of branding
    • Brand focus and design
    • Brand delivery and standards
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 2 days
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price: £1,099.00
  • Take The Course: Chartered Institute of Marketing

7. AEM 3121 Branding and Brand Management (Cornell University)

Screenshot of The AEM 3121 Branding and Brand Management course website
The AEM 3121 Branding and Brand Management course (Source)

Cornell's course covers key concepts in branding and brand management, focusing on practical applications and real-world examples. It highlights the importance of branding in business strategy and takes you down interesting brand relevance and loyalty rabbit holes.

  • Who It’s For: Undergraduate students and professionals
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand marketing strategy
    • Brand equity and value
    • Consumer behavior
    • Brand communication
    • Creating brand essentials
    • Assessing a brand's market performance
    • Examining consumer and market trends
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 3 weeks
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: 3 credit hours
  • Eligibility Requirements: Completion of AEM 2420 or equivalent
  • Take The Course: Cornell University

8. Brand Management (Great Learning Academy)

Screenshot of The Brand Management course landing page
The Brand Management course (Source)

Brand management is key to building sustainable brands, and this course does a great job of hammering that concept. You'll gain insights into building brand elements that resonate with your audience, and how the brand manager role has changed over the years.

  • Who It’s For: Beginners and marketing enthusiasts
  • Topics Covered:
    • Definition and importance of brand management
    • Types of brand management
    • Brand elements and strategies
    • Differences between products and brands
    • Brand strategies
    • Marketing vs. brand management
    • Brand manager’s role
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 2 hours and 25 minutes
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price: Free
  • Take The Course: Great Learning Academy

9. Brand Management (University of Toronto)

Screenshot of The Brand Management course website
The Brand Management course (Source)

University of Toronto's interactive course focuses on brand strategy development and how to assess your brand marketing investments. You'll learn how to track your brand value, and building organizational alignment around your brand plans.

  • Who It’s For: Brand, product, or marketing executives and business owners
  • Topics Covered:
    • Fundamentals of brand management
    • Brand strategy and execution
    • Customer lifetime value
    • Financial approaches to brand investments
    • Managing types of brands
    • Studying brand launch and competitive defense
    • Ensure organizational alignment
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 3 years
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Take The Course: University of Toronto

10. Branding and Marketing (University of Oxford)

Screenshot of The Branding and Marketing course overview
Branding and Marketing course (Source)

University of Oxford is a heavy-hitter, and they come out swinging with their course on branding and marketing. You'll get a seminal treatise traditional and digital marketing approaches, growing and maintaining your brand, measurement, and tactics for addressing the challenges most brand managers face when looking to sell their brand plans to leadership.

  • Who It’s For: Marketing professionals and business owners
  • Topics Covered:
    • Brand identity and customer segmentation
    • Content marketing
    • Measuring marketing results
    • Brand planning
    • Brand value
    • Evolution of brand strategies
    • Branding for competitive advantage
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 90 minutes per session
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements:
    • Basic computer skills for email and web browsing
    • Regular Internet access and a computer that meets minimum specs and
    • Use headphones with working speakers and a microphone
  • Price: £465.00
  • Take The Course: University of Oxford

11. Fundamentals of Brand Development (Idorenyin Umoh)

Screenshot of The Fundamentals of Brand Development course website
The Fundamentals of Brand Development course (Source)

This course offers valuable insights into enhancing marketing skills. It covers key strategies for understanding brand identity, purpose, and how to connect with target audiences. You'll learn the significance of effective messaging and brand advocacy, equipping them with the tools to succeed in the competitive advertising landscape.

  • Who It’s For: Beginners and marketing enthusiasts
  • Topics Covered:
    • Storytelling in branding
    • Personal branding
    • Competitive research
    • Defining target audiences
    • Branding elements
    • Brand building
    • Brand growth
  • Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
  • Exam Required? No
  • Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes to 3 hours
  • How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
  • Eligibility Requirements: None
  • Price: Free
  • Take The Course: Alison

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Dozie Anyaegbunam

Dozie Anyaegbunam is the Senior Editor of The CMO Club, a digital media publication that helps SaaS marketing leaders win at work. He has several years of core brand marketing experience across various verticals, from edu-tech, to food and beverages, to SaaS. He's also led marketing teams at B2B SaaS startups, global multinationals, and the public sector. Dozie is the Founder & Host of The Newcomers, a media publication that explores what it means to be an immigrant.