Marketing encompasses a wide variety of meanings and activities.
Some marketing positions are very close to sales, others set overarching marketing strategy. What marketing positions have in common is the sense of ownership over the product or service, understanding customer needs and desires, and translating those needs into some kind of marketing communication, advertising campaign, or sales effort. The manager of product or service marketing is called the brand manager - he or she is the ruler of that marketing universe. The business world is now realizing that strong brands and solid marketing programs drive shareholder value, and that companies can no longer make fundamental strategy decisions without truly understanding how to market a product. The titles of brand manager and marketing manager are basically interchangeable - some companies use one title, some use the other.