Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers

Summary

What Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers Do About this section

Advertising managers can be found in advertising agencies that put together advertising campaigns for clients, in media firms that sell advertising space or time, and in companies that advertise heavily.

Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, advertising sales agents, and financial staff members.

Duties

Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers typically do the following:

• Work with department heads or staff to discuss topics such as budgets and contracts, marketing plans, and the selection of advertising media
• Plan promotional campaigns such as contests, coupons, or giveaways
• Plan advertising campaigns, including which media to advertise in, such as radio, television, print, online media, and billboards
• Negotiate advertising contracts
• Evaluate the look and feel of websites used in campaigns or layouts, which are sketches or plans for an advertisement
• Initiate market research studies and analyze their findings to understand customer and market opportunities for businesses
• Develop pricing strategies for products or services marketed to the target customers
• Meet with clients to provide marketing or related advice
• Direct the hiring of advertising, promotions, and marketing staff and oversee their daily activities

Advertising managers create interest among potential buyers of a product or service. They do this for a department, for an entire organization, or on a project basis (referred to as an account). Advertising managers work in advertising agencies that put together advertising campaigns for clients, in media firms that sell advertising space or time, and in organizations that advertise heavily.

Advertising managers work with sales staff and others to generate ideas for an advertising campaign. They oversee the staff that develops the advertising. They work with the finance department to prepare a budget and cost estimates for the campaign.

Often, advertising managers serve as liaisons between the client and the advertising or promotion agency that develops and places the ads. In larger organizations with extensive advertising departments, different advertising managers may oversee in-house accounts and creative and media services departments.

In addition, some advertising managers specialize in a particular field or type of advertising. For example, media directors determine the way in which an advertising campaign reaches customers. They can use any or all of various media, including radio, television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and outdoor signs.

Advertising managers known as account executives manage clients’ accounts, but they are not responsible for developing or supervising the creation or presentation of advertising. That task becomes the work of the creative services department.

Promotions managers direct programs that combine advertising with purchasing incentives to increase sales. Often, the programs use direct mail, inserts in newspapers, Internet advertisements, in-store displays, product endorsements, or special events to target customers. Purchasing incentives may include discounts, samples, gifts, rebates, coupons, sweepstakes, or contests.

Marketing managers estimate the demand for products and services that an organization and its competitors offer. They identify potential markets for the organization’s products.

Marketing managers also develop pricing strategies to help organizations maximize their profits and market share while ensuring that the organizations’ customers are satisfied. They work with sales, public relations, and product development staff.

For example, a marketing manager may monitor trends that indicate the need for a new product or service. Then he or she may assist in the development of that product or service and to create a marketing plan for it.

Work Environment About this section

Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers may travel to meet with clients or representatives of communications media.

Advertising and promotions managers held about 28,600 jobs in 2019. The largest employers of advertising and promotions managers were as follows:

Marketing managers held about 286,300 jobs in 2019. The largest employers of marketing managers were as follows:

Because the work of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers directly affects a firm’s revenue, people in these occupations typically work closely with top executives.

The jobs of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers can often be stressful, particularly near deadlines. Additionally, they may travel to meet with clients or media representatives.

Work Schedules

Most advertising, promotions, and marketing managers work full time. Some advertising and promotions managers work more than 40 hours per week.

How to Become an Advertising, Promotions, or Marketing Manager About this section

These managers typically have previous work experience in advertising, marketing, promotions, or sales.

A bachelor’s degree is required for most advertising, promotions, and marketing management positions. These managers typically have work experience in advertising, marketing, promotions, or sales.

Education

A bachelor’s degree is required for most advertising, promotions, and marketing management positions. For advertising management positions, some employers prefer a bachelor’s degree in advertising or journalism. A relevant course of study might include classes in marketing, consumer behavior, market research, sales, communication methods and technology, visual arts, art history, and photography.

Most marketing managers need a bachelor’s degree. Courses in business law, management, economics, finance, computer science, mathematics, and statistics are advantageous. For example, courses in computer science are helpful in developing an approach to maximize online traffic, by utilizing online search results, because maximizing such traffic is critical for the success of digital advertisements and promotions. In addition, completing an internship while in school can be useful.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers typically have work experience in advertising, marketing, promotions, or sales. For example, many managers are former sales representatives; buyers or purchasing agents; or public relations specialists.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization.

Communication skills. Managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process. They must also be able to communicate persuasively with the public.

Creativity. Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas.

Decisionmaking skills. Managers often must choose between competing advertising and marketing strategies put forward by staff.

Interpersonal skills. Managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization.

Organizational skills. Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage for advertising and promotions managers was $133,460 in May 2020. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $68,940, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $208,000.

The median annual wage for marketing managers was $142,170 in May 2020. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $74,620, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $208,000.

In May 2020, the median annual wages for advertising and promotions managers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

In May 2020, the median annual wages for marketing managers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Most advertising, promotions, and marketing managers work full time. Some advertising and promotions managers work more than 40 hours per week.

Job Outlook About this section

Overall employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations. Employment growth will vary by occupation.

Employment of marketing managers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations. Marketing managers will continue to be in demand as organizations use marketing campaigns to maintain and expand their market share. These managers will be sought after for their advice on crafting pricing strategies and finding new ways to reach customers.

Employment of advertising and promotions managers is projected to decline 1 percent from 2019 to 2029. The continued rise of electronic media will result in decreasing demand for print advertisements. The newspaper publishing industry, which employs many of these workers, is projected to lose jobs over the next 10 years. Despite overall employment declines for advertising and promotions managers, there may be some growth in industries that rely on these workers to create digital media campaigns that target customers through the use of websites, social media, or live chats.

Job Prospects

Advertising, promotions, and marketing manager positions are highly desirable and are often sought by other managers and experienced professionals. With Internet-based advertising becoming more important, advertising managers who can navigate the digital world should have the best prospects.

State & Area Data About this section

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area.

• Advertising and promotions managers
• Marketing managers

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.com. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about advertising managers, visit:

American Association of Advertising Agencies

O*NET

Advertising and Promotions Managers

Marketing Managers