Advertising and Promotions Managers Overview
Jobs for advertising and promotions managers show strong growth potential. Employment of these professionals could grow 10% from 2020 to 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Long hours and substantial travel are often associated with management-level advertising jobs, but the role also has high earning potential, with professionals earning six-figure median wages. Advertising and promotions managers can also be prime candidates for higher-paying positions due to the visibility and importance of their jobs.
To compete for jobs in the field of advertising and promotions, candidates need strong communication and computer skills, creativity, and related experience. Use this guide to learn more about advertising and promotions managers and the requirements, necessary skills, and employment outlook for this job role.
Advertising and Promotions Manager Job Description
An advertising and promotions manager job description is likely to include duties in such areas as:
- Sales
- Marketing strategy
- Advertising
- Pricing
- Market research
- Public relations (PR)
- Product development
These duties may fall on the chief executive officer or owner of a small business. However, an executive vice president generally directs advertising, marketing, promotions, and PR efforts in larger companies that offer products and services on a national or global scale.
Advertising Manager/Advertising and Promotions Manager Job Description
It’s important to differentiate between advertising manager and promotions manager job requirements:
Advertising Managers
Advertising managers lead a firm or group’s advertising and promotional campaigns. These professionals work for:
- Advertising agencies that prepare campaigns for clients
- Companies that advertise frequently
- Media firms that sell ads
Promotions Managers
Promotions managers direct programs to increase sales that combine purchasing incentives with advertising. In other words, discounts, rebates, coupons, content, or gifts may be announced or offered through newspaper inserts, product endorsements, special events, direct mail, in-store displays, or web advertisements.
Advertising and Promotions Manager Job Requirements
Advertising and promotions use their skills to direct programs that increase sales of products and services. These professionals:
- Work with the finance department to budget for ad campaigns.
- Liaise between an agency that develops and places ads and the firm in need of advertising.
Advertising and Promotions Manager Job Description in Larger Companies
Larger firms with extensive advertising departments may assign accounts to advertising and promotions managers. An account executive is responsible for managing the account services department and assessing advertising requirements.
Advertising and Promotions Managers in Advertising Agencies
In advertising agencies, advertising and promotions managers maintain client accounts while the creative services department develops the presentation of advertising. The creative director is in charge of managing the art director, copy chief, and associated staff. The media director oversees planning for groups that choose the communication medium for advertising, such as radio, television, internet, outdoor signage, magazines, or newspapers.
Advertising and Promotions Manager Challenges
The work of advertising and promotions managers typically occurs in an office environment. Because the industry is a deadline and goal-oriented, stress and working under pressure remain common as problems and schedule conflicts occur.
Advertising and promotions managers may also undertake substantial travel to consult with other industry professionals and customers:
- Advertising and promotions managers specializing in sales often meet with dealers and distributors.
- Managers specializing in PR relations may have meetings with government officials or special interest groups.
Advertising and promotions managers may need to meet representatives of communications media or clients face-to-face. Managers specializing in sales, for example, often get transferred between regional offices and corporate headquarters.
Another challenge of this role is the long hours involved. Most advertising and promotions managers work full-time; some managers work more than 40 hours per week.
How To Become an Advertising and Promotions Manager
Many people want to know how to become an advertising and promotions manager. While most employers seek college graduates with related experience, various educational backgrounds can lead to high-paying jobs.
Business Administration Degrees
Advertising and promotions managers usually possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration with a marketing emphasis. Students often take statistics, accounting, math, finance, economics, management, and business law courses as part of their degree. A college internship is also advantageous.
Journalism/Advertising Degrees
Advertising and promotions managers often have a degree in journalism or a bachelor’s degree in advertising. They might take courses in market research, marketing, consumer behavior, sales, photography, art history, visual arts, and communication methods and technology as part of their degree.
How To Become an Advertising and Promotions Manager: Entry-Level Positions
Most advertising and promotions managers start in entry-level positions and work their way up to management roles. For example, many buyers and sales representatives often become advertising and promotions managers. Job promotions can happen quickly in large companies and take more time in small firms.
Other Skills
Internet skills are critical for advertising and promotions managers. Computer skills in data management and record-keeping can also be advantageous. Foreign language skills can open doors to new opportunities, especially in parts of the country with large Spanish-speaking populations.
Personality Characteristics
Advertising and promotions managers should be decisive, flexible, creative, highly motivated, mature, and resistant to stress. Communication skills—both oral and written—are essential for conveying messages to the public, managers, clients, and co-workers. Good judgment and people skills are also important in this supervisory and professional role.
Certifications
People who want to know how to become an advertising and promotions manager should consider getting an industry-recognized certification. Not every manager has one of these credentials, so possessing an additional qualification could result in more career opportunities. Many management certification programs are available on the Internet. Enrollment requirements depend on job performance and education.
Career Development
Typically, advertising and promotions managers receive promotions according to their ability, experience, and leadership. However, some managers at larger firms advance more quickly after participating in management training programs. Large companies often provide continuing education opportunities to employees in-house or at local colleges and universities and encourage participation in conferences and seminars. Some marketing associations sponsor management training programs at educational institutions. Larger firms might cover all or a percentage of the cost. Courses often cover the following topics and skills:
- Marketing communication
- Interactive marketing
- International marketing
- Sales management evaluation
- Telemarketing
- Direct sales
- Product promotion
- Brand and product management
- Data-processing systems
- Organizational communication
Because advertising and promotions jobs are important and highly visible, managers often advance to top-ranking positions. Successful, experienced, well-trained managers can secure lucrative positions at their company or another firm and may even score top executive posts. Those with extensive experience and sufficient capital sometimes start their own businesses.
Advertising and Promotions Manager Salary Information, Job Outlook, and Employment Prospects
There were 316,800 advertising, promotions, and marketing managers in 2020. This number included the following job roles:
- Advertising and promotions managers
- Marketing managers
- Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers
- Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers
Advertising and promotions managers might work in the wholesale trade, technical, scientific, or professional services industries.
Experts predict that the overall employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers will grow 10% from 2020 to 2030, which is higher than the average for all occupations (8%). Around 31,000 openings for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers will be available each year, on average, according to projections. However, many of these job openings will result from workers retiring or transferring to different jobs. That means positions for this job role will be highly coveted, especially when an advertising and promotions manager’s salary is well-paid.
The competition for more and more goods in foreign and domestic markets means manufacturers need to make their products stand out in the crowd. These manufacturers will likely look to advertising and promotions managers to help them with their campaigns. However, as advertising changes shape in radio, newspapers, and network television, managers must meet the challenge of finding new ways to advertise and promote products to customers.
Recently, the decline in newspapers—among the top employers of advertising and promotions managers professionals—has weakened the power of traditional advertising. However, a jump in the amount of digital media advertising on the internet and the growing number of television streaming services should produce further demand for new advertising and promotions managers.
Self-employed advertising and promotions managers will also take on many innovative projects. These professionals offer their services to companies wanting to sell their products and services and work independently. An advertising and promotions manager’s salary for a self-employed professional can be just as lucrative as for someone in a traditional office-based role. There were 31.5 million self-employed individuals across all industries in the U.S. in 2020.
Highly experienced professionals and managers from other fields often seek coveted advertising and promotions manager positions. The best opportunities generally go to college graduates with related experience who are highly creative, strong communicators, and at ease on the computer. Any skills or experience in digital media will help prospective advertising and promotions managers stand out to employers.
What Is an Advertising and Promotions Manager’s Salary?
The mean annual wage for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers in the U.S. is $142,860, as of May 2021. The mean hourly wage is $68.68.
The five industries with the highest advertising and promotions manager salary are:
- Other Information Services: $204,650
- Motion Picture and Video Industries: $182,000
- Management of Companies and Enterprises: $147,370
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services: $145,490
- Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services: $116,440
An advertising and promotions manager’s salary depends on education, length of service, and level of responsibility. A company’s size, location, and industry in which it operates can also influence the salary amount. In addition to a standard salary, many advertising and promotions managers earn bonuses.
Conclusion
Advertising and promotions managers are responsible for programs that increase sales of products and services in various industries. This job role has many demands but can offer a high salary and good career prospects. If you’re interested in becoming a manager in the field of advertising, start looking at degree programs today.
Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers”
Forbes, “Newspapers Have Been Struggling And Then Came the Pandemic”
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics