Advertising and Promotions Managers: Career Overview
Plan, direct, or coordinate advertising policies and programs or produce collateral materials, such as posters, contests, coupons, or giveaways, to create extra interest in the purchase of a product or service for a department, an entire organization, or on an account basis.
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What Do Advertising and Promotions Managers Perform?
The day-to-day responsibilities of advertising and promotions managers span:
- Plan and prepare advertising and promotional material to increase sales of products or services, working with customers, company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies.
- Inspect layouts and advertising copy, and edit scripts, audio, video, and other promotional material for adherence to specifications.
- Confer with department heads or staff to discuss topics such as contracts, selection of advertising media, or product to be advertised.
- Coordinate with the media to disseminate advertising.
- Coordinate activities of departments, such as sales, graphic arts, media, finance, and research.
- Plan and execute advertising policies and strategies for organizations.
- Direct, motivate, and monitor the mobilization of a campaign team to advance campaign goals.
- Prepare budgets and submit estimates for program costs as part of campaign plan development.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Effective advertising and promotions managers draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other Advertising and Promotions Managers Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Account Director
- Account Executive
- Account Manager
- Account Specialist
- Advertising Account Executive (Ad Account Executive)
- Advertising Account Manager (Ad Account Manager)
- Advertising Agency Manager (Ad Agency Manager)
- Advertising Campaign Manager (Ad Campaign Manager)
Employment and Demand
The U.S. employs around 335,929 advertising and promotions managers working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -3.3% over the projection horizon.
Advertising and Promotions Managers Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $113,521 |
| Hourly median | $54.58 |
| 10th percentile | $82,261 |
| 25th percentile | $97,891 |
| 75th percentile | $129,150 |
| 90th percentile | $144,780 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Advertising and Promotions Managers Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| New York | $204,160 |
| New Mexico | $165,540 |
| New Jersey | $163,700 |
| Maine | $149,700 |
| California | $147,430 |
| New Hampshire | $147,320 |
| Connecticut | $140,030 |
| Wisconsin | $139,540 |
| Massachusetts | $135,270 |
| Alabama | $133,570 |
| North Carolina | $132,410 |
| Kansas | $130,830 |
| Maryland | $127,540 |
| Missouri | $126,960 |
| Georgia | $126,730 |
| Oregon | $122,990 |
| Oklahoma | $121,660 |
| Minnesota | $115,300 |
| District of Columbia | $113,530 |
| Illinois | $113,120 |
| Virginia | $111,030 |
| Utah | $108,370 |
| Arizona | $107,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $103,900 |
| Rhode Island | $101,830 |
| Michigan | $101,200 |
| Tennessee | $100,040 |
| Texas | $99,990 |
| Indiana | $99,900 |
| Ohio | $99,800 |
| Iowa | $99,470 |
| Florida | $98,980 |
| Idaho | $94,010 |
| Nebraska | $93,490 |
| Louisiana | $91,270 |
| South Carolina | $86,990 |
| Kentucky | $81,890 |
| Nevada | $81,220 |
| Arkansas | $77,700 |
| Mississippi | $64,230 |
Where Advertising and Promotions Managers Earn the Most
Compensation for advertising and promotions managers vary by region. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $171,974 | 40.5% | 2.17 |
| Far Western US | $138,217 | 21.7% | 1.08 |
| Southwest | $136,975 | 1.5% | 0.45 |
| New England | $130,914 | 6.3% | 1.29 |
| Great Lakes | $109,701 | 6.5% | 0.33 |
| Plains States | $104,042 | 3.0% | 0.79 |
| Southeast | $103,053 | 20.1% | 0.74 |
| Rocky Mountains | $94,010 | 0.3% | 0.41 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Advertising and Promotions Managers
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $201,120 | 3,660 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $192,970 | 140 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $167,300 | 460 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $162,920 | 40 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | CT | $161,080 | 130 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $152,460 | 1,020 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $139,540 | 90 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $139,220 | 160 |
Industry Breakdown
Most advertising and promotions managers work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12,330 | $126,960 |
| Information | 2,770 | $130,140 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1,580 | $160,480 |
| Wholesale Trade | 700 | $124,000 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 590 | $91,080 |
| Retail Trade | 490 | $100,900 |
| Finance and Insurance | 440 | $138,300 |
| Manufacturing | 410 | $122,410 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Advertising and Promotions Managers Use
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Video creation and editing software: Adobe After Effects (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Analytical or scientific software: Google Analytics (hot technology)
- Sales and marketing software: HubSpot software (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Hypertext markup language HTML (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: JavaScript (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for advertising and promotions managers is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Telephone Conversations
- Contact With Others
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
Getting Started in This Career
Entry-level advertising and promotions managers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
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Top Programs to Study For This Career
Future advertising and promotions managers commonly pursue programs in:
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs
3 programs across 1 majors
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
1 programs across 1 majors
Sources
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 11-2011.00 (Advertising and Promotions Managers).