Over half of marketing staff get pay rises

Marketing executives are receiving wage increases, with lucrative bonuses being paid to staff in industries that are benefiting most from the economic recovery, a major survey has found.

The Marketing Institute of Ireland, and the Alternatives Group, found that half of all marketing people received a salary increase of up to 5% during the year, though a third of marketing people in still-struggling sectors got no pay rise at all.

Spending on digital marketing exceeded that of above-the-line advertising for the first time in Ireland, and digital is now fully integrated into marketing functions across all industries.

The most lucrative jobs include marketing directors in telecoms, who are paid between €100,000 and €180,000; agency strategic planning directors, paid between €150,000 and €200,000; and utilities and energy marketing heads, who are paid between €110,000 and €150,000, the survey reveals.

Half of the respondents in financial services secured a salary increase in the past year, as the “sector is back in the business of marketing and brand-building” after the crisis.

A marketing director in financial services is paid between €120,000 and €180,000, while a product executive in the same industry is paid between €30,000 and €45,000.

Still experiencing “very moderate growth”, a brand director in the FMCG, fast-moving consumer goods, sector is paid between €90,000 and €160,000, while a marketing executive receives between €30,000 and €45,000.

The retail sector also remains under pressure.

According to the survey, a campaign director in a utilities and energy company will earn between €100,000 and €120,000.

A sponsorship executive in the same industry is paid between €30,000 and €45,000. The survey says “the explosion of data analysis” has vastly increased the number of posts in IT.