OVERVIEW
What is an Advertising Manager?
One of several careers available to individuals with undergraduate marketing degrees, the role of advertising manager requires both creativity and problem-solving skills. You will help companies design advertisements that appropriately market their products and services, while staying true to their vision for the future.
After customers have begun to interact with your ads, you will tailor design, delivery, and content to further improve results. If ads resonate particularly well with a specific demographic, at a specific price point, or during a specific time of day, you will make optimizations to help achieve further success.
The role of an advertising manager is often confused with a marketing manager, who is responsible for coordinating all of a company’s marketing efforts. By contrast, an advertising manager strictly oversees advertisement creation, deployment, and optimization.
Most advertising managers require undergraduate degrees. In addition, you might need at least a few years of experience in a marketing or an advertising environment, preferably where you held a leadership position.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What Does an Advertising Manager Do?
Advertising managers perform a variety of tasks. On some days, you might spend time communicating with clients to determine their preferred direction for a specific advertisement. On other days, you’ll need to coordinate advertisement creation with other members of your creative team.
Advertising managers are often responsible for performing the following duties:
- Communicating with clients to determine their preferred direction or focus for an advertisement.
- Brainstorming advertisement scope and content, often alongside other team members.
- Creating advertisements that resonate with particular audiences and generate interest in a company’s products or services.
- Optimizing advertisements according to feedback and customer engagement patterns.
- Collaborating with other advertising or marketing department members to create advertisements that work well in tandem with a client’s other marketing channels.
- Troubleshooting any issues with an ad’s visibility, particularly across digital channels.
- Researching any updates, new best practices, or guidelines in modern advertising fields.
These and other responsibilities keep advertising managers busy as they help companies take control of their customer outreach efforts.
EDUCATION & BEST DEGREES
What Education Does an Advertising Manager Need?
Before you can begin a career as an advertising manager, you’ll need to clear a few academic hurdles. First, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in marketing or a master's degree in marketing.
WGU's marketing degrees will help to prepare you for the world of advertising. While working to obtain these degrees, you’ll develop skills in digital marketing, print media, and strategic thinking. You’ll learn how to use analytics to improve ad performance, and how to serve advertisements that resonate with customers on a global scale.
Best Degree for Advertising Managers
Business
Marketing – B.S.
For those who want to lead brands and steer consumer markets:...
For those who want to lead brands and steer consumer markets:
- Time: 60% of graduates finish within 19 months.
- Tuition: $3,755 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 37 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Communication
- Marketing
- Sales
- Management
- Project Management
- Product Management
Marketing is a creative and exciting field—and one where an undergraduate degree will open better opportunities.
Business
Marketing – M.S.
Two online marketing master's degree options with a focus on either...
Two online marketing master's degree options with a focus on either digital marketing or marketing analytics.
- Time: 61% of graduates finish WGU master's programs in 18 months
- Tuition: $4,755 per 6-month term
- Courses: 10 total courses in this program
- Specialization: Students choose from two specializations to focus their marketing studies on digital marketing or marketing analytics
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Management
- Strategic Planning
- Digital Marketing Analytics
- Presentations
- Market Research
- Communications
A marketing master's degree will help you prepare for a wide range of exciting marketing careers.
Business
Communications – B.S.
An online communications program designed for students who want real-world...
An online communications program designed for students who want real-world skills for a variety of industries.
- Time: 60% of students finish similar programs in 19 months.
- Tuition: $3,755 per 6-month term
- Courses: 38 total courses in this program
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program:
- Strategic Communications
- Crisis Communication
- Content Creation
- Value-Based Leadership
- Project Management
This degree prepares you with relevant industry skills and experience that will help you move forward in your career.
How Much Does an Advertising Manager Make?
$69,268
The exact income of an advertising manager can depend on many different factors, including your employer, employer’s location, years of experience, and education. If you work for a digital marketing agency that partners with clients, your income might also be subsidized by specific bonuses or performance-based incentives. On average, the annual salary of an advertising manager is $69,268 with a range of roughly $61,000 to $127,000.
What Is the Projected Job Growth?
10%
The demand for advertisement and marketing services should remain strong over the next decade, making the job outlook for advertising managers a favorable one. Overall employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers is projected to grow 10 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
SKILLS
What Skills Does an Advertising Manager Need?
Advertising managers depend on a variety of skills each day. Whether you’re creating new ads or revising existing content to better resonate with customers, your skillset will be important for daily success.
The skills an advertising manager needs can include:
- Marketing. The ability to target and reach customers across a variety of digital and print mediums.
- Creativity. The ability to apply imagination and original thought in ways that help customer advertisements stand out among their competitors.
- Interpersonal communication. The ability to correspond effectively with clients, companies, and other members of your advertising or marketing department.
- Data analysis/reporting. The ability to gather, segment, analyze, and report on data in ways that help you learn from advertising performance metrics.
- Problem-solving. The ability to identify and overcome any issues that advertisements or clients might face.
- Writing. The ability to creatively design advertisements that resonate with particular customer segments.
- Optimization. The ability to revise advertisements in ways that help content resonate even better with particular customer segments.
- Brand storytelling. The ability to tell a brand’s unique story by creating advertisements that remain true to their corporate vision.
- Time management. The ability to prioritize tasks in a way that allows sufficient time for each daily responsibility.
These and other skills help advertising managers succeed each day as they help companies connect with target consumers.
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