24/7: Promo Marketers’ Salary Survey

There are cases when the job possesses the man even after quitting time…it may affect his attitude toward all of life. — Studs Terkel, “Working” (1972)

The great Chicago Journalist could well have been writing about today’s promotional marketers. For them, the standard 40-hour week is a myth, according to Promo’s 2007 compensation study.

Of the 175 marketers surveyed, 26.3% reported working 51 to 60 hours per week. And 8.6% put in even more time (see chart 1).

The good news is that paychecks are reaching all-time highs for managers and top-level executives.

The average salary is now $79,926, up from $74,145 in 2005, the last time this research was conducted. And 61.7% received a raise in the past year, compared with 2005’s 59%. The median salary, which takes into account the highs and lows of a few individuals, is $72,222.

But there’s still a gender divide. The median wage has hit $88,333 for men and $58,333 for women (see chart 2). And there’s a similar gap in average compensation.

What’s more, only 32% of our female respondents are in upper management, vs. 41.2% in 2005. And there are fewer women at the director level — the number slipped to 50% from 54.3%.

Yet 60.3% of the women polled said they hold some type of managerial position, an improvement from 51.3% two years ago.

Marketers who work more hours generally get paid better (see chart 3).

A median salary of $112,500 (excluding bonuses or commissions) was earned by respondents working more than 50 hours. In contrast, employees who put in 41 to 50 hours a week made $66,249. But this may be based in part on job title.

Whatever their level, though, employees are being asked to double- and triple-task (see chart 4).

“We’re seeing an average of 60 to 70 hours a week whether they’re in the office, working remotely from home or traveling,” says Larry Brantley, principal of Brantley Communications, an executive search firm serving the advertising, marketing and communications fields. “And they’re always attached to a BlackBerry, a Palm Pilot or a Treo.”

Those trends developed after the dot-com collapse and 9/11. They’ve since accelerated.

Nearly 75% have been hit with a heavier workload in the past two years, while only 5.7% experienced the opposite. And overwork and job insecurity are taking a toll on morale.

“Divorces are way up,” Brantley notes. “I had one key client where suicide was an issue. An executive at a major company was given a pink slip and he couldn’t handle it.”

Still, most would agree that it’s better to be working hard than hardly working.

COMING AND GOING

Meanwhile, the day of the “company man” is long past, and so is the notion of loyalty, especially among younger staffers.

The survey shows that 22.3% of participating marketers had been with their companies for a year or less. An additional 30.3% had been with their firms two to three years (see chart 5).

So half of today’s promotional marketing departments are in flux. Almost 30% are outsourcing some tasks.

Obviously, salary depends on where a person is sitting on the totem pole. A typical manager now makes a median of $61,428, while directors get $95,000. From vice president (all levels) through CEO, the median runs to $112,500, excluding bonuses or commissions (see chart 6).

The average bonus or incentive last year was $10,822 (see chart 7). But upper management received the most.

Of those who did get incentives, 66.7% got them based on merit, 45% on profit, 32.4% because of sales and 9.9% as a result of seniority.

Money came out on top as the most popular incentive — it was cited by 95.5%. But 15.3% were granted stock options or other company equity, 9.9% got gift cards, 2.7% received travel and 7.2% took advantage of additional vacation time.

One difference from our last survey is that respondents are responsible for much larger budgets (an average of $2.4 million in 2007, compared with $1.5 million in 2005). This suggests there’s been something of a rebound or that it’s a reflection of promotions’ importance in the overall marketing plan.

Education makes a difference. Marketers with a master’s degree or higher received a median salary of $98,571, while those with a bachelor’s make $67,142 (see chart 8). And the sum falls to $55,000 for someone with an associate degree or less.

Employers hold most, if not all of the cards. Over 20% of all respondents have signed a non-compete agreement. And 78.9% are not contractually guaranteed compensation in the event of involuntary termination.

Brantley notes that medical benefits “have gone way down.” Typically, an employer’s attitude toward prospective hires is “take it or leave it,” he says, adding that often the only room for negotiation is an extra week of vacation.

Between 2001 and 2003 management hires were not being offered relocation packages. “Even on the VP level, they had to pay their own way,” says Brantley. But lately he’s seeing companies finally changing their stance on picking up relocation expenses for upper management.

YOUTH VS. MATURITY

Workers over age 50 fear their days on the job are numbered. And it’s not just paranoia.

According to Brantley, “job options are not plentiful.” That’s especially true in publicly traded companies, where stock prices or profits can drop at a moment’s notice. Through no fault of your own, “you’re gone,” he says.

Brantley acknowledges that companies do “want the energy that young people bring — going 90 miles an hour.” But he adds that some 20-somethings lack a work ethic (see Promoland, “Generation Gap in the Workplace,” page 66).

The more discerning companies — usually smaller ones — realize that “maturity and experience get them more for the dollar,” Brantley continues. “It used to be said, ‘Work hard and you’ll have a job tomorrow.’ That’s no longer true.”

LONGER HOURS, HIGHER PAY

• 61.7% say salary increased
• 63.4% received a raise
• 72% say workload increased
• 48% work 41 to 50 hours a week
• 26.3% work 51 to 60 hours a week

Methodology

This survey was conducted by Penton Media Custom Research, an in-house unit. It was e-mailed to 17,038 subscribers to Promo magazine or its e-mail newsletters.

The data was collected from May 9 through May 23, 2007.

An e-mail offering a chance to win one of four $50 Amazon.com gift certificates was sent out May 15.

Results are based on surveys returned by 175 qualified participants who work in the manufacturing, retailing and service industries.

For more information, go to www.promomagazine.com