Marketing executive job profile

Marketing executives drive profit and promote products and services through coordinated marketing campaigns

As a marketing executive, you'll contribute to and develop integrated marketing campaigns to promote a product, service or idea.

Many organisations have marketing departments, meaning that you can work in both the private and public sector in areas ranging from finance, retail and media to voluntary and charitable organisations.

Marketing executives may also be known as marketing officers or coordinators.

Types of marketing executive work

You may be involved in some or all of the following marketing activities:

planning
advertising
public relations
event organisation
product development
distribution
sponsorship
research.

The nature of your role will vary depending on the size of the organisation and sector and whether the focus is on selling a product or service, or on raising awareness of an issue that affects the public.

Responsibilities

As a marketing executive, you'll need to:

create awareness of and develop the brand you're marketing
communicate with target audiences and build and develop customer relationships
help with marketing plans, advertising, direct marketing and campaigns
source advertising opportunities and place adverts in the press or on the radio
work closely with in-house or external creative agencies to design marketing materials such as brochures and adverts
write and proofread marketing copy for both online and print campaigns
produce creative content, including videos and blog posts
run social media channels
organise and attend events such as conferences, seminars, receptions and exhibitions
source and secure sponsorship
liaise with designers and printers and organise photo shoots
arrange the effective distribution of marketing materials
maintain and update customer databases
conduct market research, for example using customer questionnaires and focus groups
develop relationships with key stakeholders, both internal and external.

With experience, you may do the following:

develop and implement a marketing strategy (often as part of a wider sales and marketing programme)
evaluate and review marketing campaigns, advertising and SEO to make sure the correct mediums are being used and campaigns are effective
track marketing performance and return on investment and prepare weekly or monthly reports for management
monitor and report on competitor activity
lead external agencies, when appropriate, to effectively manage events, press relationships, editorial requests, presentations, promotional materials and online activities
oversee and manage the marketing budget.

Salary

Marketing assistants start on salaries of around £18,000 to £22,000. As a marketing executive, you can expect to earn in the region of £20,000 to £30,000.
Senior marketing executives (with around five years' experience) can earn between £30,000 and £45,000, with marketing managers earning up to £60,000.
Marketing directors can earn from £60,000 to more than £100,000.

You may also receive additional benefits including profit-sharing schemes, medical insurance, gym membership, a company car and bonuses.

Salaries depend on a range of factors including your location and the sector you work in. You can find more information about salary benefits and the attitudes of those in marketing careers in the Marketing Week Career and Salary Survey 2023.

Your salary will also vary depending on the area of marketing you're in. For example, salaries are often higher for digital marketing.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours are generally 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, you may need to work some evenings or weekends when organising or attending events or when working on a big marketing campaign.

Part-time work is possible. Short-term contracts are also available, generally through recruitment agencies.

What to expect

You'll usually be office-based, but will attend meetings with clients, partner organisations and suppliers, as well as a range of events and exhibitions. You may be expected to socialise with stakeholders and clients to build and develop relationships.
Self-employment or freelance work is possible for experienced marketing professionals.
Opportunities exist in most large towns and cities but are less common in rural areas.
The work is often challenging and fast-paced as you'll need to meet tight deadlines, juggle various projects at the same time and work with external suppliers and creative agencies.
If you're working for an international company, you may need to travel or work abroad.

Qualifications

A career in marketing is open to all graduates, but a degree or HND in the following subjects may be particularly useful:

advertising
business or management
communications
IT or computer science
marketing
psychology.

In addition, employers also look for a combination of personal qualities and experience. An awareness of digital media techniques is also useful. Look at job adverts to get a feel for the combination of skills and industry knowledge that employers expect.

If you don't have a degree, you can enter the profession at marketing assistant level and build up your skills and experience.

Marketing apprenticeships are available at Intermediate and Advanced level. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) also provides a range of professional qualifications, for example the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing aimed at apprentices and those starting out in their marketing career.

It can be useful, although not essential, to have a relevant postgraduate qualification. Search postgraduate courses in marketing.

Skills

You'll need to have:

communication and interpersonal skills
commercial awareness and business acumen
copywriting and design skills
creativity
an eye for detail
analytical and strategic thinking
drive and self-motivation
a flexible approach to work
the ability to work well under pressure
teamwork and the ability to foster good working relationships
influencing and negotiation skills
IT, social media and numeracy skills
foreign language ability - may be helpful if working for multinational companies.

Work experience

You'll usually need some relevant work experience to get a job. Look for vacation work, placements, job shadowing or part-time work in marketing or related areas. Getting work as a marketing assistant or junior marketing executive is a good first step. Some larger employers offer students paid summer placements.

Any job that offers experience of sales, customer service, market research or public relations will be helpful.

Make the most of any marketing placements or the integrated placement year on your course to develop your skills and build a network of contacts. CIM student membership provides access to industry events, workshops and networking opportunities.

Employers

You can find marketing opportunities across all industry sectors ranging from the financial, consumer and information technology industries to not-for-profit organisations, such as charities, local government and higher education institutions.

You can also find work with full-service marketing agencies, which develop and implement marketing strategies and campaigns on behalf of their clients. These agencies offer a multidisciplinary service to clients looking for a full communications package.

Marketing is an increasingly competitive and specialised industry and is a popular career choice for graduates.

Look for job vacancies at:

Specialist recruitment agencies such as EMR, Spotlight Recruitment and Major Players also handle vacancies. Alternatively, you could make targeted speculative applications to marketing consultancies and in-house marketing departments. Word of mouth and networking are other ways of finding out about vacancies.

Professional development

Most training takes place on the job, although larger companies may have formal graduate training schemes. Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for developing your skills and knowledge and is usually encouraged by employers. Typical activities can include:

attending networking events
completing short courses on areas such as search engine marketing, email marketing, legal issues and data and analytics
reading the trade press
completing a professional qualification.

Professional qualifications are offered by organisations such as CIM and you may receive financial support, study leave or both from your employer to complete them. These qualifications include:

Certificate in Professional Marketing (Level 4 Intermediate) - for junior marketers wanting to the gain the knowledge and skills to progress in marketing
Diploma in Professional Marketing (Level 6) - for marketers working at a strategic level (e.g. marketing executive or marketing manager) who want to develop their skills and knowledge
Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Marketing (Level 7) - for senior marketers wishing to move to a more strategic management role.

With the right combination of experience, qualifications and CPD, you can apply for CIM Chartered Marketer status.

Professional development, qualification and training courses are also offered by organisations such as the Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM). IDM provides a range of professional qualification courses in digital and direct marketing at award, certificate, diploma and postgraduate level.

Career prospects

There's a career structure within marketing and you can expect to progress from marketing executive to senior marketing executive once you've gained relevant experience and skills.

Taking relevant professional qualifications can help your career prospects and is becoming essential for senior marketing roles.

To increase your experience, you could move between in-house departments or work in a marketing agency or consultancy for several different clients. You might also want to move companies or sectors to progress your career more quickly.

You can choose to remain in a general marketing role or specialise in a specific area of marketing, such as event management, communications or public relations.

Other opportunities include setting up as a freelance marketing consultant or moving into a related role, in an area such as sales, advertising or public relations.

Marketing executive