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Advertising and Promotions Managers

In the Advertising and Promotions Managers occupation, workers 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. You may also need to plan and prepare advertising and promotional material to increase sales of products or services, working with customers, company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies. With a code of ECA, this is mostly a job for people drawn to leading, persuading and making business decisions. Conventional interests also help, rated 4.4 out of 7. Plan on a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience; O*NET labels this considerable preparation. Strength in speaking, active listening, and social perceptiveness helps most here. If you want leading, persuading and making business decisions, keep it on your list. If you need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world, it may feel thin.

What they do

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.

Main tasks

  • 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.
  • Coordinate activities of departments, such as sales, graphic arts, media, finance, and research.
  • Develop communications materials, advertisements, presentations, or public relations initiatives to promote awareness of products and services.
  • Develop comprehensive marketing strategies, using knowledge of products and technologies, markets, and regulations.
  • Direct, motivate, and monitor the mobilization of a campaign team to advance campaign goals.

Skills

  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Critical Thinking
  • Writing

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like taking the lead and making the call.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on speaking and active listening.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather not persuade, sell or manage other people.
  • You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.0 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ECA takes the three highest, and Enterprising comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Also called

  • Account Executive
  • Ad Accounts Executive (Advertising Accounts Executive)
  • Ad Director (Advertising Director)
  • Ad Manager (Advertising Manager)
  • Ad Sales Director (Advertising Sales Director)

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.