What is an Marketing Executive?
Marketing Executives are the driver of marketing campaigns that promote products and services, ensuring they are creative and engaging to make profit for the organisation. Your role will be varied and will include:
- Planning
- Advertising
- Public relations
- Event organisation
- Product development
- Distribution
- Sponsorship
- Research
Most companies will have a marketing department, therefore there is loads of opportunities in both the private and public sector, in industries from finance and retail to media and charity organisations. The position of a Marketing Executive is diverse and your responsibilities will depend on the size of the organisation and the industry. It will also depend on whether you are promoting a product or service, or if you are 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 photoshoots
- 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’ll need to:
- 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.
Marketing Executives may also be eligible for additional benefits and company perks such as gym memberships, bonuses, medical insurance, etc. Salaries will vary depending on a variety of factors such as size of the company, location, sector. According to Glassdoor, the average UK salary for a Marketing Executive is £30,000 and the highest-paid sectors are entertainment, FMCG and beauty. Salary will also fluctuate depending on what area of marketing you specialise in. For example, salaries are often higher for digital marketing jobs.
Working hours and work location
Working hours for a Marketing Executive will generally be 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, However, you may need to work some evenings or weekends when organising or attending events or when working on a big marketing campaign. Marketing Managers can work up to 40 hours per week on average, especially when new products are about to launch or problems arise. You may also be required to travel.
You may also be able to find part-time work or short-term contracts. These are useful if you are trying to bolster your CV or want to explore different industries.
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
There are several routes to securing a career in marketing. However, a degree in relevant courses is how you can stand out against other candidates. Some of these include:
- advertising
- business or management
- communications
- IT or computer science
- marketing
- psychology.
There’s also a set of core skills and personal qualities that employers will look for in a successful Marketing Executive. These include general awareness of the media and current trends as well as basic digital media techniques and skills. It’s important to look at current vacancies and consider your current capabilities against the responsibilities to get an understanding of what skills you have already obtained and those you will need to develop. This will also help you prepare for interviews as it will allow you to highlight those skills you already have. If you don’t have a degree, you can enter the Marketing industry by securing a marketing assistant role and progress as you build your skillset and experience. It’s also possible to do a Marketing apprenticeship which is available at an intermediate and advanced level. For those starting out their career in marketing, this is a useful way to gain a range of professional qualifications, such as the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing. You can find out more from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Skills
must have 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
If you are going in at entry-level it’s great to have some work experience that is relevant to Marketing that you can talk about during your interview.
This will enable you to demonstrate your skills and what value you can bring to the company. If you do not have work experience, there are usually placements, job shadowing or part-time work available in marketing or related areas. This will provide you with a good first step into the industry and insight into what a career in the industry would be like. Some larger employers will offer students paid summer placements or internships – it’s good to identify these ahead of time so you can submit your application early. Any role that offers experience in sales, customer service, market research, or public relations will help you develop the skills needed to break into the industry,
You might also want to consider getting a CIM student membership as it provides access to industry events, workshops and networking opportunities.
Employers
As mentioned above, most companies will have a marketing department therefore there is opportunities available in lots of different sectors from financial, consumer, IT, not-for-profit organisations, etc. You might also want to explore working for a Marketing agency. This is a great way to get a taste for a career in marketing with the opportunity to work across a variety of industries. Agencies develop and implement marketing strategies and campaigns on behalf of their clients from different industries. Marketing is an increasingly competitive and specialised industry and is a popular career choice for graduates.
You could end up working with some of the biggest companies in the UK:
- Amazon
- Unilever
- Microsoft
- L’Oréal
- Sky
- Barclays
- HSBC
Related Courses
Marketing roles are open to graduates of all subjects. Some higher national diploma or degree subjects may be particularly relevant. Below are some of the courses on offer at that will help you get your foot in the door to the world of Marketing
Undergraduate
Studying towards a BA (Hons) in International Business sets students up with the necessary skills to work in a range of professions. The course involves working closely with academic theory and practical case studies, allowing students to grasp how the theory can be applied in real business scenarios.
Within this programme, students will cover modules such as business studies, finance, human resource management, marketing, and economics. BA International Business takes a very hands-on approach to learning by incorporating workshops, guest lectures and field trips into the programme.
Other related courses include:
- BA (Hons) Marketing Management
- BA (Hons) Marketing with Advertising and Public Relations
- BA (Hons) Communications and Public Relations
The MBA component of the course takes a broad look at business practice and functions such as accounts, finance, and HR – and how they are all interlinked. This allows students to grasp the importance of strategy and communication within a managerial role.
Alongside a broad business view, this course allows students to specialise in digital marketing in a more focused way. The marketing aspect of the programme is intended to allow professionals with substantial digital marketing experience to hone their skills to enhance their career prospects. Areas of study include digital marketing strategy, management, social media marketing, search engine optimisation, pay per click, email and influencer marketing.
Other related courses
- MSc Marketing and Leadership
- MSc Strategic Marketing
- MSc Global Digital Marketing
FAQ Summary
Marketing Executives are the driver of marketing campaigns that promote products and services, ensuring they are creative and engaging to make profit for the organisation.
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.
There are several routes to securing a career in marketing. However, a degree in relevant courses is how you can stand out against other candidates. Some of these include advertising, business or management, communications, IT or computer science, marketing & psychology.
