Advertising Manager
Advertising managers plan and run the campaigns a business uses to reach customers and build its brand.
- Median salary*
- $119,600
3.9%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 2,100
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +17.5%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 44/wk
+4h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
They work in advertising and media agencies, in-house marketing teams and media organisations, usually leading a small group of creatives, media buyers and account staff. The role sits a step above hands-on campaign delivery: an advertising manager decides what a campaign should achieve, what it can cost and how it will be judged. It is often confused with marketing manager, but the advertising manager's focus is campaign work rather than the whole marketing mix of product, pricing and research.
How much do advertising managers earn?
The median full-time salary for an advertising manager is $119,600 per annum, before tax, up $24,900 since 2018.
Pay depends heavily on where you work, since large agencies, media organisations and big in-house teams set very different bands for the same title. Seniority and the size of the budgets you handle matter more than years served, and bonuses tied to campaign or agency performance can form a real part of total earnings. Small studios and not-for-profit marketing teams generally sit below the agency market.
What does an advertising manager do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Planning a campaign across paid search, social, outdoor and retail media
- Setting the budget and negotiating rates and placements with media owners
- Briefing creative teams and agencies, then reviewing concepts before anything runs
- Watching performance while a campaign is live and moving spend to what is working
- Reporting results to the client or marketing director, which usually decides the next round of budget
What skills do advertising managers need?
Employers look for marketing analytics, strategy development, project management, backed by Google Ads fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Marketing analytics
- Strategy development
- Project management
- Budgeting and forecasting
Software and tools
- Google Ads
- Meta Ads Manager
- Google Analytics 4
- Adobe Analytics
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Written communication
- Presenting and data storytelling
- People leadership
Is the job growing?
About 2,100 people work as advertising managers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 17.5% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become an advertising manager?
Here's the path most advertising managers take, step by step.
- 1Study a bachelor degree in marketing, advertising, communications or business
Three years full time in most cases, and the most common way in. A bachelor degree is the qualification held by 54% of the people working as advertising managers now.
- 2Get paid campaign experience in a junior role
Advertising executive, campaign coordinator and digital marketing roles give you the hands-on work: writing briefs, booking media, reading results. This is where most managers learn the trade.
- 3Build the channel and analytics skills employers ask for
Employers look for familiarity with Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager and analytics platforms such as Google Analytics 4. Short courses and platform certifications are a cheap way to fill gaps if your degree was general.
- 4Move into managing campaigns and people
Account manager, campaign manager or marketing manager roles are the usual step into owning budgets and supervising staff, and they are the experience most employers weigh at advertising manager level.
- 5Add further study if you are aiming at senior leadership
A postgraduate qualification can help for director and executive roles, though agencies usually value a track record of delivered campaigns more than an extra degree.
Ready to apply as an advertising manager?
Whether you're working toward becoming an advertising manager or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can an advertising manager move to?
Moving into Chief Marketing Officer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $28,600 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Marketing Officer Advertising managers bring campaign delivery and brand oversight to senior marketing leadership, with added executive strategy and governance. | +$28,600 | 55% | short course |
| Marketing Manager Advertising managers bring campaign planning, brand strategy and team leadership to broader marketing management.Known move | +$19,600 | 70% | minimal |
| Communications Manager Advertising managers bring message development and campaign coordination to corporate communications, though stakeholder and media management need broadening.Known move | +$19,600 | 33% | reskill |
| Brand Manager Advertising managers bring campaign execution and consumer insight to brand management, shaping product positioning. | −$18,200 | 52% | short course |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as an advertising manager?
The typical advertising manager is 37 years old; 55% are women, 85% work full-time, and full-timers average 44 hours a week.
- 37
- Median age
- 55%
- Female share
- 85%
- Full-time
- +4h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being an advertising manager?
The work runs in campaign cycles, so the weeks cluster around planning and launch and then settle into monitoring and reporting. Budgets, deadlines and client expectations set the pressure, and much of the day goes on coordinating other people rather than making things yourself. It suits someone who enjoys both the numbers and the pitch, and who is comfortable defending a spending decision in front of a client.
What people like
- Seeing the work go public. Plans turn into billboards, spots and feeds within weeks, so the feedback on your judgement arrives quickly and everyone can see it.
- Sitting between creative and commercial. You shape the idea with the creative team and then work out whether the budget can carry it, which keeps both sides of the job in play.
- Variety of clients and categories. Agencies move between sectors and brands, so the work rarely settles into one product or one audience for long.
- Results you can point to. Campaign data gives you something concrete to show at review time, which helps when you argue for a bigger budget or a promotion.
What people find hard
- Spend can move late. Clients cut or redirect budgets partway through, and a plan that took weeks to build has to be rebuilt around the new number.
- The pitch cycle. Winning new business means long preparation and presentations, and a good deal of that work comes to nothing.
- Launch weeks run long. Average full-time hours in the role are 44 a week, but campaign launches and client deadlines push past that.
- Measured on things you only partly control. Sales, traffic and brand tracking depend on the product, the price and the market as much as on the advertising.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ advertising managers?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of advertising managers, followed by Information Media and Telecommunications.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Information Media and Telecommunications
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 54% | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 12 or below | 17.5% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 10.6% | |
| Postgraduate | 10% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 5.1% |
Will AI replace advertising managers?
This is a moderately exposed role. Media buying and performance reporting already run through automated platforms that set placement, price and audience without much manual work, and AI can draft copy, creative options and client reports quickly. The decisions at the centre of the job, what the campaign should achieve, what it can cost and which idea is worth running, still turn on client relationships and commercial judgement.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Client pitches and stakeholder managementNegotiating rates, presenting results and holding a client's confidence are relationship work built on context and history rather than prompts.35%low
- Media planning and buyingProgrammatic platforms and automated bidding now set much of the placement and price, so the human work shifts to setting the parameters and checking what comes back.25%high
- Campaign performance reportingDashboards assemble reach, click and conversion data automatically, but interpreting what changed and why still takes a person who knows the campaign.20%moderate
- Briefing creative teams and reviewing conceptsAI can generate copy and image options in minutes, yet choosing the idea that fits the brand and the audience is still argued out in a room.20%low
Common questions about becoming an advertising manager
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do advertising managers earn?
Advertising managers earn a median of $119,600 per year before tax. What moves that figure most is the size of the budgets you handle and the sector you work in, since agencies, media owners and large in-house teams pay differently, and performance bonuses sit on top of the base.
How do you become an advertising manager?
Most advertising managers start with a degree in marketing, advertising or communications and then spend a few years in paid campaign roles before taking on budgets and staff. The alternative is to come up through digital marketing or account coordination, adding platform certifications as you go.
Are advertising managers in demand?
Advertising managers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 17.5% over the decade to 2035. The occupation is small, so hiring tends to follow advertising spending across agencies and in-house marketing teams rather than running steadily year to year.
Will AI replace advertising managers?
AI is changing parts of the job: media buying increasingly runs through programmatic platforms, and first drafts of copy, audience segments and reports can be produced in minutes. Exposure is moderate rather than high because the core decisions, what a campaign should achieve, what it can cost and which idea is worth running, still rest on commercial judgement and client relationships.
Where can advertising managers move next?
Broad marketing management is a common move, with pay $19,600 more and a wider brief across product, pricing and customer research. Communications manager roles suit people who enjoy messaging and media relations, paying $19,600 more, while chief marketing officer roles pay $28,600 more and add executive strategy and governance.
Do you need a degree to be an advertising manager?
Not always. A bachelor degree is held by 54% of advertising managers in the workforce, but some people arrive through digital marketing roles and short platform courses. Larger agencies and in-house teams are the ones most likely to insist on a degree above coordinator level.
Related roles
- Marketing Manager
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Brand Manager
- Communications Manager
- Advertising Executive
- Digital Marketing Specialist
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