Advertising Salary Guide 2023—why performance marketing jobs are critical

This is part of a recurring series of stories that examine the hottest ad industry jobs and what they’re paying. Read the first entry here. Performance marketing jobs are high in demand as companies increasingly look for all aspects of their advertising to drive revenue growth, especially amid the uncertain economic environment. Ad Age searched ad agency and marketing listings in July for performance marketing jobs in New York across various sites including LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Indeed and others. Highlighted below are some of the more senior and interesting roles shops and brands are looking to fill in this area, along with sometimes very broad salary ranges they posted. Note that these listings may have been filled or adjusted since they were posted and Ad Age has not detailed the benefits offered with each role. Ad Age Small Agency Awards See all of the 2023 winners Click here What are performance marketing jobs? Performance marketing professionals create, execute and manage paid acquisition campaigns. They are tasked with driving strong returns on investment and delivering on clients' performance goals, which can include revenue targets. The discipline has evolved over the past few years with advertising professionals realizing performance needs to be applied across all marketing efforts and not just for low-funnel opportunities, where performance used to be focused, said Jeremy Dowdy, president of performance marketing for WPP agency Wunderman Thompson. With the improved use of data, advertising professionals can now evaluate performance on upper-funnel activities such as brand awareness campaigns. “Performance marketing should not be thought through as a department inside an agency. Instead, it is a mindset and a way of working that spans multiple departments, from client services to strategy to paid media, content, creative, analytics,” Dowdy said. Also read: Initiative's big bet on performance marketing pays off And: How brands and agencies are approaching AI jobs Why are performance jobs in demand? Even at a time when agencies are laying off employees, it appears there are still some protected pockets of specialties, and performance is one of them. In fact, the tough economy is driving marketers to ensure all of their ad dollars are delivering and therefore performance jobs have become essential. A 2021 McKinsey study found that nearly 80% of CEOs were looking to marketing to drive revenue growth. Procter & Gamble Co. Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard said the company was renewing its focus on brand growth amid inflationary uncertainty during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. “Ultimately, regardless of whether it's a recessionary environment, inflationary environment or whatever the environment is, particularly with our brands, cleaning health and hygiene brands, performance drives brand choice,” Pritchard told Ad Age in an interview at Cannes. Read more: P&G's Marc Pritchard on pushing growth and more Dowdy said agencies are now held accountable for delivering growth for clients' businesses, making performance “critical.” Data and privacy changes are also making it harder to target consumers and collect information on them, making the role of performance marketers even more important as they are tasked with finding solutions to these problems, Dowdy said. “As is the topic on everyone’s minds, AI will create opportunities to evolve even further in creating greater impacts and experiences for customers.” Ad Age Agency Report 2023 Revenue, listings and analysis for agencies and agency companies Read more here What skills are required for performance roles? “The skillsets required vary from department to department, but common themes that cut through all disciplines is an understanding of how businesses operate, the KPIs that drive outcomes, a strong understanding of digital marketing and a strong mathematical/analytical mindset,” Dowdy said. Brad Nunn, VP of performance digital for Stagwell media agency Gale, said some skills he looks for in performance talent include being platform experts. “Good candidates must be eager to jump into platforms from site analytics to demand-side platforms,” he said. Related: How brands should measure campaigns on Amazon's DSP Ideal candidates don't necessarily need a marketing degree but they should be competitive, Nunn said. “There needs to be a drive to continuously improve and outsmart competitors.” As performance marketing rises in importance within companies, communication skills are becoming increasingly critical to land one of these jobs. “Going back five years, this was not as crucial of a skill set for performance marketers but more and more performance marketers across all levels are leading calls and strategizing directly with stakeholders,” Nunn said. Here are a few areas agencies and brands are looking for talent to be adept in for the open performance jobs: How much do these performance jobs pay? The salaries for these jobs reflect the demand. All of the salaries for these positions except one were in the six-figure range, according to job openings tracked by Ad Age. Salaries went as high as $500,000 a year. Typically any job in New York, across all advertising disciplines, pays about 25% higher than in other areas of the country such as the Midwest, said Sasha Martens, president of industry headhunting firm Sasha the Mensch. “But there is variance. Generally, compensation tracks with the location and is similar to other roles,” he said. Much depends on the specific role and the company, but here’s a glimpse, thanks to a new law in New York that went into effect Nov. 1, 2022, requiring companies to include good faith pay ranges for all job listings. Job title: VP, global business development (performance marketing), Publicis Groupe Salary range: $143,000 - $240,500 a year Publicis Groupe is looking for a VP, global business development for its Performance Centre of Excellence, which drives performance for clients across several channels including social, search, programmatic, commerce and affiliates. This person will lead and oversee the efforts to acquire new clients and grow revenue including identifying growth opportunities, building and maintaining relationships with potential clients, and pitching services, according to the job listing. Skills desired for this role include: “At least 10 years of experience working within or around the performance media ecosystem with a proven track record of business conversion and driving growth; Strategic thinker, can create a storyline that compels the prospect to work with the agency brand in question; Extreme time management & organization, can manage multiple complex activities at once,” read the job post. See the job post here. Job title: VP, strategy, performance marketing and growth, Razorfish Salary range: $153,000 - $257,500 a year Publicis Groupe's Razorfish is looking for a VP of strategy, performance and growth “with strong business intuition, a collaborative spirit and experience driving growth for clients.” The role requires having the ability to use marketplace and consumer insights, as well as performance data, to make informed recommendations to clients that help drive customer acquisition, according to the job listing. Skills desired for this role include: “Competency to seamlessly interface with marketing, digital acquisition, product, commerce and senior-level clients; Expert at planning and executing upon strategies necessary for the achievement of revenue and profit objectives; Experience in performance marketing, campaign development and optimization—including, but not limited to: digital design/user experience, display marketing campaigns, search (SEO and SEM), social media, mobile web and applications, affiliate marketing, and digital analytics,” according to the job post. See the job post here. Job title: Executive VP, performance media, Zenith Salary range: $241,000 - $325,500 a year Zenith, a return on investment agency within Publicis Groupe, is seeking an executive to oversee its digital and performance media practices, with responsibility over internal teams and clients. This person will create and support clients' performance goals and must have “extensive knowledge and understanding of all digital media and performance media channels" and a “strong representation of agency and client values to the marketplace,” according to the job post. Skills desired for this role include: “Influential industry voice; Salesmanship; Effective presenter; Persuasive writer; Ability to build and maintain strong collaborative relationships, internally and externally; Strong commercial/business skills; Strategic problem solver,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Job title: VP, performance and retail media strategy lead for LVMH, Publicis Media Luxe Salary range: $115,500 - $144,000 a year Publicis Media Luxe, Publicis Groupe's luxury hub, is seeking an executive to “lead and direct strategy development and the writing of media plans—plus you’ll oversee client partnership, plan approvals and implementation, and business performance analysis,” according to the job post. The person will drive performance for all of client LVMH's brands, which include Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and Sephora. Skills desired for this role include: “Hands on retail media expertise required; Luxury experience, iconic brand (ie. Apple, Nike) or relevant category experience preferred (ie. high-end retail, beauty, wine & spirits); Deep industry relationships with platforms, media partners, and ad tech firms; Excellent negotiation skills and understanding of how to add incremental value and communicate that to our clients,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Also read: LVMH hires Publicis Groupe for media accounts Job title: Associate director, central activation, Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) Salary range: $100,000 - $150,000 a year Publicis Media is looking for an executive to cultivate relationships with its agency partners for its hub that executes media campaigns through a global offshore support network, designed “to meet clients' performance goals across a variety of platforms,” according to the job posting. The executive will uncover business needs, find growth opportunities and consult agencies on “the development of account support solutions.” Skills desired for this role include: “Strong background in digital media (i.e. programmatic, search, social, or ecommerce); five years of relevant experience in a client-facing role in account management or digital operations; experience collaborating with global counterparts for support preferred,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Job title: account director, performance media, Performics Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 a year Performics, a Publicis Groupe performance agency, is seeking an executive that will be responsible for “the growth, management, retention and satisfaction” of clients' performance goals. The person will oversee cross-channel services across various media including paid search, display, social, mobile, video and affiliate marketing, according to the job listing. Skills desired for this role include: A “concentration in business, marketing, or advertising preferred; Master's degree in business, advertising or marketing a plus; seven years of account management experience in online advertising, direct marketing or e-commerce; client and agency experience preferred; four years of demonstrated success in managing and leading people,” according to the job post. See the job post here. Job title: VP, paid search and social, Reprise Salary range: $250,000 - $500,000 a year Reprise, IPG Mediabrands' performance marketing agency, is seeking an executive to oversee “digital performance channels and activation teams with a deep knowledge of both paid search and social,” the job post said. The VP will partner with the senior VP to develop a “strategy focused on driving efficiency and integration across organic and paid channels” for clients. Skills desired for this role include: “Superior analytical, strategic thinking; communication and presentation skills with the ability to present to C-level executives; Demonstrated understanding of third-party tools, management platforms and analytics suites; Ability to judge and quantify results of media efforts placed on behalf of our clients (i.e., understand/describe impact of results, compare actual results to needs of client) and theability to translate this data into a story,” according to the job posting. See the job post here. Job title: Associate director paid social, Reprise Salary range: $120,000 - $125,000 a year Reprise is also looking to hire an associate director of paid social, whose responsibilities will include recommending “targeted, innovative media vehicles consistent with client’s strategies and objectives” and developing, documenting and implementing “paid social media best practices within client accounts,” according to the job listing. Skills desired for this role include: “Very strong experience in developing robust, creative, and innovative paid social / native advertising / content marketing programs—in excess of $1 million annually; strong understanding of cross channel planning, demonstrating strong coordination of digital and offline media efforts; extensive experience writing and presenting relevant information; understanding of marketing and communications process, and ability to execute streamlined processes across clients, media partners, and other agencies,” according to the job post. See the job post here. Job title: Director, performance marketing, January Digital Salary range: $125,000 - $175,000 a year Independent media agency January Digital is seeking a director of performance marketing. This executive will be the “key leader in the strategic development of your client(s) digital media and how it relates back to their business objectives,” according to the job post. Responsibilities include developing “a deep understanding of each client's business and leverage data to deliver consistent results and guide growth opportunities to reinforce the agency's strategic value” and building “trust with clients by developing a standard of excellence around performance and brand marketing focused on predictable, data-correlated plans to meet business goals,” the job listing said. Skills desired for this role include: “Can operate the D2C/.com business completely without too much supervision on the day-to-day; proven ability to produce innovative multi-channel media plans and go-to-market strategies for complex clients—you are a strong strategic thinker, with the ability to translate quantitative and qualitative data and insights into innovative marketing strategies; analytically minded—you aren't afraid to dig in to troubleshoot issues and you're always thinking about ways to improve in order to drive retention of clients,” according to the job post. See the job post here. Job title: Associate director, performance marketing, David Yurman Salary range: $115,000 - $130,000 a year Jewelry company David Yurman is looking for an associate director of performance marketing, to “lead iterative testing to optimize performance within designated channel(s)” and “measurably drive incremental ROI and media effectiveness,” among other responsibilities. The executive will drive performance goals across areas including SEM, affiliate marketing and co-marketing opportunities, according to the job post. Skills desired for this role include: Five to seven years “of relevant retail SEM, [product listings ads] experience; media agency experience strongly preferred; knowledge of SEO/organic search functions to drive holistic brand presence across search engines; experience working with Adobe Analytics and Google analytics; proven track record of developing and executing effective media plans & strategies,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Job title: Executive director, performance media investment, Hearts & Science Salary range: $160,000 - $240,000 a year Omnicom Media Group's Hearts & Science is looking to hire an executive director of performance media investment for its AT&T account, specifically, to help lead “strategies across planning and activation that deliver on client business objectives but also push them into new territories,” according to the job post. The executive will work across data, media and creative and be responsible for all performance media relating to client acquisition, retention and growth for client AT&T. Skills desired for this role include: “Track record for successfully driving digital customer growth and revenue across paid media platforms for B2C and B2B brands; demonstrated ability to develop and drive strategic media plans for large, complex organizations; track record of building and developing high performing teams; proven experience using data analytics to provide greater customer insight, drive innovation and improve efficiency and productivity,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Look back: Why AT&T went with Omnicom Job title: Executive director, digital activation, OMD USA Salary range: $200,000 - $250,000 a year OMD USA is looking to hire an executive director of digital activation to help lead “the day-to-day set up and optimization of performance campaigns across multiple digital buying platforms. You will define, execute, and optimize digital media channel strategies and initiatives ensuring that pacing, performance, and the digital buying process are activated correctly,” according to the job post. Skills desired for this role include: “Technical and strategic understanding of auction-based buying required, particularly in paid social and programmatic display; integrated media planning; strong program management and organizational skills, with ability to drive multiple simultaneous efforts to fruition; exceptional analytical skills, and confidence acting on data and insights,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Job title: Analyst, performance media analytics, Horizon Media Salary range: $58,500 - $75,000 a year Independent media agency is looking to hire an analyst within its performance media group at Horizon Media. This person will make data-driven decisions to improve results for the agency's clients. The role spans multiple areas including programmatic media, paid social, SEM and affiliate marketing. The job post broke down responsibilities as such: Skills desired for this role include: "Coursework in statistics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering; Working knowledge of digital display media; programmatic knowledge is a plus; Strong analytical skills, including the ability to analyze raw data, draw conclusions, and make recommendations based on forecasted outcomes," according to the job post. See the job post here. Job title: Associate director performance media, Havas Media Salary range: $100,000 - $150,000 a year Havas Media is looking to hire an associate director of performance media “with great performance media management and client-facing skills to manage some of our accounts,” according to the job post. The executive will be the senior client contact for certain accounts and “create and manage performance media campaigns to effectively deliver client objectives and targets.” Skills desired for this role include: Digital media and programmatic media buying expertise. See the job post here. Job title: Performance marketing manager, programmatic display and social, Etsy Salary range: $101,000 - $131,000 a year E-commerce company Etsy is seeking a performance marketing manager to optimize performance across various advertising channels including Google, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Responsibilities include leading “all aspects of day-to-day management of large portions of Etsy’s global display and dynamic social program, optimizing towards strict performance goals via campaign development, testing, learning, bid strategies, targeting, and optimization to GMS and revenue,” according to the job post. Skills desired for this role include: “You have deep familiarity with feed-based channels such as Google Display Network and Facebook and ideally Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) like The Trade Desk, DV360, AppNexus / Xandr, MediaMath; You are knowledgeable across additional performance channels such as search, shopping and affiliates; You have familiarity with data platform tools such as Looker, Mobius, or Google Analytics,” according to the job listing. See the job post here. Job title: Senior manager, head of performance of marketing mobility strategy, Uber Salary range: $101,000 - $131,000 a year Ride-sharing app Uber is looking to hire a senior manager and head of its performance marketing mobility strategy to manage its regional performance and growth strategy across the Americas. "You will craft the global strategy to the local needs by identifying the best Performance Marketing response and ensuring strong growth contribution in your region in response to local challenges and opportunities," the job post said. Skills desired for this role include: Seven “years experience in performance marketing, specifically in building multi-channel and cross-channel strategies; Ability to analyze and structure data, turn data into insights, and insights into actions that assist senior management and other business leaders with decision-making; High level business acumen with an analytical mindset; In-house performance marketing experience a plus!” See the job post here. Ad Age Best Places to Work Recognizing employers in advertising and marketing Enter here

Advertising Salary Guide—why performance marketing jobs are critical

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