What secret is better kept than the Coca-Cola recipe? The salary levels of advertising agency employees. In fact, most human resources directors (HR directors) approached politely declined our interview requests. Fortunately, the Shefferd firm conducted an anonymous survey for us among agencies, and the results are interesting: a confirmed copywriter has a median salary of €49,900, a creative director, €110,900…

On the other hand, for agencies to speak openly about their salary practices would amount to revealing information that is too strategic, too sensitive, and risked causing a bomb effect internally (see box below) as well as externally. «If the subject is taboo in our industry, it’s because salary pyramids are often very steep: at the very top there are a few people earning a lot of money and at the bottom very many poorly paid juniors, suggests Thomas Parouty, director of the Mieux agency, a small structure with ten employees. Sometimes the ratio can go from 1 to 50.» Far from the 1 to 20 ratios required by the head of state in public companies…

And in the case of a consulting firm, it can be problematic to display salaries that are too high to clients: the latter will always have the impression of paying for them one way or another. These excesses even prompted the Association for More Responsible Communication to issue recommendations: «We advocate for a maximum gap of 1 to 7 between the lowest and highest salary, explains Laurent Terrisse, one of the organization’s co-founders and president of the Limite agency. Even if it means offering other compensation supplements to continue attracting exceptional profiles: more significant profit-sharing, equity participation…» Unless it is the market itself that changes the rules of the game.
For while abnormal gaps persist for employees in position, the trend is rather toward a return to normal on the pay slips of new hires. «Today, I can fit all candidates – from beginners to very experienced professionals – into my compensation grids, which haven’t changed since last year, points out Ange Michelozzi, HR director at Fullsix. Until last year, there could be overruns but since then salaries have stabilized, even in creative roles. Besides, nowadays it’s becoming difficult for agencies to afford stars.»

One explanation could lie in tougher competition: «Competition between agencies is fiercer in 2012, and at the same time budgets would be 30% lower on average compared to 2010», explains Marc de Torquat, director of the Firebrand firm. With lower margins, it’s impossible to embark on a spending spree. Another sign that the balance of power is currently in favor of companies, according to recruiters there are many art directors (AD) and creative directors (CD) out of work, and they struggle to find a position with the same level of compensation. Of course, ADs or CDs bringing added value likely to generate new budgets and able to prove it will always command higher prices. «Just as a planning director who, managing budgets from A to Z, will be better paid by saving money for the agency and finding cheaper service providers», says the HR director at Fullsix.
But the general trend is toward a lower profile. Candidates themselves seem to be adapting to this new configuration: «Before, in a job interview, a junior project manager would say something like: “My school told me I’d earn this much and I won’t accept less”, admits a recruiter. Now, their institution gives them the sole instruction to find a permanent contract.»
Jean Valentin, CEO of the Extrême group, dates the worsening of the situation to last April and correlates it with pre-election hesitation: «Since then, we’ve received more unsolicited applications and applicants are much more flexible in their demands.»
For once, digital is not completely immune to this reversal: «Community management was booming in 2011, today the market has adapted well, there are many available profiles for these types of roles. As a result, salary expectations have calmed down», continues Ange Michelozzi.
The exception to the rule, no doubt, as other digital professions constitute rather the main pocket of resistance to salary austerity. Professions linked to brand content, for example, would be somewhat overvalued, like other more traditional functions. «A client director in digital will be paid 20% more than their equivalent in marketing services», notes Jean Valentin.
Thomas Parouty echoes this: «Since we’re a small firm, we need to recruit and are willing to pay as much as a large agency, even a little more, for good Web experts, particularly in project manager or Internet consultant roles.» Even if the boss is careful not to create too much disparity between pay slips: «I bid within the limits of respecting other salaries, I don’t want one employee to earn 20% more than their desk neighbor for the same work.» Another skill that can boost salary: international experience. For this expertise, agencies are willing to open their coffers.

Individual Performance

Whether they have a purely French background or studied on the other side of the world, interns are seeing their situation improve somewhat, according to the agency leaders we interviewed.

Again, the association for more responsible communication had issued recommendations on their treatment: «We believe they should earn between 80 and 100% of the minimum wage, judges Laurent Terrisse. Moreover, at Limite, they receive €1,050 gross.» Interns employed this summer on the Mieux agency barge will receive €800 per month. Finally, at Fullsix, internship allowances have also been slightly increased, but especially interns will be better treated if they are hired later: instead of receiving the minimum salary of €25,000 annually, new recruits who have done a significant internship at Fullsix will earn €27,500.
Another characteristic of advertising agencies in terms of compensation is an almost systematic propensity to reward individual rather than collective performance. Thus, to retain their employees, only 16% of the companies surveyed opt for profit-sharing, performance bonuses or a 13th month. On the other hand, 57% of agencies favor discretionary bonuses. And 33% stock options. At the very top of the pyramid, of course, it’s often the rule. Even though it’s almost impossible to obtain information about management committee compensation: data classified as top secret.

Only exception: listed agencies, which are required to be transparent. Thus Havas’s 2011 annual report tells us that the annual fixed compensation of Mercedes Erra, director of BETC and president of Euro RSCG Worldwide, or Jacques Séguéla, vice-president and chief creative officer of Havas, stands at €900,000. Add to this €450,000 in variable compensation for the first and €150,000 for the second. Stratospheric levels that somewhat recall the abnormal dimension of the €16 million (exceptional) bonus that Publicis president Maurice Levy received last spring. In either case, we’re somewhat far from the 1 to 7 ratio advocated by the association for more responsible communication…

Methodology

Survey conducted by the Firebrand recruitment firm between May and June 2012 among 45 agencies, which declared the compensation of their 5,704 employees as of April 30. Companies of all sizes are part of the panel: from fewer than 10 to more than 250 employees. The data presented correspond to median salaries (half of the employees surveyed earn less, and the other half more than the median). These are gross annual salaries.

« From €70,000 to €300,000 for a creative director »

Marc de Torquat, director of Firebrand, author of the salary survey

Why is talking about money complicated for advertising agencies?

Marc de Torquat. The war for talent is very strong between agencies, because it’s these skills that will make it possible to win competitions. As a result, companies don’t hesitate to have elastic salary grids to acquire these talented profiles, and there can be large disparities in compensation within the same structure. Which is delicate to acknowledge and own. In large groups where subsidiaries are specialized, the question is even more sensitive because, for equivalent roles, there can be significant differences in treatment. In smaller agencies, this question proves less delicate.

Are creative salaries extravagant?

M. de T. Comparing the compensation of these profiles remains a very delicate exercise given that the criteria for assessing creativity prove subjective. That said, all agencies always pay and value creativity as the absolute skill in advertising. And while it never drops very low, on the other hand, it can go very high. Thus a creative director can receive compensation of €70,000 in an event agency of fewer than 80 people and up to €300,000 or more in a large advertising agency.

What about the commercial side?

M. de T. Commercial skills in agencies are highly sought after, and particularly that of “business development” manager. Currently, there is a real war to win competitions, and for these roles, hiring is up 30% since the beginning of the year. Compensation benefits from this as well.