01/02/2018 – By Amaury de Rochegonde
Eight out of ten agencies plan to increase salaries in 2018-2019, according to a Shefferd study for Stratégies. The winners: the strategic planning director and the social media manager.
With GDP growth of 1.9% in 2017, France regained some economic momentum last year. This is reflected in the salaries of advertising agencies, according to the Shefferd consulting firm’s study conducted exclusively for Stratégies. Conducted among 33 agencies representing 2,526 people, this snapshot of the advertising industry shows strong salary growth in strategic planning roles (+8.2%) and at the head of social media (+14.6%). Overall, turnover remains significant (23%), especially in digital agencies (25%) and healthcare (20%), while corporate, client marketing and advertising roles retain talent better. The more favorable climate has consequences for forecasts in the coming two years: eight out of ten agencies anticipate salary increases and nine out of ten plan to recruit.
EXPERTISE MANAGERS VALUED.
Once this overall picture is established, it’s important to refine the analysis. First, the study focuses two-thirds on small structures with fewer than 50 employees, which explains a non-astronomical median salary level. Second, as Marc de Torquat, co-founder of Shefferd, points out, pressure on salaries is less the result of a talent war between agencies than the product of multiple factors: “Agencies tend to have their talent poached, particularly in social media or data. The previous 2016 study showed that digital was pulling ahead. This time, it’s expertise managers like the strategic planning director or head of social media who are being valued.“
REBALANCING ON THE CREATIVE SIDE.
Those who still saw “creative” as the absolute star of the advertising world are out of luck: a creative director earns an average of €87,000 gross per year while a strategic planning director stands at €109,000. A premium for benchmarking and exploring trends in a world that, for advertisers, is severely lacking landmarks? Not only. “There are often five or six creative directors below the chief creative officer,” explains Olivier Altmann, president of the advertising delegation of the Association of advertising consultancy agencies (AACC). “Clients increasingly want daily strategic oversight with planners who have digital, brand and corporate culture, plus creative planning. But it’s easier to promote a senior creative by naming them creative director and giving them a €1,000 raise than to poach externally. For strategic planning it’s harder to build from within; you have to look outside and the pipeline is very traditional (Sciences Po, Celsa…). Strategic planning has become, as the saying goes, strategic and the pool of good planners is quite limited.” This represents a rebalancing from 2016 when creatives had experienced fairly strong growth. In 2017, the focus is on stability for creative roles (CD, AD, CR), or even decline in smaller agencies. Only the graphic designer, who had been under pressure the previous year, gains 3.1%. Marc de Torquat also notes that strategic planning director skills are beginning to be sought outside agencies, such as at advertisers or Google. Meanwhile, production roles (production director, traffic manager, studio head) are all also trending positively. Faced with advertisers and procurement departments watching costs closely, time optimization is crucial: these functions are essential to ensure deliverables are completed on schedule.
STAGNATION IN DIGITAL.
On the digital side, the head of social media benefits from its relative scarcity. It’s a profile all the more sought after because it requires constantly staying up to date to attract millennials or adapt to Facebook’s algorithm. “They need to stay connected permanently and keep up with trends,” notes Richard Verglas, Chief Operating Officer at Mazarine. “It’s a bit like a nightclub owner – they can’t afford to age if they want to keep attracting young people. They must always be on the cutting edge even if they’re not necessarily in the loop themselves.” Among other digital roles, only the technical project manager (+12.3%) benefits from a greater revaluation: it’s all the more significant as the technical director sees their salary increase by only 1.8%. “The first plays the role of the second in smaller agencies,” explains Marc de Torquat. “What’s valued are expertise leaders – those who manage a team of experts and are able to build and deliver an offering.” All other digital roles are stagnating, which may seem surprising for titles like “UX manager” or “developer” while “community managers” seem to have reached maturity. “This is one of the agency’s difficulties – it doesn’t have the right levers or compensation levels. The real challenge for agencies is attracting and retaining talent,” adds the head of Shefferd. Similarly, the data analyst, newly studied, is far from earning what a graduate engineer would (€31,000), either because they’re just starting their professional experience in an agency or because they’ve been somewhat generously given this title for their mastery of Google Analytics. And startups are quick to spot them…
GENERAL INCREASE FOR SALES FUNCTIONS.
Finally, regarding sales functions, the raise for commercial directors (+4.9%), heavily exposed to variable compensation in their employment contract, proves that business is returning. Account management (+2.1%) is also up, especially in agencies with fewer than 50 employees, which are more agile and competitive on certain budgets: a single incentive on a gain earned by one or two people is enough to impact final compensation. Conversely, the significant decline (-13%) of the account director raises questions. “It’s specific to each structure,” explains Richard Verglas. “If the account director doesn’t have strategic planning skills and just does relationship management, that’s somewhat limited for pitches and competitions. The sales function needs to add value in social media strategy or marketing.” The fact that many advertisers want to work directly or require deliverables without paying also tends to lower agency salaries. “Agencies will succeed against consulting competitors like Accenture or data specialists if they maintain their creativity, expertise and a true sense of counsel,” believes Marc de Torquat. What about employee retention? Benefits in kind are still quite traditional (restaurant vouchers, company cars, flexible time off and training). Profit-sharing and incentive schemes, for example, only concern 40% of agencies. And employee referral bonuses are often overlooked. For those who have decided to build a career in advertising, Richard Verglas offers his final piece of advice: “The key word is adaptation. You need to be more agile and increasingly versatile. We’ve tended to be too compartmentalized with overly segmented positions.“
Methodology
Study conducted by Shefferd among 33 responding agencies, representing a total workforce of 2,526 people (60% women). Sales functions represent 55% of the workforce. Over 65% of responding agencies have fewer than 50 employees.
Source Stratégies – Advertising salaries: https://www.strategies.fr/actualites/agences/4006164W/salaires-de-la-pub-qui-gagne-le-plus-.html