The annual Marketing Rewards Survey of pay and benefits in the Marketing Sector, surveyed 284 organisations with 1,515 job roles, across 26 different sectors. The survey found that 17 percent of public sector marketers had a pay freeze, which was well below comparable roles in the private sector and well behind the top sector – manufacturing at 61 percent.

Of public sector marketers, 17 percent had a pay freeze. Those that had a rise on average received 2.4 percent; 61 percent of marketers in manufacturing roles had a pay rise, which averaged 2.3 percent.

Marketing managers in the manufacturing sector topped the pay list
The average pay awards for marketing professionals across all sectors in the coming 12 months is 2.3 percent; 19 percent pay gap between marketing managers in London and the West Midlands

An annual salary survey by pay & benefits experts Croner Reward has found that UK marketing professionals working in the private sector are three times more likely to receive an annual pay rise, compared to their public sector counterparts.

Other key findings include regional variations, with a 19 percent pay gap between marketing managers in London and the West Midlands. A middle ranking marketing manager in the West Midlands, North East, South West, North West, South East and Eastern Counties is paid on average between £35,567 and £40,050 compared with £40,960 and £41,730 in Scotland and London.

Croner Reward pay & benefits expert Laura Sharratt said: “The difference in the public and private sector pay freeze for marketers is stark, with those in the private sector on average receiving a small increase, compared to a large freeze across the public sector.

“This could be due to a number of reasons with one being the cut in Government subsidies to local councils as well as caps on the rising of Council Tax. Local councils across the UK are typically looking to cut their costs substantially and this is reflected in their ability to set annual pay increases.”

Despite receiving a pay increase of 2.3 percent across the marketing sector, the UK inflation rate is higher still at 3 percent.

Laura added: “The high inflation rate compared to pay increases shows that prices are rising quicker than salaries can catch up. Inflation is the average rate of increase in the price for goods and services, which means some rates could be much higher than the 3 percent average an expense which is usually passed down to the consumer.”