Sales promotion account executive

Sales promotion account executives are experts in creative marketing. You'll use a range of strategies to entice customers including competitions, samples, coupons, promotions and point-of-sale displays.

These incentives reach the consumer in a variety of ways, such as in retail outlets, at events and exhibitions, through direct mail, press advertising, websites, text messaging and social media.

You'll usually be involved in all stages of the campaign, making sure everything runs smoothly. Keeping everyone who's involved in the campaign informed and up to date is an important aspect of the job, and you may also provide central administrative support to the team. Account executive is the typical entry-level position for recent graduates.

Responsibilities

As a sales promotion account executive, you'll need to:

• research clients and markets
• liaise with clients, agency staff and external suppliers of goods and services
• develop creative ideas for promotional marketing campaigns
• report to the account manager
• brief agency staff, such as creative teams and production departments
• attend meetings to present and share ideas, campaigns and feedback
• write and proofread promotional marketing copy
• manage, monitor and report on the progress of promotions and campaigns
• compile budgets and cost supplies and projects
• prepare and check invoices and bills
• maintain information on projects and clients
• assist in the preparation of presentations to clients
• build relationships with clients to ensure repeat business
• carry out a variety of administrative tasks.

Salary

• You would generally start on a salary in the region of £23,000 to £28,000.
• With experience, it's possible to progress to the role of account manager or senior account executive level, where salaries can range from £25,000 to £50,000 depending on your level of experience and the industry you work in.
• Salaries for account directors/senior account directors are around £40,000 to £75,000+ and may also include the bonus of earning commission. The higher end of this scale is likely to be for the most senior positions with large agencies.

Some posts include incentives such as a company car allowance, bonus scheme, pension, private health and life insurance.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Standard hours are 9am to 5pm but you'll sometimes need to work beyond this, particularly prior to the launch of a big campaign or when preparing to pitch to clients. It may also be necessary to attend promotional events in the evenings.

Part-time work and job shares are usually available and you may have the option to work from home or in a hybrid capacity. Self-employment is possible after several years' experience. Agencies also use freelance staff.

What to expect

• While the work is largely office based, you may be required to visit clients, printers and suppliers and attend events.
• Opportunities are available throughout the country. There are large agencies in all major cities, as well as many small regional employers.
• Dress code depends on the agency but is frequently informal or smart casual in the office. Smart business dress may be required when meeting clients or attending events.
• The need for travel within a working day can increase with seniority. Travel within the UK is reasonably common as you progress in your career, and international travel may be required.
• Working from home, or a hybrid solution where you spend some time in the office and some remotely, is common.

Qualifications

You may be able to enter the role without a degree as employers are often looking for experience and relevant skills. However, some will specifically want graduates and in these instances, although any degree or HND is usually accepted, the following subjects may be particularly useful:

• advertising
• business studies or management
• economics
• English
• communications
• information technology
• marketing
• media
• psychology.

Larger agencies run graduate training schemes but may be willing to recruit those with an HND, if the candidate has the required skills and personal qualities.

A pre-entry postgraduate qualification is not essential. A combination of aptitude, enthusiasm, commitment and business awareness can be more important than specific academic qualifications. Consider getting some experience in a sales or marketing area to help with this.

It is also to gain an entry level position through an apprenticeship such as an advertising and media executive advanced apprenticeship.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• interpersonal and communication skills to work with clients
• creativity and ingenuity for implementing campaign ideas
• research skills to undertake market research
• IT skills and the ability to work with digital and data technology
• knowledge of a range of social media platforms
• presentation skills to share ideas and report on successes
• problem-solving and decision making skills
• commercial awareness and general business sense
• organisational skills for working across multiple campaigns
• the ability to prioritise your workload and to work to strict deadlines
• motivation, enthusiasm and flexibility
• self-confidence and the ability to persuade clients
• the ability to use your initiative and be proactive
• strong teamworking ability for collaboration
• data analysis skills to evaluate the success of campaigns
• general administrative skills
• an open mind and a can-do attitude.

Work experience

Experience in promotional work, sales or customer service is extremely useful. As some agencies specialise in working with particular sectors, any knowledge or experience relating to that area may give you an advantage. It's a good idea to be active on social media to showcase your promotional and marketing expertise.

Undertaking work experience with a marketing agency or in any other business environment (if possible within a marketing department) can help you to become known to an agency and will help your applications. Use this experience to network and make further contacts.

Work experience opportunities are not always advertised so speculative applications are worthwhile. Relevant professional bodies, such as the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM), sometimes provide lists of their members, which you can use to research opportunities and potential future employers.

Some companies offer marketing internships which you could complete during a placement year as part of your degree, or shorter internships could be done in your summer holidays from school, college or university.

Well-informed, targeted applications are vital, so make sure you've researched the sector and agency before applying for work experience. It's also important to keep up to date with industry news and developments so reading any related trade press will help.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

The divisions between traditional marketing disciplines, such as branding, advertising and sales promotion have blurred, and few agencies now specialise exclusively in sales promotion. Instead, they tend to work more broadly in the field of promotional marketing.

Most sales promotion account executives work in integrated marketing communications agencies, offering clients a range of below-the-line services, including sales promotion, direct marketing and digital media. Some agencies have a stronger focus on sales promotion than on other areas, but there is considerable overlap between these activities. Traditional above-the-line advertising agencies (those specialising in television, radio, outdoor and cinema advertising) may also have a below-the-line/sales promotion division.

Digital media has had a significant impact on direct marketing techniques and it's likely you'll be working with the latest digital and data technologies.

Opportunities also exist in client-side work, being employed directly by a company to carry out their marketing rather than an agency, but this is usually only the case for very large companies.

Look for job vacancies at:

• Campaign Jobs
• Marketing Jobs
• Only Marketing Jobs
• Digital Waffle

It's also worth making speculative applications directly to agencies.

Recruitment agencies specialising in marketing and media roles, such as Morgan McKinley and Reed, also advertise vacancies.

Professional development

Large agencies may offer structured in-house training and mentoring when you first join. With smaller agencies, training may be carried out on the job.

There are also a range of external courses and qualifications available through various organisations. For example, the Digital Marketing Institute and the Data and Marketing Association offer a range of courses recognised by the industry:

• Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing
• Content Marketing Strategy Qualification
• Advanced AI for Digital Marketing

Courses are also available with other organisations such as the Alliance of Independent Agencies which offers a Diploma in Integrated Marketing as well as several other short courses and training sessions. If you’re looking to work your way up in a marketing career, the Chartered Institute of Marketing offers a range of globally recognised professional qualifications from introductory courses to post-graduate certificates.

Like many careers operating in a digital space, AI continues to change the promotion and marketing industry. AI tools allow you to analyse audiences, target campaigns and personalise customer experiences. With this in mind, you might want to consider this as an area for professional development. The Data and Marketing Association offers a range of professional courses in this area.

Career prospects

Progression from this more junior position usually involves advancing through the roles of senior account executive, account manager and account director.

A professional qualification may help your chances of career development but your performance and success in the job are the main things that determine your promotion prospects.

Promotional marketing is a fast-paced business and progression to more senior roles may be rapid. It's not unusual to reach account director level within ten years.

Further promotion beyond account director is possible. This could be to more senior strategic posts, such as group account director, or to board-level roles. However, opportunities at this level are limited and you may need to move between agencies, or join a bigger company or a different sector to achieve the level of promotion you want.

With substantial experience and a strong network of contacts you could set up your own agency. It's also possible to move to a client-side role, where you would work directly for a company to increase their sales and promote their services, rather than being based in an agency working for different clients.