Fall

MARKETING DIRECTOR

08

Allie Langston
BUS 1010
ePortfolio Assignment
11-24-2015
Marketing is all around us, but we never really take the time to think about all of the
effort that certain people put into it on a daily basis. Marketing is a big part of business and there
is someone whose job is specific to it in almost every business out there. I chose to do some
research on a career as a marketing director because I recently acquired a job as one, but I dont
have any experience in this job field. I am working on a Bachelors degree in marketing and am
excited to learn the job and become an expert. I have learned by comparing the job description I
was given in my proposal to some I found during my research that although a marketing
directors have many different tasks, depending on the company that they work for, the basic
description of the job remains the same for all. According to (PayScale) a marketing director is
responsible for managing and directing marketing tasks on behalf of their organization. Although
this is a correct job description, I needed more detail so I decided to look into the purpose of
marketing and the tasks that are most commonly performed by a marketing director. The purpose
of marketing according to (Morello) is to attract attention and create interest for a product or
service provided. Some of the specific tasks that I found in the writing of (U.S Department of
Labor) for a marketing director include making budgets, planning campaigns, market research,
maintaining customer relationships, strategizing advertising and negotiating contracts.
When I first started my research I was confused by the differing titles of a marketing
manager and a marketing director. The job descriptions that I found for each were very
similar and they had the same career path. I found one job description that differed from the rest
on (Monster) and it told me exactly what I needed to know. It read, As a Marketing Director

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youll perform a more strategic role than the Marketing Manager and are more likely to be
responsible for a company rather than a department. I realized that a lot of companies that I had
read about do not differentiate between the two and so for the purpose of this paper and the
research needed to complete it, I decided to treat the two positions as if they were one in the
same because they are so similar.
In order to become a marketing director there is not an exact path to follow once you
have obtained an entry-level position. Almost all marketing directors have had previous
experience in a position related to marketing, sales, or advertising. (U.S Department of Labor)
Some of the most common entry-level positions include sales representatives, purchasing agents,
and public relations specialist. Education is key in this position and most people in this career
have obtained a Bachelors degree in the field of marketing or in a related field. (U.S Department
of Labor) Completing an internship related to marketing can be very helpful before starting your
career and so can knowing a second language. (Castro) There is a continued increase in the
marketing industry in recent years, which means the number of marketing director positions is
going to increase in the coming years if the projections that have been made are correct. (U.S
Department of Labor) Thanks to the education needed, this position will still be competitive and
not everyone will be able to obtain it.
When looking at careers and deciding which one would be best, salary is usually the first
question that comes to everyones mind. I found the average salary for this occupation to be very
pleasing. Although it is not extremely high, it is a lot higher than I thought it would be. The
average salary range is $50,208 to $101.860 based on experience. (PayScale) Entry-level
positions making a median hourly rate of $15.00 per hour, while people that are in the late stages
of their careers are making a median hourly rate of $28.00 per hour. (PayScale) This was

MARKETING DIRECTOR

particularly surprising to me when I learned that 64% of the people in this career are woman.
(PayScale) If there is an increase in profits due to your work as a marketing director there can
also be bonuses, incentives and commissions received on top of your hourly rate. (Suttle, 2011)
The career outlook for this position is very optimistic. This starts with the fact that a lot
of the people in this career field are satisfied with their job. There are many directions you can
take this career. The four most common promotions received by this position are Vice President
of Sales and Marketing, Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Business Development, and
Vice President of Marketing. (PayScale) You can take your career in whichever direction fits you
best and thats what I love about it. Also, as I mentioned before there is a projected job outlook in
this career. Over the next ten years, job outlook is supposed to increase by 12% as a marketing
director. (U.S Department of Labor)
Robin Morgan is the famous marketing director that is now working for Golden Wonder.
Golden wonder is a company selling snack foods in the UK and were in recent need of expert
help to turn their business results around. (Rogers, 2004)They were specifically looking for
someone that exceeded the job description and they found the perfect candidate in Robin
Morgan. (Rogers, 2004)Even though he is from the UK, you may recognize some of the
companies that are part of his portfolio such as Kelloggs, Cadbury and General Foods. At 46
years old, he is excited to be taking on a new challenge with the Golden Wonder Company. His
job is to re-launch the main products of Golden Wonder and make them sale. With fierce
competitors in the market such as a company called Walkers who has hold of half of the snack
food market, he has his work cut out for him. (Rogers, 2004) With such a hard job like this, you
might expect Morgan to be a stiff, but he thoroughly likes what he does. You can see this in the
way he answers his interview questions and by his overall personality. (Rogers, 2004)

MARKETING DIRECTOR

When thinking of going into any profession, it is important to look at all of the pros and
cons. It is also important to get many points of view on this matter since everyone has something
different to say based on their own experiences. When I spoke with the marketing manager at my
work, I asked her about the pros and cons of her job. The best part about my job is the freedom
I have with my schedule and how Im not tied down to a 40 hour work week, said Myra. When
responding regarding the cons of her job she said that the first one that came to mind was that
she only gets paid for her successes, even when her failures are very time consuming. When I did
additional research to find more pros and cons here is what I found. One advantage of being a
marketing director is the varied project load. This is great because you will never get bored with
your job because there is always something to do, and it is usually always something new or
different. (Suttle, 2011) Another advantage is that with this job you are at the center of company
activity, and you dont go unnoticed by executives and people higher up in the company. Also, as
a marketing director you learn many different job skills that are transferrable and can be used in a
lot of future jobs. (Suttle, 2011) Although there are many pros to this job there are also some
cons. The first disadvantage that I came across is that this can be a very high stress job and you
could be in charge of a lot of people. When things do not go right, you are the one they look to
for answers and direction. (Caffrey, 2015) Another disadvantage is that marketing directors often
have to travel for work, and while some people might see this as an advantage, a lot of people do
not want to have to travel for work due to the fact that you must be away from loved ones for an
extended amount of time. (Caffrey, 2015)
I think I would be a great fit for this job. (Monster) says, To be a good Marketing
Director you need to have imagination and enthusiasm, an eye for trends and products but also
be a clear thinker and good communicator. I feel that I have each of these characteristics and

MARKETING DIRECTOR

that they come easily to me. I love meeting new people and am great at communicating and
brainstorming ideas. At my job now, zero creativity is needed. I am going to love and cant wait
to start my new job where I will need to use my imagination almost everyday. I love to socialize
and build relationships with people. I think it would be great to represent a company and to
create great ideas that ultimately lead to the success of the company. I love working with a team
and have developed great leadership skills at my current job that I would love to expand on in a
new position. Marketing was by far my favorite college class that I have taken so far. I have
grown to love marketing. I cant wait to make it part of my career and see where it can take me.
After learning so much about what it is to become and be a marketing director, the advice
I would give to someone looking into this as a career is to have an open mind. You are going to
learn how to be your own boss and pave your own road to success. This can be a great career
path for someone with strong ambition.

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Works Cited
Caffrey, A. (2015, February 25). Pros and Cons of Being a Sales and Marketing Manager.
Retrieved November 24, 2016, from Sales Marketing Management:
www.salesmarketingmanagment.co.uk/pros-cons-being-sales-marketing-manager.html
Castro, K. (n.d.). Best Business Jobs:Marketing Manager. Retrieved November 26, 2015, from
U.S News:Money: money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/marketing-manager
JustJobs.com. (2016, November 26). Career Path Reality Check for a Marketing Manger .
Retrieved August 26, 2011, from Careerealism: www.careerealism.com/career-pathmarketing manager
Monster. (n.d.). Job Description:Marketing Director. Retrieved November 27, 2015, from
Monster: career-advice.monster.co.uk/searching-for-jobs/job-advice-byindustry/marketing-director-job-description/article.aspx
Morello, R. (n.d.). What Is the Purpose of Marketing and Sales? Retrieved November 26, 2015,
from Chron: smallbusiness.cron.com/purpose-marketing-sales-57689.html
PayScale. (n.d.). Marketing Director Salary (United States). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from
PayScale: www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Marketing_Director/Salary
Rogers, E. (2004, September 22). Profile: Famous Again- Rob Morgan, Marketing Director,
Golden Wonder. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from Marketing Magazine:
www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/222947/profile-famous-again---rob-morganmarketing-director-golden-wonder
Suttle, R. (2011). What are the Advantages of Being a Marketing Manager? Retrieved November
30, 2015, from eHow: www.ehow.com/info_8347424_advantages-being-marketingmanager.html
U.S Department of Labor. (n.d.). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved November 27,
2015, from Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.bls.gov/ooh/managment/advertisingpromotions-and-marketing-manages.htm