Career
Advertising and promotions managers
Plan the campaigns that put products in front of people.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Plan and prepare advertising and promotional material to increase sales of products or services, working with customers, company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies.
- Inspect layouts and advertising copy, and edit scripts, audio, video, and other promotional material for adherence to specifications.
- Coordinate activities of departments, such as sales, graphic arts, media, finance, and research.
- Develop communications materials, advertisements, presentations, or public relations initiatives to promote awareness of products and services.
- Develop comprehensive marketing strategies, using knowledge of products and technologies, markets, and regulations.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
AI
BLS now cites artificial intelligence in this occupation's outlook: “share decreases as managers increasingly utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools to test, modify, and oversee ad campaigns, allowing fewer managers to oversee more staff.”
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Plan and prepare advertising and promotional material to increase sales of products or services, working with customers, company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $133,660 a year and 2,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- MarketingSee the degree →
- Public Relations and AdvertisingSee the degree →
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationCIP 09.0900
- Public Relations/Image ManagementCIP 09.0902
- AdvertisingCIP 09.0903
- Marketing/Marketing Management, GeneralCIP 52.1401
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Advertising Sales Agents$64,820 · -7.2%
- Marketing Managers$166,790 · +6.9%
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists$78,760 · +7.0%
- Search Marketing Strategists
- Public Relations Specialists$74,750 · +1.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.