by Neil Shoebridge

The talent shortage that has plagued the marketing and advertising industry for the past three years has taken a twist: companies are searching for - and in most cases failing to find - executives who can cover both "old" and "new" media.

The latest annual survey of the marketing and advertising sector by the staff recruitment firm Aquent found that multi-skilled people are in high demand in marketing departments, ad agencies and other marketing services suppliers.

The problem is that such people are hard to find and, if they can be found, expensive to hire.

"Companies are on the lookout for people with experience that ranges from traditional to digital to experiential marketing. These are the most sought after staff and the most scarce," Aquent Asia-Pacific chief executive Greg Savage said.

"If the trend away from mainstream marketing continues, ambitious marketers as well as agency creatives, account management and media buyers will need to gain experience across a range of disciplines in order to remain relevant and employable in the coming years."

Aquent's research found a sharp jump in staff movement, with marketing departments and marketing suppliers turning over 27 per cent of their staff over the past year compared with 20 per cent in 2004-05 and 12 per cent in 2003-04.

Mr Savage attributed the jump to a strong economy and an awareness among marketing and advertising executives that good staff are hard to find.

"People are more willing to change jobs when economic conditions are strong," he said. "They are also taking advantage of the talent shortage."

Mr Savage said the high staff turnover rate, coupled with the need to find executives who understood new areas such as digital marketing, had increased the pressure on marketing and advertising companies to improve their staff retention strategies.

"Companies must nurture and further train their staff to retain them," he said.

"If people are not expanding their skill sets, they will look for a company that does that for them.

"It is all about retention.

"The so-called war for talent no longer goes far enough. The real battle is internal: keeping good people and growing key staff for the future."
The search for executives with broader skills has prompted some companies to poach staff from ad agencies for their marketing departments.

"That's not a new trend, but it has accelerated over the past year," Mr Savage said.

"Although ad agency people often find it difficult to make the leap to the client side because clients often think their skills are a bit shallow, more and more are being encouraged to make the move.

"Why? Because companies think ad agency executives have broader skills than many marketers."

The Aquent survey found that marketing and advertising salaries would rise 6 to 10 per cent over the next 12 months.

Creative directors at ad agencies in Sydney are the highest paid executives in the marketing and advertising sector, with an average salary of $400,000.

There is a sharp drop to second place, with ad agency general managers in Sydney earning between $150,000 and $250,000 and marketing directors taking home between $150,000 and $240,000.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
Salaries in the marketing and advertising sector
Ad agency creative director, Sydney   $400,000
Ad agency general manager, Sydney $150,000 to $250,000
Marketing director, Sydney        $150,000 to $240,000
Media director, Sydney       $150,000
Ad agency creative director, Melbourne $140,000
Ad agency creative director, Perth    $140,000
Marketing director, Adelaide      $130,000 to $160,000
PR managing director, Sydney      $120,000 to $165,000
Ad agency general manager, Perth  $120,000 to $140,000
Marketing director, Melbourne         $110,000 to $180,000
Ad agency general manager, Brisbane   $106,000
Marketing director, Perth         $105,000 to $150,000
Ad agency creative director, Brisbane $95,000 to $120,000
PR managing director, Adelaide    $85,000 to $170,000
Ad agency creative director, Adelaide $85,000 to $110,000
Marketing director, Brisbane      $82,000 to $130,000
PR managing director, Melbourne   $80,000 to $200,000
Ad agency general manager, Melbourne  $80,000 to $160,000
Marketing manager, Sydney         $75,000 to $100,000
SOURCE: Aquent