We talked last year about 2012 being the year of consolidation and then the massive Omnicom and Publicis merger hits the news in 2013. Now, there’s a lot of talk in the market place about what impact this will have but you have to look at the positives: the growth of small off shoot agencies for example which will lead to greater competition and as we all know, competition is good.
So where does this leave you, the worker, the beating heart of the industry, the tick and the tock? Well, not as well off as John Wren or Maurice Lévy but you shouldn’t be destitute either.
Here at Cogs Agency we cover roles from entry level to board level both permanent and freelance. Working across creative, client services, strategy, project management, user experience, technology, performance marketing and social, we have offices in London, Europe and Asia. Our clients are some of the best creative agencies, technology businesses and global brands plus we have superb insight into the job market which we would like to share with you.
Certain areas within the rarely attract applicants searching for permanent roles. Rarer still this trend is not financially motivated: instead more value is placed in creativity. The opportunity for self expression is the reason individuals gravitate towards this sector – a fact often neglected which has led to the near flat –lining of freelance day rates in all but niche areas such as bespoke content management systems.
We have also seen a steep increase in agencies and brands looking for permanent User Experience teams. As UX becomes more relevant and visible this has buoyed permanent roles and held freelance day rates at bay.
For the creative sector we have seen strong demand all round especially this summer. However we do feel that more mid weight designers and creative’s should be looking for permanent roles to strengthen their careers for the future and this is an area of high demand.
Project management and production have seen a steady rise in demand across permanent and freelance. Breadth as well as depth is what agencies and brands have been asking for. Salaries and day rates have remained pretty constant for all bar those who have experience working across every platform, the “super producer”.
Client services have been busy all year and with our expansion into the integrated agency sector we are yet again seeing demand for multi skilled individuals. Strategy roles have followed a similar vein and it’s great to see London, the epicentre of planning, living up to its billing.
Performance Marketing will continue to see growth due to the demand of increased customer profiling whilst paid search campaigns are seeing bigger budgets.
Social and content has seen meteoric rise over the past three years and it shows no sign of slow down and we long that this continues.
So please, hold onto this information, post it, tweet it or even pass it off as your own, as long as you use it, that’s what’s great about our world.
To view the most recent salary survey (2016/2017) click here:
CREATIVE
| Title | Full Time Salary | Freelance Day Rate |
| Executive Creative Director | £100k to £160k+ | £500 to £700+ |
| Creative Director | £75k to £110k | £350 to £500 |
| Associate Creative Director | £65k to £85k | £350 to £500 |
| Design Director | £55k to £85k | £300 to £400 |
| Creative Director Team | £75k to £110k | £500 to £700 |
| Creative Group Head Team | £55k to £70k | £400 to £550 |
| Senior Team | £45k to £60k | £400 to £550 |
| Mid-weight Team | £23k to £38k | £225 to £300 |
| Junior Team | £18k to £25k | £150 to £200 |
| Senior Art Director | £45k to £55k | £250 to £400 |
| Mid-weight Art Director | £25k to £35k | £200 to £250 |
| Junior Art Director | £18k to £23k | £150 to £200 |
| Head of Copy | £50k to £85k | £350 to £400 |
| Senior Copywriter | £45k to £55k | £250 to £350 |
| Mid-weight Copywriter | £25k to £35k | £200 to £300 |
| Junior Copywriter | £18k to £22k | £150 to £200 |
| Senior Designer | £40k to £55k | £250 to £330 |
| Motion Designer | £25k to £45k | £200 to £300 |
| Mid-weight Designer | £28k to £40k | £200 to £275 |
| Junior Designer | £18k to £25k | £100 to £200 |
DEVELOPMENT
| Title | Full Time | Freelance |
| Head of Development | £80k to £100k | £350 to £500 |
| Technical Director | £55k to £75k | £350 to £500 |
| Head of Creative Technology | £65k to £85k | £300 to £500 |
| Senior Creative Technologist | £45k to £55k | £350 to £450 |
| Mid-weight Creative Technologist | £35k to £45k | £250 to £350 |
| Junior Creative Technologist | £25k to £35k | £150 to £250 |
| Technical Lead | £50k to £65k | £350 to £400 |
| Development Consultant | £45k to £60k | £350 to £450 |
| Technical Project Manager | £40k to £65k | £250 to £450 |
| Mobile Developer | £30k to £55k | £300 to £450 |
| Java Technical Architect | £50k to £75k | £350 to £500+ |
| Senior Java Developer | £55k to £70k | £375 to £500 |
| Java Developer | £45k to £55k | £300 to £400 |
| Senior Front End Developer | £45k to £60k | £350 to £400 |
| Mid-weight Front End Developer | £30k to £40k | £250 to £300 |
| Junior Front End Developer | £20k to £30k | £150 to £250 |
| Senior Back End Developer | £45k to £50k | £300 to £400 |
| Mid-weight Back End Developer | £35k to £45k | £250 to £350 |
| Junior Back End Developer | £20k to £30k | £150 to £250 |
| Lead QA Tester | £50k to £55k | £350 to £400 |
| QA Analyst | £30k to £40k | £250 to £350 |
CLIENT SERVICES
| Title | Full Time | Freelance |
| Managing Director | £140k+ | n/a |
| Client Services Director/Head of digital | £100k to £160k | £500+ |
| Client Partner/Business Director | £80k to £120k+ | £500+ |
| Group Account Director | £70k to £90k | £350 to £500 |
| Senior Account Director | £60k to £75k | £300 to £400 |
| Account Director | £45k to £60k | £220 to £350 |
| Senior Account Manager | £35k to £45k | £150 to £250 |
| Account Manager | £24k to £32k | £150 to £200 |
| Account Executive | £20k to £25k | £100 to £150 |
PROJECT MANAGEMENT/PRODUCTION
| Title | Full Time | Freelance |
| Operations Director | £90k + | £450+ |
| Head of Project Management | £70k to £120k+ | £400 to £700 |
| Project Director | £60k to £80k | £350 to £500 |
| Senior Project Manager | £45k to £65k | £300 to £375 |
| Project Manager | £30k to £45k | £225 to £275 |
| Junior Project Manager | £22k to £35k | £150 to £200 |
| Senior Resource/Traffic Manager / Director | £45k to £65k | £250 to £350 |
| Resource / Traffic Manager | £24k to £45k | £120 to £250 |
STRATEGY
| Title | Full Time | Freelance |
| Head of Planning / Strategy | £90k to £150k+ | £600 to £1,000+ |
| Planning / Strategy Director | £70k to £100k | £400 to £750 |
| Senior Planner / Strategist | £50k to £75k | £350 to £450 |
| Planner / Strategist | £30k to £50k | £225 to £300 |
| Research Analyst / Junior Planner | £25k to £35k | £150 to £200 |
USER EXPERIENCE
| Title | Full Time | Freelance |
| Head of User Experience | £80k to £90k | £500 to £550 |
| Senior User Experience Architect | £50k to £60k | £350 to £450 |
| Mid-weight User Experience Architect | £30k to £45k | £300 to £350 |
| Junior User Experience Architect | £20k to £30k | £200 to £275 |
| Senior User Researcher | £45k to £55k | £350 to £450 |
| Mid-weight User Researcher | £27k to £40k | £300 to £350 |
BRANDS / CLIENTSIDE
| Title | Full Time | Freelance |
| Head of Sales and Marketing | £60k to £100k+ | £350 to £500+ |
| Head of Ecommerce | £75k to £100k+ | £350 to £500+ |
| Digital /Online Marketing Manager | £35k to £60k | £200 to £280 |
| Digital/Online Marketing Executive | £25k to £35k | £150 to £200 |
| Web Content Strategist | £65k to £75k | £380 to £450 |
| Business Intelligence Lead | £60k to £70k | £380 to £450 |
| Scrum Master | £60k to £65k | £300 to £375 |
| Product Manager | £50k to £60k | £300 to £375 |
| Online Games Producer | £45k to £55k | £250 to £330 |
| Web Content Manager | £40k to £50k | £250 to £325 |
| Web Content Editor / Producer | £30k to £38k | £180 to £250 |
| Mobile Producer | £35k to £45k | £275 to £325 |
| Social Media / Community Manager | £30k to £40k | £180 to £250 |
PERFORMANCE MARKETING
| Business Analyst (Web) | £50k to £65k | £350 to £425 |
| Web Analytics Manager | £45k to £60k | £325 to £380 |
| Web Analytics Executive | £30k to £40k | £180 to £250 |
| Data Analyst | £35k to £45k | £200 to £300 |
| SEO Manager | £35k to £45k | £230 to £300 |
| SEO Executive | £22k to £30k | £140 to £200 |
| Paid Search Manager | £35k to £45k | £230 to £300 |
| Paid Search Executive | £22k to £30k | £140 to £200 |
SOCIAL & CONTENT
| Head of Social | £60k to £80k | £300 to £450 |
| Senior Social Strategist | £45k to £65k | £250 to £350 |
| Social Strategist | £30k to £45k | £200 to £300 |
| Senior Content Strategist | £60k to £70k | £300 to £450 |
| Content Strategist | £45k to £60k | £240 to £360 |
| Senior Community Manager | £30k to £45k | £150 to £250 |
| Community Manager | £25k to £35k | £100 to £200 |