According to Ad Age, the 4As conducted a compensation study at more than 230 marketing agencies of varying sizes, geographies and specialties.
A chief creative based in the New York Metro area billed an average of $751 an hour last year — more than double what a chief creative in other parts of the Eastern U.S. or in the South billed, at $319 an hour. In the central part of the country, a head creative billed an average of $420 an hour, and in the West, an average of $461.
So what conclusions might one draw from this data? One might be that ad people are highly paid. We are highly paid because there’s a lot on the line and ideas (and execution of those ideas across countless media) don’t come cheap, nor should they.
Another conclusion that’s easy to draw is brands interested in “value” need to be working with agencies in the South, Midwest and West.
