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The differences between advertising account managers and major account managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an advertising account manager, becoming a major account manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a major account manager has an average salary of $98,287, which is higher than the $75,431 average annual salary of an advertising account manager.
The top three skills for an advertising account manager include lead generation, sales presentations and account management. The most important skills for a major account manager are digital marketing, customer service, and cloud.
| Advertising Account Manager | Major Account Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $75,431 | $98,287 |
| Hourly rate | $36.26 | $47.25 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 105,277 | 164,210 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 39 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
An advertising account manager works at advertising agencies where they are in charge of communicating with clients and managing accounts, building positive client relationships in the process. They coordinate directly with creative teams, ensuring that operations adhere to the clients' budgets, preferences, guidelines, and project requirements. There are also instances when they must secure the clients' advertising needs by liaising with external parties, purchasing advertising spaces, and researching new advertising opportunities. Moreover, an advertising account manager answers inquiries and updates the clients regularly.
Major account manager responsibilities include growing strong relationships with customers, liaising with chief business executives and stakeholders, as well as making sales reports. Also, they answer the client's questions and determine new business opportunities between current customers. They also act as a liaison with cross-functional internal teams, which include customer service and product development departments, to enhance the overall customer experience. Additionally, they negotiate contracts and ensure that agreements increase profits. The work may require periodic travel.
Advertising account managers and major account managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Advertising Account Manager | Major Account Manager | |
| Average salary | $75,431 | $98,287 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $112,000 | Between $59,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | - |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | - |
| Best paying industry | Internet | - |
There are a few differences between an advertising account manager and a major account manager in terms of educational background:
| Advertising Account Manager | Major Account Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between advertising account managers' and major account managers' demographics:
| Advertising Account Manager | Major Account Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5% | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 71.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 7% |