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The differences between advertising specialists and marketing communications specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an advertising specialist, becoming a marketing communications specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a marketing communications specialist has an average salary of $53,993, which is higher than the $50,237 average annual salary of an advertising specialist.
The top three skills for an advertising specialist include digital marketing, google analytics and google adwords. The most important skills for a marketing communications specialist are digital marketing, project management, and graphic design.
| Advertising Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,237 | $53,993 |
| Hourly rate | $24.15 | $25.96 |
| Growth rate | -8% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 29,779 | 95,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 44 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
The advertising specialist is responsible for leading the advertising agency by creating and developing advertising campaigns and coordinating with clients. An advertising specialist is good at pitching new accounts, managing different project accounts, and collaborating ideas to creative teams. They specialize in a wide range of several advertising channels with television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and digital platforms. In addition, part of their task is to deliver custom-fit presentations to current and prospective clients in order to gain new business and drive revenue.
A marketing communications specialist is an individual who is responsible for creating all the marketing materials that are distributed to customers to increase brand awareness for the company's products or services. To create these materials, marketing communications specialists must collaborate with graphic design teams. They are required to track their marketing performance so that they can identify ways to improve their marketing strategies. Marketing communications specialists must also set up interviews and press conferences as part of their marketing campaign.
Advertising specialists and marketing communications specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Advertising Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,237 | $53,993 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $69,000 | Between $36,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Delaware |
| Best paying company | Chegg | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an advertising specialist and a marketing communications specialist in terms of educational background:
| Advertising Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between advertising specialists' and marketing communications specialists' demographics:
| Advertising Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.1% Female, 61.9% | Male, 28.0% Female, 72.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.6% White, 70.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |