Post job

What is a director of marketing and public relations and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Tobias Sellier,
Jody McBrien

Directors of marketing and public relations are responsible for creating and implementing strategic public relations initiatives for clients. They manage publicists, media relationships, and marketing staff to ensure the needs of their clients are met. They also research clients, their competitors, and media outlets, as well as monitor the news for trends and analyze the results of the PR campaigns.

Directors of marketing and public relations earn an average salary of $86,000 annually or $41 per hour. The duties they perform include ensuring that company brand content is consistent, well-timed, and newsworthy. They direct strategies for clients and manage the creation of marketing messages that positively raise the public image of their employer or clients. They may generally work full-time as the head of the companies and travel often to give public presentations.

Directors of marketing and public relations typically hold a bachelor's degree in English, marketing, public relations, or a similar field. They are expected to have practical field experience and demonstrated experience in conceiving, strategizing, and executing successful publicity campaigns.

What general advice would you give to a director of marketing and public relations?

Tobias SellierTobias Sellier LinkedIn profile

Senior Director, American Public Power Association

There are exciting opportunities to work for community-owned, not-for-profit, hometown public power. From engineers and customer service representatives to lineworkers and administrative professionals, there are many opportunities. And utility employees, being essential workers, even during these challenging times, there are still many jobs that will need to be filled.
ScoreDirector Of Marketing And Public RelationsUS Average
Salary
6.8

Avg. Salary $86,626

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.7

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 5.12%

Black or African American 5.97%

Hispanic or Latino 9.13%

Unknown 4.66%

White 74.70%

Gender

female 67.08%

male 32.92%

Age - 41
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41
Stress level
8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Director of marketing and public relations career paths

Key steps to become a director of marketing and public relations

  1. Explore director of marketing and public relations education requirements

    Most common director of marketing and public relations degrees

    Bachelor's

    79.3 %

    Master's

    12.1 %

    Associate

    5.8 %
  2. Start to develop specific director of marketing and public relations skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Digital Marketing10.26%
    Marketing Campaigns9.14%
    Marketing Mix7.49%
    Web Content6.37%
    Social Media Marketing4.78%
  3. Complete relevant director of marketing and public relations training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of marketing and public relations learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of marketing and public relations based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of marketing and public relations resumes.
  4. Research director of marketing and public relations duties and responsibilities

    • Create and manage online advertising (web banners, PPC campaigns, behavioral and re-targeting campaigns).
    • Manage all internal company-wide communications, including company intranet, quarterly all- company meetings broadcast to all locations and executive communications.
    • Direct all social media, with innovative strategies such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
    • Establish and grow Instagram account to 11.4K+ followers in 2 years.
  5. Get director of marketing and public relations experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a director of marketing and public relations. The most common roles before becoming a director of marketing and public relations include marketing director, account executive team lead and marketing manager.
  6. Prepare your director of marketing and public relations resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of marketing and public relations resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of marketing and public relations resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable director of marketing and public relations resume templates

    Build a professional director of marketing and public relations resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of marketing and public relations resume.
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
    Director Of Marketing And Public Relations Resume
  7. Apply for director of marketing and public relations jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a director of marketing and public relations job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first director of marketing and public relations job

Zippi

Are you a director of marketing and public relations?

Share your story for a free salary report.

Average director of marketing and public relations salary

The average director of marketing and public relations salary in the United States is $86,626 per year or $42 per hour. Director of marketing and public relations salaries range between $58,000 and $129,000 per year.

Average director of marketing and public relations salary
$86,626 Yearly
$41.65 hourly

What am I worth?

salary-calculator

How do directors of marketing and public relations rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Director of marketing and public relations reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Pros

People relations Results behavioural change

Cons

marketing especially retailing products and or fundraising


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019
Pros

Overseeing printing For direct mail. Packaging design Developing hot mail list.

Cons

Unreasonable deadlines.


Working as a director of marketing and public relations? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall rating*
Career growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse executive management jobs