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The differences between group creative directors and executive creative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a group creative director and an executive creative director. Additionally, a group creative director has an average salary of $237,604, which is higher than the $162,850 average annual salary of an executive creative director.
The top three skills for a group creative director include client relationships, creative direction and business development. The most important skills for an executive creative director are sketch, graphic design, and creative direction.
| Group Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Yearly salary | $237,604 | $162,850 |
| Hourly rate | $114.23 | $78.29 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 17,927 | 72,952 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Group Creative Directors are responsible for leading the creative vision of a product or service for an organization. Their duties include creating promotional or advertising campaigns, conducting creative strategy presentations to management, liaising, participating in client needs negotiation, and developing creative storyboards. They are responsible for assessing project content, overseeing brand visuals, and monitoring project progress. Group Creative Directors also supervise writing scripts, direct TV and photoshoots, and facilitate external supplier engagements. They help in the recruitment process of the creative team.
An executive creative director is primarily in charge of directing and overseeing creative projects and campaigns. They manage a company's creative team that typically consist of writers, graphic designers, and content specialists. As an executive creative director, it is their duty to set goals and timelines, understand the client or company's needs, conceptualize plans and insights, control the budget, and develop strategies to optimize operations and outcomes. Moreover, they monitor the progress of all projects and campaigns, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
Group creative directors and executive creative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Group Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Average salary | $237,604 | $162,850 |
| Salary range | Between $130,000 And $433,000 | Between $88,000 And $300,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chicago, IL | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Illinois | New York |
| Best paying company | Golin | Estée Lauder |
| Best paying industry | Media | - |
There are a few differences between a group creative director and an executive creative director in terms of educational background:
| Group Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between group creative directors' and executive creative directors' demographics:
| Group Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% | Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |