Marketing director vs chief marketing officer

The differences between marketing directors and chief marketing officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a marketing director and a chief marketing officer. Additionally, a chief marketing officer has an average salary of $135,198, which is higher than the $114,906 average annual salary of a marketing director.

The top three skills for a marketing director include digital marketing, marketing campaigns and market research. The most important skills for a chief marketing officer are CMO, patients, and digital marketing.

Marketing director vs chief marketing officer overview

	Marketing Director	Chief Marketing Officer
Yearly salary	$114,906	$135,198
Hourly rate	$55.24	$65.00
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	93,503	139,565
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	10	10

What does a marketing director do?

Marketing directors are responsible for the overall branding and marketing direction of the company. They are in charge of identifying goals and strategies related to marketing. They create strategies that cater to the target market of the organization's products and services to help with sales. They lead the company's marketing department and create the company's brand promise. They ensure that all marketing collateral is in line with the rest of the marketing campaigns of the organization. They should be updated on all the current trends in the marketing world.

What does a chief marketing officer do?

A Chief Marketing Officer defines marketing strategies and oversees all marketing operations of a company. They are responsible for building a highly efficient team of marketing professionals.

Marketing director vs chief marketing officer salary

Marketing directors and chief marketing officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Marketing Director	Chief Marketing Officer
Average salary	$114,906	$135,198
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $193,000	Between $72,000 And $253,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Hamilton, NJ
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Brookfield Properties	Shearman & Sterling
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Media

Differences between marketing director and chief marketing officer education

There are a few differences between a marketing director and a chief marketing officer in terms of educational background:

	Marketing Director	Chief Marketing Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Georgia

Marketing director vs chief marketing officer demographics

Here are the differences between marketing directors' and chief marketing officers' demographics:

	Marketing Director	Chief Marketing Officer
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%	Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between marketing director and chief marketing officer duties and responsibilities

Marketing director example responsibilities.

Manage staging of NCAA athletics events.
Manage RFP, RFI & SOQ process; track, analyze and report on sales pipeline.
Train, manage, and develop customer service / sales team strategies and oversight of day-to-day operations.
Manage the portal website build, including PPC and search engine optimization, email broadcasts and affiliate marketing efforts.
Manage all marketing operations - recruiting, hiring, training, retaining, payroll, and continual staff education.
Utilize marketing/sales automation tools (salesforce.com, pardot.com) to help track, manage and properly distribute each individual lead.

Chief marketing officer example responsibilities.

Manage professional staff and liaise with U.S. dairy co-op, trade promotion groups, and government oversight and advertising agencies.
Lead global marketing planning efforts and serve as internal media subject matter expert for portfolio, brands and loyalty marketing initiatives.
Manage agency and provide direction and day-to-day oversight.
Develop and manage marketing programs and partner integration for industry marketing in government, healthcare and education markets.
Create website landing pages and social media campaigns on Facebook and Instagram to test price points and validate consumer need.
Coordinate international new product portfolio and product development

Marketing director vs chief marketing officer skills

Common marketing director skills

Digital Marketing, 12%
Marketing Campaigns, 6%
Market Research, 5%
Sales Strategies, 4%
Integrated Marketing, 4%
CRM, 4%

Common chief marketing officer skills

CMO, 14%
Patients, 7%
Digital Marketing, 7%
Sales Strategy, 5%
Market Research, 4%
Marketing Campaigns, 3%

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Marketing Director
Marketing Director vs Chief Marketing Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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