How To Become A Marketing & Publicity Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a marketing & publicity manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Tobias Sellier,

Richard Tate

Marketing and publicity managers are in charge of coordinating the marketing and publicity efforts and strategies of a product, service, brand, or firm. They are involved in the formulation of promotion and pricing plans for products and services. They also work to optimize marketing and pricing strategies by analyzing market trends as they evolve. The marketing & publicity manager also contributes valuable insights to a company's efforts to improve brand recognition among customers and the overall profitability of the business.

A marketing & publicity manager should have a minimum of bachelor's degree in marketing, business administration, communications, and other related fields. Proficiency with marketing automation tools will give you a boost for this role. You will also need to have a good knowledge of communication tactics and be good at analyzing trends to recognize emerging industries. The average yearly pay for a marketing/publicity manager is about $70,000.

What general advice would you give to a marketing & publicity manager?

Tobias Sellier

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.

ScoreMarketing & Publicity ManagerUS Average

Salary

6.8

Avg. Salary $86,601

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 64.48%

male 35.52%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a marketing & publicity manager

Explore marketing & publicity manager education requirements

Most common marketing & publicity manager degrees

Bachelor's

77.0 %

Master's

13.5 %

Associate

5.3 %

Start to develop specific marketing & publicity manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Digital Marketing	21.70%
Email Marketing	15.83%
Integrated Marketing	15.65%
Marketing Campaigns	7.51%
SEO	4.07%

Complete relevant marketing & publicity manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New marketing & publicity managers 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 marketing & publicity manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real marketing & publicity manager resumes.

Research marketing & publicity manager duties and responsibilities

Track leads and measure return on investment (ROI).
Develop and manage marketing programs and partner integration for industry marketing in government, healthcare and education markets.
Promote 13 web sites using social network, SEO and SEM.
Maximize budgets of $25K-80K, assuring timely turn-around on projects and ROI.

Apply for marketing & publicity manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a marketing & publicity manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

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