On-air director vs promotions director

The differences between on-air directors and promotions directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an on-air director, becoming a promotions director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a promotions director has an average salary of $90,074, which is higher than the $66,246 average annual salary of an on-air director.

The top three skills for an on-air director include facebook, twitter and FCC. The most important skills for a promotions director are photoshop, giveaways, and radio station.

On-air director vs promotions director overview

	On-Air Director	Promotions Director
Yearly salary	$66,246	$90,074
Hourly rate	$31.85	$43.30
Growth rate	8%	10%
Number of jobs	5,805	8,812
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	40	39
Years of experience	2	6

On-air director vs promotions director salary

On-air directors and promotions directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	On-Air Director	Promotions Director
Average salary	$66,246	$90,074
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $95,000	Between $56,000 And $143,000
Highest paying City	-	Redwood City, CA
Highest paying state	-	Nevada
Best paying company	-	Bonneville International
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between on-air director and promotions director education

There are a few differences between an on-air director and a promotions director in terms of educational background:

	On-Air Director	Promotions Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Communication	Communication
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

On-air director vs promotions director demographics

Here are the differences between on-air directors' and promotions directors' demographics:

	On-Air Director	Promotions Director
Average age	40	39
Gender ratio	Male, 70.1% Female, 29.9%	Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 71.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	14%	10%

Differences between on-air director and promotions director duties and responsibilities

On-air director example responsibilities.

Manage all the station's production including promos, sweepers, and PSA's.
Top 40/R & B/Rock DJ.
Attend USAF regional and national meetings concerning future work.
Host daily radio broadcasts, compiling playlists and playing listener requests.
Monitor music and commercial logs during shift, protecting station's FCC license.
Review complete program logs for accuracy and conformance with FCC rules and regulations, and resolve program log inaccuracies.

Promotions director example responsibilities.

Create and execute special events, manage DJ public appearances and the prize giveaway process for this leading adult contemporary station.
Execute promotional radio campaigns, create advertisements, manage social media accounts, coordinate DJ events and design innovative graphics.
Negotiate competitive pricing for station promotional materials and listener giveaways to maintain financial stability and increase ratings.
Increase Facebook fans from approx.
Record liners, promos, and sweepers, as well as host a bi-weekly music show.
Post videos to YouTube for clients and then a link to the video on their Facebook page.

On-air director vs promotions director skills

Common on-air director skills

Facebook, 13%
Twitter, 11%
FCC, 11%
FM, 9%
Wide Orbit, 7%
Live Broadcasts, 5%

Common promotions director skills

Photoshop, 7%
Giveaways, 6%
Radio Station, 6%
On-Air Promotions, 6%
FM, 6%
Promotional Materials, 6%

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On-Air Director
On-Air Director vs Promotions Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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