What does a promotion manager do?
A promotion manager plans and directs campaigns to promote products and services they are selling through contests, giveaways, or coupons. He/she is responsible for the development and implementation of promotion schedules to attract more customers by coordinating with finance, sales, legal, and marketing departments. Having strong project management and interpersonal skills and previous experience in sales promotion, he/she can increase short-term sales and improve their results through other marketing programs.
Promotion manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real promotion manager resumes:
- Manage social media and online PPC campaigns.
- Manage ecommerce marketing for SEO, paid search, affiliate marketing and online advertising.
- Lead new product launches, event marketing, sweepstakes, FSI's, demos and sampling.
- Manage and allocate the divisions POS material to ensure that programs fulfill the needs of all local markets.
- Manage social media presence using Facebook to improve organizational awareness and increase membership and participation.
- Develop and manage marketing activity ROI reporting system, specifically to measure community outreach, public relations and employee effectiveness.
- Assess promotional programs effectiveness through analyzing coupon redemption rates and post-promotion ROI analysis to provide marketing with recommendations.
- Create event flyers using adobe photoshop.
- Create, edit and proofread PowerPoint presentations.
- Work to optimize conversion rates for various PPC projects.
- Contribute to sales of VIP tables on a nightly basis.
- Implement part-timer training manual for promotions with 97.1 HANK FM.
- Set foundation for KPSU's attempts to acquire city-wide FM signal.
- Provide social media updates and promotions on the @ uncgpromotions twitter handle.
- Promote restaurant through Facebook/ Instagram, word of mouth, business meetings etc.
Promotion manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Promotion Managers are proficient in PowerPoint, Facebook, and Press Releases. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Promotion Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PowerPoint, 9%
Evaluated campaign performance, composed summary reports and presented results to internal marketing clients via graphical PowerPoint presentations.
- Facebook, 6%
Leveraged social media, including Twitter and Facebook to increase business and drive customer engagement.
- Press Releases, 6%
Managed the comprehensive design of all merchandise, web pages, press kits, press releases and CD artwork and distribution.
- ROI, 5%
Developed and managed marketing activity ROI reporting system, specifically to measure community outreach, public relations and employee effectiveness.
- Promotional Campaigns, 5%
Managed and executed detailed promotional campaigns that included list analysis, scheduling, and supervision of copy and graphic design.
- Promotional Materials, 4%
Collaborate with Brand and Customer Managers to develop physician resources and promotional materials for MVD Global Commercial Operations.
Most promotion managers use their skills in "powerpoint," "facebook," and "press releases" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential promotion manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. promotion managers are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to promotion manager responsibilities, because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." A promotion manager resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "direct mail campaign development; copywriting; ran cost-analysis and other campaign strategy techniques"
Communication skills. promotion manager responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." This resume example shows what promotion managers do with communication skills on a typical day: "set annual press release schedule; assigned writers for press releases and other press communications; built media lists. "
Creativity. Another common skill required for promotion manager responsibilities is "creativity." This skill comes up in the duties of promotion managers all the time, as "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." An excerpt from a real promotion manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a promotion manager does: "managed planning, logistics, promotional teams, event management, budgeting, staffing, creative processes and roi. "
Interpersonal skills. While "interpersonal skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to promotion manager responsibilities. Much of what a promotion manager does relies on this skill, seeing as "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of promotion managers: "integrated project management experience with interpersonal, communications, financial, and leadership skills. "
The three companies that hire the most promotion managers are:
- DISH Network5 promotion managers jobs
- CITGO Petroleum4 promotion managers jobs
- The Salem News3 promotion managers jobs
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Promotion manager vs. Director of special events
A director of special events spearheads and oversees the planning and execution of various events, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. They typically set goals and guidelines, manage schedules and timelines, outline plans and strategies, coordinate managers and different departments, and liaise with vendors and suppliers, building positive business relationships in the process. Moreover, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach goals while implementing and promoting the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a promotion manager are more likely to require skills like "promotional campaigns," "pos," "payroll," and "promotional strategies." On the other hand, a job as a director of special events requires skills like "alumni," "event logistics," "audio visual," and "corporate sponsors." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Directors of special events earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $67,284. On the other hand, promotion managers are paid more in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $105,867.On average, directors of special events reach similar levels of education than promotion managers. Directors of special events are 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Promotion manager vs. Advertising sales director
A manager of special events is responsible for organizing events and programs for a company and various organizations. Managers of special events monitor the event procedures from conceptualization to the actual execution. They analyze the event purpose, manage participants' list, coordinate with suppliers for resources, allocate budget accurately, and ensure that the program outlines and agendas are polished on time. A manager of special events must have excellent communication and organizational skills to deliver a successful event and resolve complications as they arise.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real promotion manager resumes. While promotion manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "powerpoint," "press releases," "promotional campaigns," and "event planning," advertising sales directors use skills like "revenue growth," "client relationships," "sales management," and "account management."
Advertising sales directors earn similar levels of education than promotion managers in general. They're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Promotion manager vs. Advertising director
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a promotion manager is likely to be skilled in "pos," "giveaways," "payroll," and "promotional strategies," while a typical advertising director is skilled in "digital marketing," "b2b marketing," "seo," and "account executives."
Advertising directors earn the best pay in the media industry, where they command an average salary of $95,751. Promotion managers earn the highest pay from the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $105,867.advertising directors typically earn similar educational levels compared to promotion managers. Specifically, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Promotion manager vs. Manager of special events
Types of promotion manager
Updated January 8, 2025











