Top ad industry salaries, revealed: How much the biggest holding companies including WPP, Publicis, and Omnicom pay employees, from junior account directors to global creative leads

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US-based ad agencies employed more than 200,000 people last year.
• The coronavirus has significantly weakened the biggest agency holding companies, but they remain a source of high-paying and extremely competitive jobs.
• To find out how much people make at these agencies, Business Insider analyzed the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification's 2019 disclosure data for the five biggest ad holding companies: WPP, Publicis, Omnicom, IPG, and Dentsu.
• The lowest-paid positions in HR and accounts paid around $50,000-60,000, while chief creative officer salaries ran higher than $800,000.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Every year, US ad agencies pay top dollar for talent to fill a wide variety of roles, ranging from entry-level account and HR managers to executives who oversee the creative and media buying for clients.

The five biggest ad holding companies — WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, IPG, and Dentsu — entered 2020 with new optimism after losing significant market share to digital platforms like Google, Facebook, and The Trade Desk. 

But the pandemic proceeded to cripple the industry as advertisers slashed spending. A recent Forrester report estimated that agencies would shed 52,000 jobs through 2021, with many gone for good.

Yet a basic LinkedIn search reveals that agencies continue to hire, especially in areas like tech and healthcare marketing that have been less dramatically affected by the pandemic.

US ad agencies source talent from all over the world, and when they file paperwork on behalf of international employees, they're required to list base salary rates. The US Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification releases that information every year in one huge data dump.

The listed salaries are determined by "prevailing wages," or industry standards for similar jobs with similar qualifications, which are also listed in the OFLC data.

Business Insider analyzed the five largest holding companies' fiscal year 2019 disclosure data for all foreign workers applying for both permanent green card visas and temporary H-1B, H1B1, and E-3 visas to determine what these companies' agencies paid employees.

These numbers don't include every type of visa or pay rates for US-born employees or any form of compensation beyond base salary. They also do not include CEOs, who almost universally bring in seven figures or more.

Spokespeople for the five companies either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

WPP paid healthcare executives $178,000 and top creative leaders up to $880,000

WPP employs around 100,000 people in over 110 countries. Among its largest agencies, including Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Wunderman Thompson, and Grey, WPP filed for at least 66 US visas last year.

As the pandemic intensified in April, most WPP employees making over $100,000 agreed to take tiered, voluntary salary cuts of up to 20%. The company ended those cuts in July, though it is not clear whether the decision applies to CEO Mark Read and other board members. Multiple agencies also laid off staff in May.

Here are salaries and salary ranges for jobs at different WPP agencies:

• Graphic designer: $55,000 to $65,000
• Data sciences associate: $58,000
• Data analyst: $75,000
• Associate director, talent management: $76,500
• Senior people director: $92,000
• IT project manager: $112,000
• Senior art director: $114,000 to $150,000
• Director of finance: $147,700
• Analytics lead: $160,763
• SVP, strategy and development, healthcare: $178,000
• Global strategy director: $177,000 to $197,000
• Chief creative officer: $830,000 to $880,000

Omnicom paid chief strategy officers up to $500,000

Omnicom employs more than 70,000 people in over 100 countries. Among its top companies, including BBDO, TBWA, DDB, and Omnicom Media Group, Omnicom filed for at least 50 US visas.

In an April memo, CEO John Wren confirmed a coming wave of layoffs that would ultimately eliminate around 6,100 jobs in the second quarter. He also said Omnicom's executive leadership team would cut its pay by one third and that he would waive his own salary in full until September, though about 95% of his 2019 compensation consisted of cash bonuses and restricted stock options.

Here are salary ranges for jobs across Omnicom agencies:

• Creative strategist: $50,000 to $60,000
• Human resources coordinator: $54,850
• Copywriter: $55,000 to $65,000
• Accountant: $62,000 to $72,000
• Platform account manager: $87,000 to $97,000
• Marketing manager: $114,046
• Data scientist: $125,000
• Brand manager: $145,000
• Account director: $170,000
• Group account director: $220,000
• Chief digital officer: $275,000 to $375,000
• Managing director: $430,000 to $470,000
• Chief strategy officer: $300,000 to $500,000

Publicis paid the global lead for Verizon, one of its biggest clients, $550,000

Publicis employs around 80,000 people in more than 120 countries. Among its top companies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Epsilon, Publicis Sapient, Starcom, and Zenith, Publicis filed for at least 353 visas last year.

Several Publicis agencies cut jobs in the UK and US in May, and sources told Business Insider that some executives had taken voluntary six-month pay cuts. CEO Arthur Sadoun previously announced he would reduce his own salary by 30%, though it accounted for less than one-third of his total 2019 compensation.

Here are salaries for jobs across Publicis agencies:

• Senior analyst: $58,500
• Associate director, search marketing: $66,000
• Engineer: $75,000
• Account manager: $78,000
• Ad operations supervisor: $80,000
• Copywriter: $85,000
• Account supervisor: $96,000
• Senior social scientist: $123,000
• Solutions architect: $155,000
• Associate finance director: $177,000
• SVP, technology: $206,000
• SVP, group creative director: $270,000
• President, global client lead, Verizon: $550,000
• Chief creative officer: $830,000

IPG paid an executive creative director up to $350,000

IPG employs about 54,000 people in 100 countries. Among its largest companies, including McCann Worldgroup, Acxiom, FCB, Huge, and IPG Mediabrands, IPG filed for at least 52 visas.

On IPG's recent earnings call, CEO Michael Roth said the company had cut 1% of its global workforce, or around 5,000 jobs, in the second quarter. Some staff who were initially furloughed have since been laid off. Roth took a 2.2% pay cut for fiscal year 2019, and IPG reduced executive-level salaries by up to 25%.

Here are salary ranges for jobs across IPG agencies:

• Human resources and operations analyst: $65,000
• Junior art director: $62,400 to $72,400
• Software engineer: $75,000 to $82,000
• Product design lead: $105,000 to $120,000
• Manager, decision sciences: $104,000 to $124,000
• VP, account director: $160,000 to $180,000
• SVP, director of technology: $170,000 to $190,000
• Associate business partner: $190,000
• Associate creative director: $175,000 to $225,000
• Managing director: $230,000
• Senior director of data analytics: $240,000
• SVP, executive creative director: $300,000 to $350,000

Dentsu Aegis Network paid a group strategy director $240,000

Dentsu Aegis Network is a division of Tokyo-based Dentsu. It employs more than 40,000 in approximately 145 countries. Among its largest companies, including dentsumcgarrybowen, 360i, Merkle, Carat, and iProspect, Dentsu filed for 130 US visas last year.

In April, Dentsu enacted a company-wide hiring freeze as well as top-down, cross-agency pay cuts of 10% or more.

Here are salary ranges for jobs across Dentsu agencies:

• Assistant editor: $43,930 to $58,500
• Account executive: $58,500
• Paid social media lead: $70,000
• Data engineer: $94,000
• Associate director of strategy: $99,362 to $110,000
• Associate director, communications planning: $108,150
• Associate creative director: $124,946 to $130,000
• Director of resource management: $151,840
• VP, director of content: $170,000
• Director of marketing intelligence: $155,000 to $175,000
• Solutions engineering manager: $185,090
• Group strategy director: $240,000

Read more about the ad holding companies:

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