How to become an advertising accounts manager or creative director

Official title: Advertising accounts managers and creative directors

Also called: Manager, Art director, Press manager, Appeal manager, Design director, Account manager, Appeals manager, Lottery manager, Traffic manager, Accounts manager, Campaign manager, Projects manager

Advertising accounts managers and creative directors plan, design, organise and direct the advertising activities of an organisation.

Main tasks

• Liaises with client to discuss product/service to be marketed, defines target group and assesses the suitability of various media
• Conceives advertising campaign to impart the desired product image in an effective and economical way, including planning which media to use, such as print, television, radio or online advertising
• Reviews and revises campaign in light of sales figures, surveys, etc.
• Stays abreast of changes in media, readership or viewing figures and advertising rates
• Arranges conferences, exhibitions, seminars, etc. to promote the image of a product, service or organisation

How to become one

Entry is generally via career progression from related occupations. There are no pre-set entry standards, but in practice most directors hold a degree. Off and on-the-job training is provided.

Ways in

• Apprenticeship (England): Junior advertising creative (level 3). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0925.
• University: Communications & Media degrees, Offered by 24 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £48,977 a year The middle half earn £39,676 to £65,132.
• About 61,300 people work in this job now, and about 68,800 are projected by 2035. (+12.2%)

Related jobs

• Newspaper, periodical and broadcast editors
• Newspaper and periodical broadcast journalists and reporters
• Public relations professionals

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become an advertising accounts manager or creative director?

Entry is generally via career progression from related occupations. There are no pre-set entry standards, but in practice most directors hold a degree. Off and on-the-job training is provided.

How much does an advertising accounts manager or creative director earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £48,977 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £39,676 to £65,132.

Is an advertising accounts manager or creative director a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 12% by 2035, from about 61,300 to about 68,800 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become an advertising accounts manager or creative director?

Usually. 69% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.