Creative Director

What is a Creative Director? A creative director is the glue that holds a marketing team together. You’ll be the difference between a confusing mish‑mix of thoughts and a well‑thought‑out, organised approach to a campaign. Creative directors work closely with creative designers, copywriters and other directors to decide what ideas are worth pursuing. You’ll determine whether the smoothie packaging design idea from your design director is compatible with the copywriter’s tone of voice, and whether the marketing director’s idea for a giant billboard campaign across the country makes sense with a new smoothie flavour. You’re the keeper of the keys when it comes to turning ideas into reality, and your salary reflects that worth. Responsibilities Build and line‑manage a team of creatives within a company. Sustain good lines of communication between different creatives. Identify current trends within the industry and ensure campaigns fit within them. Facilitate and lead meetings between different departments. Ensure projects remain true to a brand’s vision, philosophy and values. Track budgets for a creative project and make sure departments don’t overstep them. Liaise with clients or senior directors to keep them informed of progress. Pitch final marketing plans to clients (if you’re an agency) or directors (if you’re working for a brand). Salary A creative director is a senior position within an organisation, so you should expect to be paid accordingly. Pay, as with many jobs, will be location dependent. A creative director salary in London will pay more than those in smaller cities. Salaries will also depend on the size of your company or agency. The bigger the company, the higher the salary. A marketing executive can expect to receive a salary of £25,000 to £35,000. This, or a similar junior role, would be a necessary stepping stone to achieving the higher salaries you see in creative lead roles. The average creative director salary sits at around the £40,000 to £60,000 mark. As you progress and show your abilities, you can expect to reach higher salaries of £80,000 to £100,000 and more. Qualifications As creative director jobs are senior positions, the onus here is on experience and prior performance, as opposed to qualifications. However, in order to reach a senior position like this, you’ll likely need to have been a graduate when you started. While current creative directors may have reached the top without higher education, the competitive job climate of … There are two routes to a career in creative direction. 1. Junior levels of marketing (typically requiring a marketing, business or humanities degree): Advertising degrees Business Management degrees Communications degrees Digital Marketing degrees English Literature degrees Fashion Marketing degrees History degrees Marketing degrees PR degrees 2. Beginning in a creative discipline and building up to director roles: Creative Writing degrees Digital Design degrees Graphic Design degrees Journalism degrees Product Design degrees Training and development will come through your company. The trajectory usually begins with a junior role, leading to specialising in a particular area (social media or design), then to team leadership or account management, and onto creative direction. Those offered by the Chartered Institute of Marketing are often popular, as they are a recognised industry qualification and help you stand out from the crowd. Alternatively, those who have worked their way up may take postgraduate courses such as masters degrees in business, psychology or marketing. Skills Excellent communication skills in written and verbal format – you’ll put together detailed reports and deliver these to directors and clients. You’ll need to adjust your tone of voice and delivery depending on the client. Confident presentation skills – you’ll be pitching strategies to clients and directors, and you’ll know how to do this persuasively. Negotiation and diplomacy – not only are you directing ideas, but you’re also a creative manager. Software knowledge – a decent understanding of design platforms, SEO and productivity software. Product knowledge – you’ll need to know the product you’re advertising inside out. As such, tensions can be high at times. You’ll need to cope with this. Inter‑departmental relationships – liaising between finance, HR and other departments. Work Experience Being a creative director takes a wealth of industry experience that you can only access by working your way through the ranks. Keen to get your foot on the ladder? Begin with a degree or an apprenticeship – these courses give you the basic information you need for junior roles. Learn, learn, learn – take every opportunity to build on your skills beyond your job description. Get to know your managers well and ask to shadow new projects. Be ready to take on pieces of work that weren’t originally in your skill set if you’re given the opportunity to train on the job. Networking – this goes hand in hand with learning. Digitally, this can look like following professionals on LinkedIn and chatting. In person, attend industry events, mixers and conferences. Take every opportunity you can Career Prospects If you’ve reached creative direction, you’re a senior marketer. There may be additional roles within your company – executive creative director, associate creative director, chief marketing officer, chief executive officer, or the option to set up your own agency. Alternatively, many marketers step sideways to move to a new country. In the US, New York and San Francisco are major marketing hubs; in Australia, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney are key markets. A quick search across international job sites will usually show you where marketing jobs are based in your country of choice. #J-18808-Ljbffr