A marketing director is a person responsible for the overall marketing operations of an organization or business. The job requires not only having skill in the creative aspect of advertising, but also having the budgetary knowledge needed to plan appropriately. Thus, the marketing director must be an effective manager in terms of both budget, and the creative process. Time at the job will often be split between these two primary functions.
In the creative aspect of the job, the marketing director is responsible for overseeing the operations and planning of the marketing campaigns. In some cases, this will simply involve managing existing campaigns. In other cases, entirely new campaigns will need to be planned. Depending on the organization, and the extensiveness of the marketing effort, this may involve advertising in many different types of media including radio, television, Internet, printed publications and others.
In order to be truly effective and brand the image correctly, the marketing director, also called the director of marketing, will often make sure the message is consistent. When moving from one medium to the next, this consistency can sometimes get lost. Any loss in this consistency will weaken the overall image, and lead to a less effective marketing campaign.
The budget is another primary consideration. Often, because funds in the advertising or marketing budget will be limited, it is up to the marketing director to prioritize the campaign. Depending on the product and the target audience, one may decide to concentrate primarily on the television market, or perhaps it may be determines that printed publications, or Internet adds would yield better results. It should be noted that this is not the personal preference of the director, but usually a decision based on research and an experienced understanding of the market.
Director of marketing jobs are usually obtained in one of two ways. Some candidates will move from smaller organizations to larger ones. This helps them work with larger budgets incrementally throughout their marketing director careers. The other option is to work up the ranks within the marketing department at a single company, getting promoted from within the organization. This may be an advantage for many directors as they will gain familiarity with the brand, target market, and type of campaign being run. Top paying industries for marketing directors include satellite telecommunications, movies and video, and financial investment firms.