A 2016 windfall? Marketer’s bonus prospects

Bankers are feeling out of pocket with the recent news that some of the biggest banks in Europe and the US are cutting back on bonuses. Famed for its excellent bonus prospects in the pre-recession years (and the lavish spending that came with it…), huge bonuses are becoming a thing of the past as regulators look to clampdown on excesses.

While bonuses are not as prominent a feature of marketers’ remuneration packages as they are for bankers, they still play an important part in building an attractive candidate offer. Therefore in December 2015 we decided to ask marketing professionals via our website about their bonus expectations. On average, marketers expect their next bonus to be equivalent to 13% – which equates to £7,358 based on the average £57,988 basic salary recorded in EMR’s Salary & Market Trend Report. This is no insignificant amount, and underlines how pay is becoming increasingly linked to performance in a variety of sectors.

At the upper end of the scale, 20% of marketers anticipate a bonus of more than 20% – with 12% expecting a bonus greater than 30%. Premium packages like these reflect the greater demand for specialist digital talent that the industry is currently experiencing. The digital revolution means that marketers with specialist skills in areas like mobile marketing are hot property, and can therefore command significant bonus payments. Furthermore, marketers working in certain industries can also expect bigger bonuses, and those working in banking & finance are regular benefactors of their employers’ seasonal generosity.

Marketers looking to increase their bonuses this season should think about the payback that digital upskilling could provide.  Although developing digital skills requires significant effort, the benefits for career development and remuneration are potentially enormous.