The Salary Conversation We Should All Be Having Before 2027
What is talent really worth in today’s market?
There was a time when a Marketing Manager was a Marketing Manager.
A Creative Director was a Creative Director.
And a Media Planner… well, planned media. 😉
Things have changed.
Today, marketers are expected to understand data.
Creatives are embracing digital and AI.
Media specialists are navigating programmatic, performance and retail media.
Social teams are becoming content strategists.
And increasingly, everyone needs to be just a little bit of everything.
So, what does that mean for salaries?
At Ad Talent, we spend every day talking to the people doing these jobs – and the businesses trying to hire them.
Our 2026 Salary Survey looks at what talent is earning across the industries we know best:
Marketing | Advertising | Creative | Digital | Media | PR & Communications | Social & Content | Events | Insights & Analytics | Sales
And there are some interesting numbers in there.
But perhaps the bigger question is:
Are you being paid for the job you were hired to do… or the job you have quietly grown into?
And for employers:
Are you looking for a unicorn, but budgeting for a pony?
Because the reality is simple:
Great people cost money.
And losing great people can cost even more.
So, whether you are thinking about your next career move, reviewing your team, setting your 2027 budgets, or just being nosy about what everyone else is earning…
Have a look. You might find something interesting.