Marketing, Advertising & PR - Stockport JobsMatch

If you have a creative mindset with strong design and technical skills, a career in marketing, advertising and PR could be for you.

Marketing, advertising and PR are all about helping businesses connect with their customers and are core elements of all organisations – promoting their products or services, growing brand awareness and engaging with their target audience. It’s an in-demand sector that involves working with the latest digital communications technologies and opportunities therefore exist across all industry sectors – public, private and voluntary.

Featured Stockport Employer

Hear from Mike & Lucy at Stockport Homes in Stockport, sharing their career story about working in the Marketing & PR Industry. Mike is the Senior Marketing Communications Partner for the Group and Lucy looks after their charitable arm called ‘Skylight’. Their roles focus on creating new stories, copy-writing and editing press releases, designing social media campaigns, creating artwork, using scheduling tools, and everything in between from making videos to attending events.

Stockport Homes Group also have their own in-house, award-winning Marketing agency called HOME, which works with organisations from across the UK that offers services to benefit both people and place. From brand positioning and visual identity to creative campaigns and social media management, HOME helps socially led organisations connect with their customers and local communities.

Labour Market Information

Like with many industries, new and more sophisticated technologies are leading companies to invest in new ways to understand and communicate with their customers. From video advertising to virtual reality, social media and mobile devices for example are often cheaper and more instant ways to deliver brand messaging.

Traditionally the majority of jobs were based in London and the South, but since Media City relocated to Salford Quays in 2007 the North West has become a regional creative hub and led to new jobs being created and more businesses emerging. Here in Stockport, there’s a diverse range of large, mid-sized and micro marketing firms and consultancies who are always on the look out for bright sparks to launch their career.

That being said, the marketing, advertising and PR sector is still a candidate driven market, with good applicants being in-demand. Digital marketing continues to be the most sought after skill-set, although employers tend to look for a diverse mix – from strong analytical skills to interpret customer insights through to design skills to create engaging content. With a high proportion of SMEs and Micro-businesses based in Stockport, that’s perhaps even more important so you can offer future employers the full suite of skills to work across different clients, campaigns and business areas to support their growth and success.

Starting Salary

£11.44 per hour or £18,000
per annum

Typical Salary Range

£22,000 – £70,000+
per annum

Working Hours

37 to 39 hours per week, usually between 8am and 6pm

Working in Marketing, Advertising & PR

If you’ve got digital skills, creativity and endless curiosity about the latest industry developments, then there are plenty of jobs in marketing sector that you could do.

The core areas within the sector are print, digital, advertising, PR, broadcasting, journalism, events, film, TV & radio, photography, communications, product design, graphic design and theatre.

Some of the traditional roles may include:

Market researcher
Marketing executive
Media buyer
Media Planner
Product manager
Sales promotion account executive
Content / Copy writer
Events manager
Digital marketer
PPC / SEO Specialist
Social Media Manager
Web content manager
PR Consultant / Officer
Actor / Presenter
Broadcast Engineer
Musician or Music Producer
Programme researcher
Radio broadcast assistant
Radio producer
Runner – broadcasting / film / video
Sound engineer
Talent agent
TV camera operator
Graphic Designer

To pursue a career in the marketing sector, you will need to be able to demonstrate skills like:

Communication skills
Innovation and creativity
Strong IT skills, knowledge of social media and digital marketing techniques
Design skills and eye for detail
Customer focused approach
Initiative and ability to work independently
Analytical skills and commercial awareness
Presentation and influencing skills
Resilience and determination

To start your career in Marketing and PR, you’ll need to develop some practical knowledge or expertise as most employers expect you to have some understanding of the technologies or methodologies most commonly used. Whether than be having your own podcast, vlog or social media following, or being a whizz on tools like Canva to design posters, digital images and artwork. You’ll need to show that you’re up to date with the latest trends, have strong technical skills and are able to grasp new things quickly.

Employers will also be keen to see evidence of the soft skills required to succeed in a career in marketing. These include being hard-working, experimental, willing to learn, dynamic, enthusiastic, flexible, inquisitive and a good problem solver. Any experience of independent projects – from community groups to volunteering to school work – will be very valuable.

There are lots of different routes in the media, marketing and creative sector through education – from traditional university graduate routes such as Media Studies or Journalism, through to vocational and academic pathways, as well as apprenticeships.

As a buoyant sector where there are recognised skills-shortages (that is, more jobs than applicants), what are the benefits of starting a career in the media, marketing and creative sector?

In-demand jobs and skills – the increasing ways in which media is consumed through digital services means that media and marketing jobs will be in demand for many years to come!
Dynamic, fun work environments – working in a fast-paced, dynamic and sociable team, keeping up with the latest trends
Competitive salaries – but lots of variety in earnings potential as you progress in different roles
Multiple career choices – flexibility to specialise in a particular area, transition into a related field or set-up your own business
Flexibility – more roles are now being undertaken remotely (meaning you can work anywhere) and freelancing is increasingly popular (allowing you to choose your hours and workload)

As for career prospects, you can choose to specialise in a particular area of marketing, work your way up to an in-house marketing manager or marketing agency director, or even start your own consultancy.