Account Planning Salary Survey Results February 2005

The scoop

• Needed an objective resource to evaluate planning salaries

• Called upon planners to participate and pass on a salary survey

• 133 completed surveys

• 42% male/58% female

• Level breakout (those who provided salary figure): 16 Junior/Assistant, 41 Planner, 28 Senior, 20 VP, 22 Director

• 14% from a small agency, 45% from a medium agency, 41% from a large agency (agency size did not have a measurable impact on salaries)

The top line results

Mean Avg. # years planning

Avg. # years working

Assistant/Junior(16 gave salaries)

$39,580 1.3 3.5

Planner(41)

$59,415 3.2 5.8

Senior(28)

$83,926 5.3 9.5

VP (20)

$122,325 8.6 12.0

Director(22)

$159,091 9.6 14

Assistant/Junior Planner results

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationMale 1 2 50,000.00$ No

0.5 7 50,000.00$ Extra vacation (3 weeks/year)1 2 30,000.00$ No

Avg. 0.83 3.67 43,333.33$

Female 2 23 5 45,000.00$ 1 3 35,000.00$ vacation around here is pretty flexible - it's pretty much take the days you need off. 1 3 50,000.00$ No1 1 35,200.00$ Small bonus1 1 30,000.00$ Christmas bonus1 2 35,000.00$ No2 6 39,000.00$ No1 5 60,000.00$ No2 2 30,500.00$ Bonus1 6 32,000.00$ No2 2 37,000.00$ Lots of vacation time and "bonus" days

0.5 7 35,000.00$ NoAvg. 1.42 3.46 38,641.67$

Planner results

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationMale 2 3 40,000.00$ cell phone high speed internet

3 3 52,500.00$ Extra vacation for excessive weekends at work $2000 Bonus2 2 40,000.00$ No2 7 60,000.00$ No2 63 6 50,000.00$ 3 7 75,000.00$ 3 weeks vacation5 5 43,000.00$ No5 14 85,000.00$ No3 13 65,000.00$ No2 4 50,000.00$ massively flexible schedule, ability to work from home, etc. 2 4 50,000.00$ christmas bonus

0.5 0.5 36,000.00$ signing bonus, profit sharing, christmas bonus = $6,0002 5 65,000.00$ bonus at end of year - approx $2,0003 3 40,000.00$ Comp time when deemed appropriate. 10 Days Vacation. $100 bonus.3 5 50,000.00$ Bonus. 5,000

0.5 5 70,000.00$ No6 6 80,000.00$

Avg. 2.72 5.18 42,166.67$

Planner results (cont.)

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationFemale 3 4 67,000.00$ End of Year Bonus: $1000 (Standard every year for ALL employees)

5 5 45,000.00$ No4 8 95,000.00$ 3 weeks vacation Executive Health Benefits Regular Health Plan5 20 65,000.00$ No6 7 85,000.00$ Bonus, varies by year but approx. $5,0003 10 52,000.00$ No5 5 70,000.00$ No4 4 60,000.00$ No5 5 75,000.00$ 2 3 45,000.00$ No2 2 27,000.00$ 2 5 62,000.00$ No

1 3 48,000.00$ They pay 75% of my tuition towards my masters. It works out to be about another $7000 per year.

3 3 62,000.00$ No2 5 43,000.00$ No3 5 60,000.00$ No4 4 69,500.00$ bonus of one month's salary, 3 weeks vacation (is the average 2?)1 6 52,000.00$ $900 annual bonus4 6 70,000.00$ 3 weeks vacation (15 days)3 3 50,000.00$ No4 7 65,000.00$ 5,0005 6 70,000.00$ annual bonus based on client sales $45004 12 67,000.00$ comp days as needed

Avg. 3.48 6 61,065.22$

Senior Planner results

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationMale 10 15 105,000.00$ Received $15000 bonus this past year

5 10 90,000.00$ Bonus: 15% Car Allowance: $3000/year6 9 70,000.00$ paid healthcare2 8 70,000.00$ No.3 6 43,000.00$ 2 4 80,000.00$ Bonus around $50005 11 90,000.00$ 5 9 66,440.00$ end of the year - christmas bonus (often like a thirtens month salary7 7 94,000.00$ No4 6 80,000.00$ 10,000 annually in tuition reimbursement5 7 105,000.00$ 9 18 98,500.00$ No7 10 130,000.00$ No

Avg. 5.38 9.23 86,303.08$

Senior Planner results (cont.)

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationFemale 10 10 100,000.00$ No

6 8 70,000.00$ No4 6 60,000.00$ No

6 8 70,000.00$ nope. we are set up for bonuses, but haven't had the money for them for the last two years.

6 15 70,000.00$ None5 6 95,000.00$ signing bonus of $5,000

4 10 75,000.00$ I don't have to pay for medical, my bonus will vary depending on my performance up to 10% of my salary, yearly review, and 3 weeks paid vacation

8 15 50,000.00$ No6 14 115,000.00$ No3 8 70,000.00$ No

0.5 6 100,000.00$ No3 11 103,000.00$ No9 11 87,000.00$ 250 Christmas bonus (ha!)4 11 73,000.00$ Bonus5 6 90,000.00$ bonus, education $

Avg. 5.3 9.67 81,866.67$

VP, Senior Planner results There is a difference here between men and women’s salaries; however, there is about 4 years difference in planning experience

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationMale 7 7 130,000.00$ bonus

20 20 185,000.00$ Bonus: Hi end = 25%, Low end = 0% (like this year), Car credit: $425/mo, Free downtown parking

10 10 150,000.00$ 5,000 bonus8 17 155,000.00$ 5% bonus (not guaranteed) 3 weeks vacation free parking free cell phone10 10 120,000.00$ 9 10 160,000.00$ 16 16 135,000.00$ extra week vacation9 9 119,000.00$ No

Avg. 11.13 12.38 144,250.00$

Female 10 10 125,000.00$ no4 20 105,000.00$ car7 7 130,000.00$ 8 12 140,000.00$ 9 13 105,000.00$ 10 18 116,000.00$ occasional bonuses5 15 82,000.00$ no7 10 125,000.00$ Management bonus Vacation8 9 81,000.00$ NA6 10 84,500.00$ n/a4 10 77,000.00$ bonus9 11 122,000.00$ company-paid cell phone and parking (roughly worth $150/month)

Avg. 7.25 12.08 107,708.33$

Director results

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional Compensation

Male 15 20 190,000.00$ 4 weeks vacation Profit related bonus up to max of 20% salary, normally about 10%.

10 16 94,000.00$ up to 10% annual bonus based on combination of factors (personal performance, agency performance, new business wins, etc.)

7 7 87,000.00$ No7 8 135,000.00$ Bonus (unclear how much at this time) 4 weeks vacation (the norm is 3)15 20 200,000.00$ 1 week extra vacation Bonus -- variable11 11 165,000.00$ Bonus - discretionary on company performance4 16 160,000.00$ No6 12 150,000.00$ bonus10 12 140,000.00$ cell phone 3 weeks vacation book allowance

11 20 179,000.00$ Bonus eligibility Profit sharing Internal company stock (not held by a holding company)

10 12 175,000.00$ 4 WEEKS VACATION CONSISTANT SPOT BONUSES8 20 250,000.00$ Annual bonus. Has ranged from $10,000 to $40,000

Avg. 9.5 14.5 160,416.67$

Director results (cont.)

Years in Planning Years Working Salary Additional CompensationFemale 10 12 185,000.00$ Sometimes annual bonus

12 12 112,000.00$ 5 9 150,000.00$ extra vacation, cheap gym membership, annual physical

5 200,000.00$ 1 week extra hols = 4 weeks in total signing bonus = $20k merit based bonus dependent upon agency profitability (variable)

9 9 162,000.00$ sometimes. I got one bonus20 20 150,000.00$ Small bonus extra vacation10 10 140,000.00$ No9 12 121,000.00$ Bonus each year4 18 135,000.00$ occasional bonus ($1-5K); parking; 5 weeks paid vacation13 18 220,000.00$ Bonus

Avg. 9.7 13.33 157,500.00$

Results by region: East

State Job Title Gender Count SalaryEast Assistant or Junior Planner Female 7 $39,563.33

Male 2 $50,000.00Assistant or Junior Planner Total 9 $42,172.50Planner Female 16 $61,031.25

Male 14 $57,346.15Planner Total 30 $59,379.31Senior Planner Female 7 $90,857.14

Male 7 $87,428.57Senior Planner Total 14 $89,142.86VP, Senior Planner Female 8 $111,125.00

Male 5 $156,000.00VP, Senior Planner Total 13 $128,384.62Director Female 4 $165,000.00

Male 6 $170,500.00Director Total 10 $168,300.00Total 76

East consists of planners in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Georgia and Florida

Results by region: Central

Central consists of planners in Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and Missouri

State Job Title Gender Count SalaryCentral Assistant or Junior Planner Female 4 $34,300.00

Male 1 $30,000.00Assistant or Junior Planner Total 5 $33,440.00Planner Female 4 $61,500.00

Male 3 $45,333.33Planner Total 7 $54,571.43Senior Planner Female 4 $71,250.00

Male 3 $89,500.00Senior Planner Total 7 $79,071.43VP, Senior Planner Female 3 $93,833.33

Male 1 $135,000.00VP, Senior Planner Total 4 $104,125.00Director Female 2 $156,000.00

Male 4 $160,000.00Director Total 6 $158,666.67Other, Please Specify Male 1 $175,000.00Other, Please Specify Total 1 $175,000.00Total 30

Results by region: West

West consists of planners in California, Washington and Arizona

State Job Title Gender Count SalaryWest Assistant or Junior Planner Female 2 $33,500.00

Assistant or Junior Planner Total 2 $33,500.00Planner Female 4 $65,500.00

Male 2 $60,000.00Planner Total 6 $63,666.67Senior Planner Female 4 $76,750.00

Male 1 $105,000.00Senior Planner Total 5 $82,400.00VP, Senior Planner Female 1 $122,000.00

Male 2 $119,500.00VP, Senior Planner Total 3 $120,333.33Director Female 5 $141,600.00

Male 1 $87,000.00Director Total 6 $132,500.00Total 22

Education% completed

advanced degree

Assistant/Junior MaleFemaleTotal (15)

33%50%47%

Planner MaleFemaleTotal (40)

31%35%33%

Senior MaleFemaleTotal (28)

46%27%36%

VP MaleFemaleTotal (20)

13%50%35%

Director Male FemaleTotal (22)

42%40%41%

No surprise: no engineers, no kinesiology majors

• Degrees span typical subjects:– Marketing– English– Economics– Business– Journalism– Foreign language– Sociology– Theater

Satisfaction with compensation by title

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Assistant/Junior(17)

41% 41% 12% 6%

Planner(42)

26% 43% 26% 2%

Senior(28)

11% 54% 32% 4%

VP(20)

5% 30% 50% 10%

Director(18)

0% 44% 50% 6%

Macro Conclusions

• Whew. Women aren’t getting screwed. On the contrary, our industry seems to be pretty fair based on years of experience, regardless of gender.

• If you aspire to make more than $150K-$250K in today’s dollars, better start guitar lessons or begin playing the lottery.

• I found this very helpful as a platform to negotiate from and would like to do it once a year if you’re willing. Potential improvements/additional questions I would ask:– Did you use a recruiter to land your current job?– Continent of origin/Do you speak with an accent?– Just ask yes/no regarding degrees– Just ask region and not state

• Would love to know your comments, and if you’d like to remain anonymous you can leave comments here: http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB22459F6SF6E