An advertising and promotions manager supervises and coordinates a company's external marketing and promotions. He or she oversees production of an organization's advertising campaigns, and manages other promotional activities, often working in tandem with other organizations. Someone in this position may be the public face of the company, in terms of promotional and community events. He or she may devise and conduct contests and other public activities, while operating under various national and local laws that govern those activities. Those who work in this occupation often possess specialized knowledge in one industry sector.
Managerial functions may comprise a significant portion of his or her job description. By meeting with the firm's management, he or she may gather direction for the overall marketing promotions strategy. The manager may also be well versed in the many laws that regulate fair trade practices, such as truth in advertising, and rules governing disclosure and reporting requirements for promotional contests.
Other management functions might be determining the budget allocated to marketing activities, and collecting and measuring return-on-investment (ROI) data. An example would be doing an analysis of website visitor analytics in the days or weeks following a major social media campaign. Most advertising and promotions managers give public presentations to community groups, and may also speak at entertainment venues. Appearances at trade shows allow a person in this profession to increase and solidify strategic relationships with both existing and potential customers, as well as forging relationships within an industry sector. There can be a significant amount of travel involved for an advertising and promotions manager.
A person working in this career track is expected to be very familiar with the industry in which they work. At times, alliances are created between companies through the efforts of an advertising and promotions manager. Two companies may engage in joint advertising campaigns, or come together to promote a cause within a larger group of businesses.
Depending upon the industry sector, industry niche knowledge may be involved in some of the tasks that fall to an advertising and promotions manager. An example would be if he or she worked within the pharmaceutical or alcoholic beverages sectors. Strict laws in many parts of the world govern the marketing of these products. In some cases, a person in this career may have to possess very specific industry sector knowledge in a particular field.