H1 2026 Salary Benchmark Report
Median salaries from 127 placements across Marketing, Brand Creative, Product, Design, and Executive.
H1
Jan - Jun 2026
5
Functions
127
Full-time placements
OVERVIEW
We placed 127 full-time placements in the first half of 2026 across Marketing, Brand Creative, Product Design, Product Management, and Executive roles.
Inside, you’ll find median salary benchmarks from real hires at some of the fastest-growing brands in the country, offering a clear view into today’s talent market and the compensation expectations shaping hiring decisions.
Equity and bonus packages are not included.
AT A GLANCE
Marketing
$145K
$85K – $275K
50 placements
Brand Creative
$145K
$80K – $248K
33 placements
Product Design
$216K
$160K – $405K
25 placements
Product Mgmt
$250K
$185K – $350K
7 placements
Executive
$330K
$225K – $475K
12 placements
Marketing
50 placements
Social / Influencer / Community
$125K
$85K – $220K
21 placements
Growth / Performance
$140K
$100K – $250K
14 placements
Brand / Content
$181K
$155K – $275K
8 placements
Email / CRM / Lifecycle
$150K
$120K – $185K
5 placements
Product Marketing (PMM)
$190K
$180K – $200K
2 placements
Social / Influencer / Community
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior / Associate | Content Creator | $85K | $85K |
| Senior / Manager | Social Media Manager, Influencer Marketing Manager, Social Content Strategist | $120K | $95K – $145K |
| Director | Social Media Director, Content Director, Director Social & Influencer | $197K | $155K – $220K |
Growth / Performance
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior / Associate | Growth Marketing Coordinator, Growth Marketer | $110K | $110K |
| Manager / Lead | Growth Marketing Manager, Growth Manager (CRO + Email) | $125K | $100K – $135K |
| Sr. Manager | Sr. Paid Search Manager | $130K | $120K – $150K |
| Director | Director of Ecommerce & Growth, Sr. Director Acquisition | $186K | $145K – $200K |
| Sr. Director / VP | Head of Growth Marketing | $250K | $250K |
Brand / Content
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior IC | SEO/GEO Lead | $155K | $155K |
| Sr. Manager | Content Strategy Lead | $178K | $155K – $200K |
| Director | Director of Brand, Director of Integrated Marketing | $180K | $175K – $182K |
| Sr. Director / VP | Head of Brand | $263K | $250K – $275K |
Email / CRM / Lifecycle
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior IC / Manager | Sr. Manager Retention, Email Marketing Manager | $135K | $120K – $150K |
| Sr. Manager | Segment Marketing Manager | $180K | $175K – $185K |
Product Marketing (PMM)
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager / Lead | Product Marketing Manager | $180K | $180K |
| Director | Director of Product Marketing | $200K | $200K |
📢 Trends we’re seeing
Budget/scope proof, not potential: At the senior level, brands are looking for marketers who've already managed comparable budgets and scope, not candidates expected to grow into it.
DTC expertise is scarce and in demand: CPG, pet, wellness, and lifestyle brands are competing for the same pool of DTC talent, driving longer searches and upward pressure on comp.
Cross-functional GTM leadership is now baseline: Mid-senior marketers are expected to bridge brand, product, and performance, not own just one lane.
In-office is back at enterprise level: 4-day onsite policies appearing at larger brands. This is worth flagging early to avoid late-stage candidate drop-off.
Brand Creative
33 placements
Graphic Design
$130K
$90K – $248K
13 placements
Creative Direction
$190K
$150K – $230K
9 placements
Art Direction
$138K
$130K – $200K
4 placements
Creative Ops / Project Management
$140K
$125K – $145K
3 placements
Motion / Video
$90K
$80K – $100K
2 placements
Copywriting / Content
$135K
$135K – $135K
1 placement
Package Design
$133K
$133K – $133K
1 placement
Graphic Design
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior / Associate | Junior Designer, Brand Designer | $90K | $90K |
| Mid / Senior | Brand Designer, Designer Growth, Interactive Brand Designer, Senior Brand Designer, Senior Designer, Sr. Brand Designer | $151K | $110K – $248K |
| Sr. Manager | Brand Designer | $170K | $130K – $210K |
| Director | Creative Designer | $231K | $231K |
Creative Direction
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager / Lead | Creative Strategy Lead | $165K | $165K |
| Director | Creative Director | $195K | $150K – $230K |
| Sr. Director / VP | Creative Strategy Director | $200K | $200K |
Art Direction
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid / Senior | Art Director | $130K | $130K |
| Manager / Lead | Social Art Director | $135K | $135K |
| Director+ | Sr. Art Director | $170K | $140k - $200k |
Creative Operations / Project Management
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid / Senior | Senior Project Manager, Creative Operations Manager | $140K | $125k - $145k |
Motion / Video
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior IC | Brand Video Editor | $90K | $80K - $100K |
Copywriting / Content
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid / Senior | Sr. Copywriter | $135K | $135K |
Package Design
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid / Senior | Packaging Designer | $133K | $133K |
📢 Trends we’re seeing
AI fluency is now a baseline qualifier: Tools like MidJourney, DALL·E, and Spline are standard expectations across all levels, not just a nice-to-have. Screen for hands-on tool experience.
In-house creative ops is a growing priority. Brands want leaders who can reduce agency dependency and build internal velocity - a shift worth flagging in the role’s scope and comp.
CD+ hires are expected to challenge briefs: At the Creative Director level and above, brands are prioritizing strong POV and pushback over execution-only skillsets.
Product Design
25 placements
Mid / Senior
$190K
$160K – $230K
14 placements
Manager / Lead
$230K
$225K – $235K
2 placements
Sr. Manager / Staff
$255K
$250K – $260K
4 placements
Director / Principal +
$310K
$300K – $360K
5 placements
Product Design Levels
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid / Senior | Product Designer, Founding Product Designer | $187K | $160K – $230K |
| Manager / Lead | Senior Product Designer, Product Design Lead | $230K | $225K - $235K |
| Sr. Manager / Staff | Staff Product Designer | $255K | $250K – $260K |
| Director / Principal + | Head of Design | $310K | $300K - $360K |
📢 Trends we’re seeing
Craft alone gets you in the door, AI fluency gets you the job. Companies expect to see beautiful results that tie to the business outcome and how AI helped get you there.
Proximity expectations are tightening at all levels, no matter your seniority. Designers are going to back to the office, especially leadership.
Leadership hires need “building” experience, not just management. Companies are looking for design leaders who are still building products while hiring, setting culture, and setting the bar for craft.
Product Management
7 placements
Mid / Senior
$220K
$185K – $215K
2 placements
Sr. Manager / Staff
$239K
$228K – $250K
2 placements
Director / Principal
$260K
$260K
1 placement
Sr. Director / VP
$335K
$320K – $350K
2 placements
Product Management Levels
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid / Senior | Product Manager, Senior Product Manager | $200K | $185K – $215K |
| Sr. Manager / Staff | Staff Product Manager | $239K | $228K – $250K |
| Director / Principal | Director of Product, Principal Product Manager | $260K | $260K |
| Sr. Director / VP | VP of Product Management | $335K | $320K - $350K |
📢 Trends we’re seeing
AI experience is now a hands-on requirement: PM roles increasingly expect direct experience with LLMs, agents, and AI-native workflows.
Systems thinking is a differentiator: Companies want PMs who can reason about data models and platform architecture, not just roadmaps. Worth testing for in technical interviews.
In-office expectations have solidified at all levels, especially leadership.
Executive
12 placements · via Executive People
Creative Leadership (CMO, VP, SVP)
$335K
$275K – $450K
7 placements
Commercial Leadership (CCO, CEO, CGO)
$400K
$265K – $475K
5 placements
Creative Leadership
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VP | VP Marketing, VP Brand Marketing, VP Creative | $300K | |
| SVP | SVP Marketing | $350K | |
| C-Suite | Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Creative Officer | $425K |
Commercial Leadership
| LEVEL | JOB TITLE | MEDIAN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VP | VP of Sales | $265K | |
| C-Suite | Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Growth Officer | $425K |
📢 Trends we’re seeing
Operators over strategists: Across CEO, Brand President, and GM searches, companies want hands-on doers who can own a P&L.
Regardless of headcount or stage, companies want leaders who are hands-on and strategic in equal measure - those who can attract and build a team, but don't need a big one behind them to move the work forward.
DTC experience alone isn't enough: Brands moving into physical retail (Target, Whole Foods, etc.) need leaders who've actually done it before. Look for candidates with real retail-launch experience, not just strong online growth numbers.
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Data reflects base salary from 127 full-time placements made in H1 2026 (January–June). Equity and bonus packages are not included. Questions? info@creativepeopleinc.com