At Kin Collective, we spend a lot of time reviewing marketing job descriptions. It’s part of what we do, and we love seeing how different businesses structure their teams. But lately, we’ve noticed a worrying pattern in what’s being advertised as entry-level marketing roles.
More and more, we’re seeing jobs listed at around £24,000 to £25,000 asking for a huge breadth of experience. Things like:
3+ years of marketing experience
SEO, PPC, CRM, and paid social
Email marketing, design skills, copywriting and analytics
Content creation across multiple platforms, including video and photo editing
When you look at a list like that, you’re not describing a Marketing Executive, you’re describing a full marketing team.
The mismatch between skills and salary
Let’s be honest, £25k in 2025 doesn’t stretch far, and yet we’re seeing more and more Marketing Executive or Coordinator roles written like Marketing Manager job specs.
It’s no surprise that so many marketers we speak to feel frustrated or undervalued. We hear it every day in our conversations with candidates, bright, ambitious individuals who want to progress but feel stuck between “junior” job titles and “senior” expectations.
From our experience, this mismatch is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry right now. Employers want agility and versatility, but the reality is that good marketing requires focus, time, and fair pay.
So, what’s realistic?
In our opinion (based on current market trends and hundreds of live conversations across the Eastern and Home Counties marketing community):
💡 Marketing Assistant – around £25k for a genuine entry-level starting point
💡 Marketing Coordinator – circa £30k+ for those with around 2 to 3 years’ experience
💡 Senior Marketing Executive – circa £35k for those delivering across multiple channels or leading on campaigns independently
These aren’t hard and fast rules, but they do reflect what we’re seeing in the market from both employers and candidates who are getting it right.
Why it matters
We’re passionate about building a fairer marketing community. When salaries don’t match responsibilities, it not only impacts morale and retention, it also limits creativity. Marketers end up juggling too much, spreading themselves thin, and burning out before they can truly grow in their careers.
At Kin, we’ll always advocate for valuing marketing talent properly. It’s not just about paying people fairly, it’s about building sustainable teams that can actually deliver results.
So, whether you’re hiring your first marketer or reviewing your salary bands for 2025, take a moment to check that your expectations align with your budget. Because marketing unicorns might exist on paper, but not at £25k a year.
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Photo by Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash