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Advertising Account Manager Salaries: Myanmar VS Thailand

Written by May Phoo Pan | Apr 24, 2024 1:17:48 AM

In Myanmar, up to 80% of the general public won’t know that your career exists unless they are from advertising industry and there is 100% chance of not having a proper education or skill training for this career. 

Moreover, advertising industry has bloomed rapidly in Myanmar around 2017 or 2018 along with the expansion in digital marketing services and thus, in a few years, the career called “advertising account management” has become more popular. 

However, with the needs of skilled account managers in a short time, the benchmark of advertising account manager salaries can be varied even to double & triple based on the size of their agencies.

With the knowledge of having the salary benchmark of advertising account managers in Myanmar, you will be able to have information even if you are the one who is applying for the position or even if you are the one hiring for this position. After, we will make a little of advertising account manager salary comparison to those in Thailand as of many young professionals in Myanmar are expecting to shift to neighbor country, Thailand.

So, what's the advertising account professional's roadmap and salary growth?

This blog will give you information of how the data can help you do better job negotiations.

We'll uncover:

  • Average salaries for advertising account managers in both countries.

  • Factors influencing salary such as experience, skillset, and agency size.

  • Cost of living considerations to understand the true purchasing power of each salary.

Ads Agency Account Management Career Roadmap

Before we talk about the positions available in the account department in an advertising agency and based on the structure of each agency, not all the levels might be present in an agency as sometimes, all the positions do not need depending on the size of the agency or the numbers of the clients that the agency is currently having.

  • Junior Account Executive (or Intern)
  • Account Executive
  • Senior Account Executive
  • Account Manager
  • Senior Account Manager
  • Associate Account Director
  • Account Director
  • Group Account Director are the positions mostly have in ads agency. Detailed of the job scopes for each of the positioned is mentioned in my previous article.

With the qualitative surveyed data of around 30 professionals in the industry, account manager salaries variation is quite shocking & huge. 

This includes a lot of factors including the size of the company, the job scope, the number of the clients handling by one account person, the educational background, skills and proven records in the portfolio along with years of working experiences.

For the account interns or junior account executives

  •  the average salary range is from 250,000 MMK to 300,000 MMK net (they don’t normally need to pay income tax)

For the account executives,

  • The average salary range varies from 300,000 MMK to 650,000 MMK net (they don’t normally need to pay income taxes too)

For the senior account executives,

  • The average salary range varies fromm 400,000 MMK to 900,000 MMK (excluding tax) 

The salary difference could be double based on the conditions mentioned above.

For the account managers,

  • The average salary range varies from 500,000 MMK to 1,500,000 MMK (excluding tax)

There the range could be going triple from one another due to the factors mentioned above.

For Account Directors,

  • The average salary range varies from 800,000 MMK to 3,000,000 MMK 

The difference could be more than triple by this position based on many of the factors mentioned above.

All the positions’ salary range are not covered because these data are shared for data filing.

When checking the highest and the lowest salary differenced in one position from the qualitative data, the outcomes are seem to be based on the years of working experience where there could be 2-5 years being apart. 

Disclaimer: While this article provides a general picture of salary ranges for digital marketing and HR professionals in Myanmar, it's important to note that the information is compiled from online sources and interviews and may not be entirely comprehensive.

Does an account manager have commission in Myanmar?

This is a very interesting information as it is as well based on each agency’s policy. In some agencies, there are commissions for account person once the pitching is won with a portion of commission percentage which is shared with the rest of the pitching team, or in some agencies, the commission is gained once there is contract renewal. These commissions are aside from the yearly bonus.

Thailand Salary Landscape for Account Managers:

  • The average advertising account manager pulls in a monthly gross salary of ฿81,000, which translates to roughly ฿468 per hour.
  • This data is based on salary surveys conducted in Thailand, gathering information from both employers and anonymous employees from the internet article
  • For entry-level candidates (1-3 years of experience), the average salary is ฿46,400 per month.
  • Experienced account managers (8+ years) can command a significantly higher average salary of ฿103,775 per month.

However, the expense of staying in Bangkok as a decent white collar may cost living expense up to ฿20,000 along with the additional expenses of food, transportation and daily expenses. 

How to negotiate your salary as an account professional in an ads agency? 

  • Showcase Your Account Expertise: Highlight the specific value you'll bring to their client base. Research their industry, target audience, and recent campaigns to demonstrate your understanding of their needs.

  • Quantify Your Client Wins: Don't just talk success stories, back them up with data! Did you increase client retention rates, secure high-value contracts, or deliver successful campaigns that exceeded expectations? Frame your salary request around the quantifiable value you'll add to their client portfolio.

  • Credentials of your upskilling: Account management isn't just about communication and client relationships. It requires a powerful combination of soft skills and hard skills.

Develop rock-solid soft skills: Our account management essential course hones your ability to build trust, negotiate effectively, and manage client expectations.

Master essential hard skills: Learn data analysis, campaign strategy, and digital marketing expertise – all crucial for exceeding client goals.