The self-appointed industry bible conducted this survey of barely relevant marketing players' salaries. Not to be outdone, Tom Heathcliff and PostAdvertising.com proudly present the first public survey of associate salaries. What do these all important cogs make?
The average advertising associate—bottom-level coordinators, creatives, account and administration—took home $30,000, according to an exclusive Intergalactic Post Advertising HQ analysis. Nice pay, but nothing compared to the 40K hauled in by Saatchi & Saatchi front desker ^Sandra Fernandez. Ms. Fernandez was lured to Saatchi last year with a package including a "new hire unlimited snack clause," assuring she would always get access to Chex Mix and Goldfish in the kitchenette. Also included in her package, she gets invited to every goodbye party (boozeathons for departing employees), maternity leave surprise parties and bagel Fridays. She tops the list of LLG (Low Level Gophers) in a salary survey produced for Post Advertising by Equivent, a compensation research firm.
Next is <Deb Spiegel, Publicis: Life got pretty good when Spiegel was promoted to associate coordinator—her salary was raised 3K to $38,000, and she was taken out to a Bennigan's lunch by her manager. In addition, Spiegel was mentioned in a company-wide email announcing everyone who was promoted—which included VP Terrence Bloome (annual salary $1.2 million).
Colin Smythe>, Leo Burnett: Smythe, a junior copywriter on the Mars account, wasn't passed up when the free iPod Nanos were distributed. "The Nanos were our way of saying thanks for your hard work," Group Account VP Alexis Maristos (annual salary $550k) said. "Colin definitely deserved it." This perk, valued at $300, brought his salary up to an impressive $37,000.
<Andy Handfinger, agency.com: Handfinger, an account associate, makes a base salary of $25K. But he moonlights as the office cocaine dealer, bringing him up to a nifty $34,754. In addition, he stole a laptop from Delivery Manager Brynn Jones last year and sold it on ebay, giving him a $2,000 bonus.
Jessica Felton>, BBDO: Executive Assistant Felton makes a handsome 28K per year, but her compensation nearly doubles if you take into account the amount of beer and liquor she imbibes during company functions. Take, for example, the summer outing, a cruise around Manhattan. According to proxy statements, Jessica consumed approximately $700 worth of high-end tequila and Icelandic vodka. The total booze bonus for the year was close to 8K, bringing her up to $35,000 for the year.