Senior Marketing Salaries Rise 40% Outside London as Capital Pay Flatlines
Salaries for 'head of' marketing roles in the North and Midlands rose 40% year-on-year while London pay stayed flat, per Michael Page's 2027 Salary Guide.
Updated
The brief
- 'Head of' marketing salaries in the North and Midlands rose c.40% year-on-year, while London equivalents stayed flat (Michael Page 2027 Salary Guide).
- 70% of 2,706 senior UK marketing hires made in the 12 months from June 2025 went to external candidates (Pearlfinders/Ingenunity+ data).
- AI adoption is the most in-demand skill heading into 2027, and 77% of marketers use AI tools daily; growth marketing manager is now the most in-demand role.
Salaries for senior marketing roles outside London are rising sharply while capital pay stagnates, signalling a potential levelling of the long-standing London pay premium.
'Head of' marketing roles in the North and Midlands saw salaries climb around 40% year-on-year, according to recruitment firm Michael Page's 2027 Salary Guide. Equivalent London roles remained flat over the same period.
The gap is closing at other senior levels too. Head of social, media and content salaries rose 19% in the last year, while creative director pay grew 40% outside London, the report shows.
The talent market remains restless. Some 60% of UK marketers are actively looking for their next role, against a national average of 50% across professions. Just over half (52%) say they are satisfied with their current position.
For those planning a move, external hiring offers cause for optimism. Of the 2,706 senior UK marketing appointments made in the 12 months from June 2025, 70% went to external candidates. The figure comes from data shared exclusively with Marketing Week by Pearlfinders, with analysis from Ingenunity+, drawing on LinkedIn, trade press, social monitoring and company announcements.
AI skills top the demand list
The skills employers want have shifted markedly. Heading into 2027, the most in-demand skill for marketers is AI adoption, according to Michael Page. Marketing automation follows, then customer journey management, and customer loyalty, optimisation and personalisation.
That represents a significant change from last year, when the most sought-after skills were content creation and writing, end-to-end campaign management, data analysis and reporting, and stakeholder management.
AI is already embedded in daily workflows: 77% of marketers report using AI tools every day in their current role.
"Employers want commercially minded, AI-enabled growth professionals who can directly influence revenue, customer experience and business transformation," says James Nally, UK practice director for marketing and digital at Michael Page.
Nally expects "new and innovative roles are likely to enter the market" as expectations evolve, and anticipates continued demand for interim and contract positions within brands.
Growth marketing tops the jobs list
The most in-demand marketing job title is now growth marketing manager, followed by digital strategy and transformation leaders, marketing analytics and insights managers, ecommerce and marketplace managers, and marketing managers.
Again, the shift from last year is stark. The previous findings put marketing manager at the top, followed by marketing executive, product manager, brand manager and head of marketing.
The emergence of new marketing roles tallies with Marketing Week's 2026 Career & Salary Survey. That research found new roles had been added to teams following a company restructure (40.7% of respondents), a change in business strategy (31.6%) or the departure of a marketing leader or other personnel change (24.9%).
The data points to a broader repositioning of the function. Nearly a quarter of marketers (23.8%) say new roles are being added specifically to redefine the role of marketing within their businesses.
At large organisations, the drive to redefine marketing through new appointments (28.3%) outweighs even changes in personnel (24.6%), as firms adjust titles at the most senior levels to reflect new expectations of the discipline.
For marketing leaders, the implications are twofold. Regional pay inflation outside London raises retention and budget questions for employers with teams beyond the capital. At the same time, the surge in demand for AI-literate, commercially focused growth professionals sets a clear benchmark for hiring and skills development into 2027.
Based on Marketing Week
Filed under marketing-salaries, ai-skills, growth-marketing, regional-pay, marketing-jobs
Amara Osei
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News editor covering industry trends and analytics at Marketing Herald.