CPG Connect, a job board and networking website for consumer packaged goods professionals in Canada, has released the results of its first National Salary Survey for the consumer packaged goods and retail industry in Canada. President Hershi Rubinoff reveals some key insights to strategy.

The long and short is, things are looking good for marketers across all levels.

One takeaway contradicts the general perception that sales trump marketing in terms of salaries. It turns out marketing can be just as lucrative as sales, says Rubinoff – perhaps even more.

“It was surprising to see that marketing actually went higher,” she says.

For example, at the VP level, the base salary for those surveyed in marketing is $100,000 to $350,000 versus $100,000 to $300,000 for the same level in sales, with 100% of the former category receiving some form of cash incentives and 94% of the latter receiving similar incentives.

In fact, outside of the executive or c-level category, marketers rated the highest in terms of earning potential across the various disciplines including manufacturing, supply chain, human resources and finance, with senior marketers at the VP level making bases of up to $350,000 and even junior marketers at the assistant brand and brand manager level earning between $40,000 and $80,000 and $50,000 and $95,000, respectively.

Companies also appear to be using bonuses as a way to differentiate themselves from competitors, Rubinoff says.

“The upside on cash incentives across various roles and levels was considerably high, whereas vacation weeks, another option for companies to use in attracting and retaining talent, was fairly consistent and proportionality tied to years of experience.”

Many companies are offering bonuses of up to 100% of base salary to senior marketing, sales and executive professionals. Another surprise, adds Rubinoff, is that some mid-level marketers and sales professionals are receiving 40 to 60% of their base salary.

Equally optimistic, perhaps, are the robust compensation packages for c-level professionals. In spite of economic hardships, Rubinoff says base salary ceilings were surprisingly high in this category, as were other perks like company cars, car allowances, gas cards and RRSP matching. High-level marketers are seeing healthy compensation packages as well, albeit a slightly lower RRSP matching than those at the c-level (33% at the VP level versus upwards of 50% for most executive roles).

Junior level marketing professionals aren’t being left behind, either.  Even though Rubinoff notes that overall satisfaction with compensation packages appears to be positively correlated to career level and position seniority – so that professionals at this level were far more likely to think their compensation package was below industry average – respondents in this category actually receive what Rubinoff calls an overwhelming high percentage of cash incentives. Brand managers earning between $50,000 and $95,000 a year, for instance, are taking home incentives ranging from 10 to 40% of their salary.

Just over 2,200 professionals from across the country completed the online survey between January and April, 2011, with results available to CPG Connect members at CPG Connect’s website.

Photo: meddygarnet, Flickr Creative Commons