Marketing expertise is increasingly needed at the heart of business operations. The positive salary development is a sign of growing appreciation for the field’s skills. The results also suggest that marketing professionals earn more than some role-specific salary benchmarks indicate.
”Decision-making in marketing is becoming even more closely linked to business management, and the skill requirements in the field are continually growing. It is great to see this reflected in improved salary levels for marketing professionals,” says Marko Hovinmäki, Chairman of MMA.
Marketing work increasingly demands skills such as data and analytics expertise, marketing technologies and the use of artificial intelligence. At the same time, the role of marketing is shifting closer to strategic business leadership.
Decision-making in marketing is becoming even more closely linked to business management, and the skill requirements in the field are continually growing. It is great to see this reflected in improved salary levels for marketing professionals.
Bonuses becoming more common in marketing
The pay structure in marketing is shifting towards a more performance-based model. The combination of a fixed salary and bonus grew from 39 percent to 43 percent in one year, while the share of those on fixed salary only fell from 60 percent to 55 percent.
”Performance-based pay structures have long been the norm in sales. Now it appears the same thinking is taking hold in marketing as well. When marketing influences business results together with sales, the reward model should reflect that. MMA has been highlighting this issue for several years, and now it is beginning to show in compensation practices — which we are very pleased about,” says Hovinmäki.
Bonuses have a significant impact on earnings. The survey found that a fixed salary plus bonus combination in marketing is associated with monthly earnings on average nearly €500 higher than a fixed salary alone.
A positive direction towards pay equality
The gender pay gap in marketing has narrowed. Women’s salaries grew considerably faster than men’s from 2024 to 2025: the median salary for women rose by 7.1 percent to €4,320, while men’s median grew by 3.1 percent to €4,456. Compared to a survey from a couple of years ago, women’s earnings have risen from €0.85 per euro (2023) to €0.97 per euro (2025).
”The gender pay gap in marketing has closed faster than in sales, for example, where women earned €0.88 for every euro earned by men in 2025. In marketing, pay appears to be increasingly determined by the complexity of the role and skills rather than gender, which is absolutely the way it should be,” Hovinmäki says.
The survey’s regression analysis shows that salary levels in marketing are primarily explained by work experience, role complexity and the pay model agreed in employment.
For further information:
Marko Hovinmäki
Chairman
Sales and Marketing Professionals (MMA)
Phone: +358 400 747 333
Email: marko.hovinmaki@mma.fi
MMA’s salary survey 2025
MMA’s salary survey was conducted by Aula Research Oy via an online questionnaire between January 7 and January 26, 2026. A total of 2,033 sales and marketing professionals responded, of whom 1,672 were employed full-time throughout 2025. The survey examined gross earnings including incentives and benefits. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the impact of various factors on gross monthly income. 75 percent of respondents were reached via MMA’s membership register.