Candidates are walking away from roles over burnout, lack of flexibility and poor leadership, not for bigger salaries, according to No Sunday Blues, a recruitment agency specialising in creative, PR and marketing, in its 2026 Talent & Salary Guide.
Senior account directors, group account directors and heads of communications are available in numbers not seen for years, pushing many CMO-level professionals into fractional arrangements.
Brands are responding by restructuring around leaner teams of mid-weight talent, supplemented by senior expertise on demand.
Hybrid roles are replacing single-function positions, org charts are being redrawn, and new titles, influencer strategist, content performance lead, are emerging to consolidate what were once separate disciplines.
With traditional senior roles increasingly being broken into fractional or hybrid arrangements, many experienced operators are choosing freelancing over waiting for the right full-time opportunity.
For agencies and brands, this represents access to senior talent on demand - though No Sunday Blues cautions that it only works when briefs are clear and engagements are well structured.
The restructuring is also reshaping which skills the market is chasing.
Content creators are among the most sought-after hires of the year, with in-house brands competing for people who can concept, shoot, edit and deliver performance-driven content independently.
Demand has pushed senior creator salaries to between $110,000 and $200,000.
Social media roles are experiencing similar pressure, with pay climbing for those who can operate across organic, paid, influencer and performance.
PR is also shifting, outcomes are now measured against business impact rather than clip counts, and media coverage has taken on new relevance as a factor in how brands surface in AI-powered search.
The broader competitive landscape is also changing.
Boutique agencies are winning briefs from large networks, with agility outpacing scale, with the report identifying talent as the clearest gap that can connect earned media, creators and content into a single strategy.
On salaries, account managers are earning from $70,000 to $80,000, account directors from $100,000 to $110,000, group account directors from $150,000 to $200,000 and general managers at $210,000 to $250,000.
In creative, the report formally recognises AI creative as a standalone role for the first time, with salaries from $120,000 to $170,000.
Senior art directors and senior copywriters sit between $120,000 and $160,000, with creative directors and heads of creative reaching $180,000 to $250,000.
Strategy roles are taking three to six weeks to fill, with senior strategists ranging from $100,000 to $130,000 and heads of strategy from $170,000 upward.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.