The survey - by staffing, consulting and outsourcing firm, Aquent - revealed that a marketing director's post in Hong Kong paid between US$77,000 and $154,000 annually, compared with $69,000 and $92,000 in Singapore.
For design and creative directors, Singapore outranks Hong Kong with a salary range of $115,000 and $173,000 compared with $76,000 and $153,000 in Hong Kong.
Aquent Hong Kong area manager, Duncan Cunningham, said that while both Hong Kong and Singapore have been hard hit by the sluggish global economy and the atypical pneumonia outbreak, Hong Kong's drop was steeper because its salary levels were at unrealistically high levels several years ago.
He expects that salaries would continue to stagnate in the near term as employers look for freelance and ad hoc options rather than take on permanent staff.
"Our belief is that the situation will not worsen significantly because of the expectation that the market will become more competitive," Cunningham said.
Agency chiefs said the figures underlined the point that Hong Kong's role as a regional centre for the marketing communications industry remains under pressure.
Part of the problem is that despite more than three years of deflation, Hong Kong remains one of the costliest cities in the world to do business in.
Grey Global Group Southeast Asia president Chris Leong said: "Cost factors and the need to be closer to the markets you are serving means that senior executives are relocating to Shanghai to oversee China or moving to Singapore for Southeast Asia and even regionally."
She believed that the trend would continue especially on the client side because they still pay expat perks.
"Agencies have generally stopped paying perks except for the top two or three executives. But clients still have them so they will have to calculate the most cost-effective place to locate their people."
She stressed that if the regional marketers were moving to Singapore, then agencies would follow suit.
Leong and Cunningham added that many markets have taken steps to make themselves more attractive to foreign investors, including lowering income taxes.
SALARIES - SINGAPORE CLOSES THE GAP
SINGAPORE HONG KONG
ADVERTISING (USdollars (USdollars)
CEO/Managing Director 207,770+ 230,400+
Client/Account Services Director 103,860-124,632 128,000-192,000
Group Account Director 69,240-103,860 102,400-128,000
Account Director 43,275-54,815 64,000-89,600
MARKETING
Marketing Director 69,240-92,320 76,800-153,600
Marketing Manager 51,930-69,240 40,960-53,760
Direct Marketing Manager 43,275-54,815 38,400-51,200
MEDIA
Media Director 75,010-103,860 83,200-108,800
Group Head/Media Manager 46,160-69,240 76,800-92,160
Senior Buyer 28,850-34,620 32,000-46,080
Senior Strategic Planner 43,275-54,815 32,000-44,800
CREATIVE
Design/Creative 115,400-173,100 76,800-153,600
Senior Art Director 51,930-63,470 51,200-89,600
Senior Copywriter 49,045-60,585 44,800-64,000
SOURCE: Aquent
