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MENLO PARK, Calif., June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-one percent of advertising and marketing executives interviewed plan to expand their teams in the second half of 2015, according to new research from The Creative Group. This compares to 33 percent in the first half of the year and 12 percent one year ago. The majority (65 percent) of respondents said they expect to maintain staff levels and hire primarily to fill vacated roles in the next six months. Creative/art direction and account services are the top roles executives anticipate recruiting for during the remainder of the year.

View an infographic of the research highlights.

"With continued demand for creative talent and a shrinking pool of skilled applicants, it's more important than ever for companies to move quickly when hiring, or they risk losing out to more nimble firms," said Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group. "Offering competitive pay and perks that support work-life balance can be instrumental in attracting candidates with hard-to-find skills. Salaries that were competitive even a year ago likely need to be re-evaluated."

The national study was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service for interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on more than 400 telephone interviews -- with approximately 200 marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 200 advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.

Marketing and Advertising Specialties in Demand

When executives were asked in which areas they plan to add staff in the second half of 2015, they reported a range of specialties. Creative/art direction and account services topped the list (27 percent each), followed by content marketing and interactive media (26 percent each).

Advertising and marketing executives were asked, "In which of the following areas do you expect to hire in the second half of 2015?" Their responses:

Recruiting Challenges

Recruiting remains difficult for advertising and marketing executives: Forty-two percent said it is challenging to find skilled creative professionals today, up one percent from six months ago. Hiring managers at large advertising agencies (100+ employees) and large marketing departments (1,000+ employees) expect the greatest difficulty, with 55 percent of respondents in each group reporting it is somewhat or very challenging to find the talent they seek.

When asked which areas are most difficult to fill, the top responses were brand/product management and account services.

About The Creative Group

The Creative Group (TCG) specializes in placing a range of highly skilled interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals with a variety of firms on a project, contract-to-hire and full-time basis. More resources, including online job-hunting services, candidate portfolios and TCG's blog, can be found at creativegroup.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150617/223674-INFO

SOURCE The Creative Group