At the AdU: Account Managment class, members of RPA, Common and DirecTV explained what it takes to be a strong account manager. Attendees were shown real-life examples and skills to apply to their own jobs and gained a better understanding of the many opportunities of working in account management.
1. Think LA Ad U:
account
management
JULY 15, 2014
MASTERING ACCOUNT
MANAGEMENT
2. so whatâs the plan?
(1) Meet us
(2) Break the ice
(3) Learn from an account professional (spoiler alert thatâs me)
(4) Learn from artists formerly known as account professionals
(5) Apply tonightâs thinking to your job
(6) Panel Q&A
3. who are we
Lisa Tanner
VP, Account Director RPA
Team One, Deutsch, GSD&M
Romy Flint
Senior Director, COMMON
Chiat, BBDO, Wells Fargo
Kaleen Ogden
Associate Planning Director, RPA
MCM USC, Miami Ad School, D&G, Martin Agency
Margaret Mason
Director of Marketing, DIRECTV
Deutsch, Chiat, MBA Stanford
4. A little more about meâŚ
I LUCKED INTO THE AD WORLD
Iâve split my career between account management and new
business â and love them both!
As the industry and my role has changed over the years, I have
been most successful changing along with it.
Iâve paid my dues and so should youâŚand enjoy it along the way
&AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
5. 5 years from now you win
an award for Account
Manager of the Year.
What words would be
used to describe youâŚ
9. You have choices to make
Being proactive isnât just a quality, itâs a foundation and the fundamental quality of moving
from being ordinary to extraordinary
âLook at the word responsibility (response-ability)
the ability to choose your responseâ
- Steven Covey
10. Harvest what you learn
Learn FROM your mistakes and how to apply
those learning moving forward...not by
continuing to make mistakes.
11. ďź Get the right people involved from the start
ďź Understand the deliverables
ďź Own the schedule
ďź Think through the possible solutions
ďź Keep the team organized and informed
ďź Know the success metrics
ďź Know the possible problems
ďź Have a plan. And a back-up plan. And a back-up back-up plan.
ďź Follow-up
ďź Prioritize
ďź Keep a checklist...and always carry a notebook.
ďź Learn something new just for the sake of learning something new!
Instigator of action and creative ideas
12. ďź Get the right people involved from the start
ďź Understand the deliverables
ďź Own the schedule
ďź Think through the possible solutions
ďź Keep the team organized and informed
ďź Know the success metrics
ďź Know the possible problems
ďź Have a plan. And a back-up plan. And a back-up back-up plan.
ďź Follow-up
ďź Prioritize
ďź Keep a checklist...and always carry a notebook.
ďź Learn something new just for the sake of learning something new!
Instigator of action and creative ideas
15. Own your own inexperience
⢠Everyone you meet will know something that you donât
⢠When someone asks you a question, take it as an opportunity to expand their knowledge
⢠Think beyond Black & White
Watch, listen, and learn.
You canât know it all yourself.
Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.
â Donald Trump
16. Yes, and...
⢠You do not have to be in a senior role
to be a leader
⢠Pretend vs. real leadership
⢠Know what you want and where you
are going â projects & career
21. HI, Iâm Kaleen
ONCE UPON A TIME,
I WAS AN ACCOUNT PERSON.
I kept schedules, organized meetings,
rocked a to-do list, kept everyone in line,
enjoyed production timelines and spent a
lot of time chatting with clients. But it just
wasnât quite rightâŚ.
TODAY IâM IN PLANNING
I work with consumer insights, analyze
research, conduct research, keep an eye on
trends, position brands, write briefs, quote a
lot of percentages, understand the category
landscape, and work in PowerPoint.
25. you trust the person who says that, becauseâŚ
(1) they didnât make up an answer
(2) they were willing to admit they didnât know
(3) theyâve showed initiative even before doing anything
(4) theyâve taken responsibility for finding the answer
(5) they now look like a good future resource
âI donât know but Iâll find outâ
26. Automatically this person is a little bit moreâŚ
curious
thoughtful
aware of the world
interesting to talk to
knowledgeable
useful as a human being
âI read this
interesting
thingâŚâ
27. âI can get this startedâ
SCENARIO ONE: THEY SAY NO
You donât have to do anythingâŚ
but you volunteered
SCENARIO TWO: THEY SAY YES
You showed initiative
⢠If you know exactly what to do you do it and look good
⢠If you donât know exactly what to do you can go ask
others for their thoughts, gain more insight, build
relationships with them and look good
28. *NOTE: Only use this if you actually have questions, donât make up questions to look good. Thatâs lame. And annoying.
âI have a few questions*â
(1) if itâs appropriate ask them respectfully in the meeting
(2) if itâs not appropriate (as is often the case) write them down
and schedule a meeting later to ask
29. I wish someone had told meâŚ
TREAT YOUR JOB LIKE IT MATTERS.
People will respect you for it.
30. I wish someone had told meâŚ
TREAT YOUR JOB LIKE IT MATTERS.
People will respect you for it.
BUT NOT LIKE ITâS ALL THAT
MATTERS.
People will like you for it.
45. manage your
energy
Workers today are exhausted,
emotionally depleted, unfocused, and
lacking purpose
â The Energy Project
WE ARE IN AN ENERGY CRISIS
59%
donât regularly get at
least 7-8 hours of sleep
and / or often wake up
feeling tired
69%
have difficulty focusing
on one thing at a time, and
are easily distracted during
the day
70%
of workers are disengaged,
or actively disengaged
46. make it a habit
Winning is not a sometime thing; itâs an all the
time thing.
You donât win once in a while, you donât do
things right once in a while, you do them right
all the time.
Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
v i n c e l o b m a r d i
Margaret Mason
memason@directv.com
47. HI, Iâm Romy
I STARTED IN ADVERTISING AS A
FLOATER
I TOOK A DETOUR ON THE CLIENT
SIDE
WRONG MOVE!!!
NOW I WORK AT A VIRTUAL
AGENCY ON NON-PROFIT CLIENTS
(Thatâs me everyday at work)
NAILED IT!
I floated around to different
departments within the agency
filling in when people were sick or
on maternity leave, workloads were
heavy or deadlines were tight.
Within 6 months, I chose Account
Management as my career path.
52. & we do creative
CLIENTS COME TO US FOR CREATIVE AS ACCOUNT FOLKS HOW DO WE
CHAMPION THOSE AWARD-WINNING
IDEAS?
53. 3 ways to get the best out of your
creative teams
Develop relationships with them: itâs very similar to a marriage
Be the go-to person they want to talk to
Balance the creative idea & whatâs right for the client
54. TYPICALLY WEâRE THE SUITS
Often account people come delivering bad news:
⢠âSorry, your campaign diedâ
⢠âThe client loves your work: all you need to do is take
the first part of campaign A, marry it with the middle
part of campaign B and the last part of campaign Câ:
the old Chinese menu/Frankenstein approach
CREATE A RELATIONSHIP BEYOND
THAT
Be the one that they look forward to seeing, so when
you do have bad news to deliver, the relationship can
withstand it
⢠Check in frequently - before, during and after creative
development⌠In person
⢠Be interested in what theyâre interested in
⢠Spend casual time with them: grab lunch or a drink after
work (hint: creatives tend to like to drink)
âshit, here come the suitsâ
develop
relationships
55. âyou know, one thing that
could be cool isâŚâ
Have all the know-how
understand the client, the project, the competition, the marketplace, the
productâŚyou get the ideaâŚbetter than anyone else in the building
Be available
Bounce ideas off of them
Let them know youâre interested in their process
Go-to Person
56. âlove that idea! did you also
think about�
⢠Fine line between keeping the creative idea intact and knowing whatâs right for the client
⢠Want them to understand that you are there to support, nurture and ultimately sell their idea
⢠Give them the time they need to cultivate their ideas
⢠Great ideas take time to incubate â lack of time is a creativeâs worst enemy
⢠And then when a quick project comes through, youâve got karma points in the bank, and
theyâre willing to help out
balance
creative & client
59. Educate Yourself!
WITH SOME BOOKS:
Built to Last & Good to Great (Jim Collins)
Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath)
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This (Luke Sullivan)
The Lean Startup (Eric Ries)
Power (Jeffrey Pfifer)
Ogilvy on Advertising (David Ogilvy)
Collaborate or Perish (William Bratton & Zachary Tumin)
Drive & A Whole New Mind (Daniel Pink)
Blue Ocean Strategy (W. Chan Kim)
Why We Buy (Paco Underhill)
The Tipping Point & David and Goliath (Malcolm Gladwell)
AND SOME NOT BOOKS:
Top 10 TED TALKS (or all of them)
http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/10-ted-talks-
every-team-should-watch/
Energyproduction.com
Ad Week/Ad Age
This Advertising Life Tumblr (trust us)
Hinweis der Redaktion
Notes: Exercise â talk to the person next to you and discuss for two minutes the words used to describe you. Report out as a group while leaders write words on dry erase board
Put these in rank order according to the flow of the discussion and who will weave what into their part
Put these in rank order according to the flow of the discussion and who will weave what into their part
Put these in rank order according to the flow of the discussion and who will weave what into their part
Put these in rank order according to the flow of the discussion and who will weave what into their part
Put these in rank order according to the flow of the discussion and who will weave what into their part
Best Case:
After a meeting, a call, a regroup or anything â volunteer to do the follow up.
Donât wait for anyone to ask you
shows that youâre willing to take a first stab at whatever is on your plate
According to research from Princeton university, you make up your mind about people in one tenth of a second. Which means, youâve decided long ago if you were going to listen to me or not. My work here is doneâŚjk!
For those of you who are tuning out â please enjoy your nap!
But if on the off-chance, you happen to be listening: remember this â not only are first impressions formed easily in the first handful of seconds, but it takes long experience to dislodge our initial pre-conceptions about a person.
What does that mean for you?
As a great account person, and a great business person in general, you have to be as clear and concise as possible. How do you do that?
Old Adage: Donât bury the headline â whether in person, over the phone or email, or clearly communicate your key takeaway as quickly as possible
Single Minded: Keep your communications focused on one thing â 3 if the person is extra saavvy, but the more focused the better
Easy way to do this is with bullets.
Emails: Keep them short. Weâve all got a received that novel of an email â you open it, and decide to read it later
If you have to weigh pros and cons â schedule a meeting to discuss.
If it looks too long, cut it down.
In Person: Do the elevator test
If you canât get the ask done in under 15 seconds â be more clear.
Your objective in all communications to get the person to read your email, or listen to you, etc.
Your objective in all communications to get the person to read your email, or listen to you, etc.
As George Bernard Shaw said â The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place
-- Whoâs george bernard shaw? Some old guy with a beard â so it has to be right?
Irish playwright and co-founder of the london school of economics
PlusâŚ. He surfs and looks like lee clow â so listen to him.
Note: -- 3 bullets on lee clow.
So what do I want you to do?
SHAMELESS BEYONCE PHOTO â not sure if this is before or after.
Will probably break into slides
Service is everything â life is literally an constant open market â someone wants something from you, and vice versa. What will differentiate you â is your service orientation â especially in client services.
how to do it â always remember your audience â youâll interact with creatives, differently than clients, differently than the PM â
youâre the quarterback â and all good leaders are servants first. Remove the obstacles and get out of the way.
Invest in Yourself â always be a student, there is no YODA â you have to learn from everyone. READ â read books, take a class, learn something new, etc.
Energy Renewal â just like time, energy is a finite resource â the energy project:
69% have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time and are easily distracted during the day, especially by email
Hard Work â never underestimate this. Iâve yet to see anyone â entrepreneur, CEO, etc â who did not roll up their sleeves and work hard. Harder than the person sitting next to them. Itâs true what they say â lonely at the top b/c there are less spaces
Example of 7 hour day.
Is there a way to highlight the âCreativeâ box here? Or as a transition on the last slide? Then we wouldnât need this slideâŚ
breakthrough ideas that stand out in the marketplace and sell product. Itâs our job to deliver that. And a key component to being successful is getting the best out of your creative team
Creatives are special people: highly intelligent, sensitive,