Think LA Ad U:
account
management
JULY 15, 2014
MASTERING ACCOUNT
MANAGEMENT

so what’s the plan?
(1) Meet us
(2) Break the ice
(3) Learn from an account professional (spoiler alert that’s me)
(4) Learn from artists formerly known as account professionals
(5) Apply tonight’s thinking to your job
(6) Panel Q&A

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

A little more about me…
I LUCKED INTO THE AD WORLD
I’ve split my career between account management and new
business – and love them both!
As the industry and my role has changed over the years, I have
been most successful changing along with it.
I’ve paid my dues and so should you…and enjoy it along the way
&AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

5 years from now you win
an award for Account
Manager of the Year.
What words would be
used to describe you…

1not ordinary
but irreplaceable
2
3 4
instill confidence
& gain trust
collaborate or
perish
be brief &
be brilliant

1not ordinary
but irreplaceable
2
3 4
instill confidence
& gain trust
collaborate or
perish
be brief &
be brilliant

You have choices to make
Being proactive isn’t just a quality, it’s a foundation and the fundamental quality of moving
from being ordinary to extraordinary
“Look at the word responsibility (response-ability)
the ability to choose your response”
- Steven Covey

Harvest what you learn
Learn FROM your mistakes and how to apply
those learning moving forward...not by
continuing to make mistakes.

 Get the right people involved from the start
 Understand the deliverables
 Own the schedule
 Think through the possible solutions
 Keep the team organized and informed
 Know the success metrics
 Know the possible problems
 Have a plan. And a back-up plan. And a back-up back-up plan.
 Follow-up
 Prioritize
 Keep a checklist...and always carry a notebook.
 Learn something new just for the sake of learning something new!
Instigator of action and creative ideas

 Get the right people involved from the start
 Understand the deliverables
 Own the schedule
 Think through the possible solutions
 Keep the team organized and informed
 Know the success metrics
 Know the possible problems
 Have a plan. And a back-up plan. And a back-up back-up plan.
 Follow-up
 Prioritize
 Keep a checklist...and always carry a notebook.
 Learn something new just for the sake of learning something new!
Instigator of action and creative ideas

So, What?

“True wisdom is
knowing what you
don’t know”

Own your own inexperience
• Everyone you meet will know something that you don’t
• When someone asks you a question, take it as an opportunity to expand their knowledge
• Think beyond Black & White
Watch, listen, and learn.
You can’t know it all yourself.
Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.
– Donald Trump

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 – projects & career

Lisa Tanner
ltanner@rpa.com

TODAY IS

2006
TODAY IS

2006
TODAY IS 2006

HI, I’m 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
wasn’t quite right….
TODAY I’M 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.

1not ordinary
but irreplaceable
2
3 4
instill confidence
& gain trust
collaborate or
perish
be brief &
be brilliant

instill confidence
& gain trust so…
people will come to
you, believe you, and
seek your opinion.

but wait…
HOW PLEASE?

you trust the person who says that, because…
(1) they didn’t make up an answer
(2) they were willing to admit they didn’t know
(3) they’ve showed initiative even before doing anything
(4) they’ve taken responsibility for finding the answer
(5) they now look like a good future resource
“I don’t know but I’ll find out”

Automatically this person is a little bit more…
curious
thoughtful
aware of the world
interesting to talk to
knowledgeable
useful as a human being
“I read this
interesting
thing…”

“I can get this started”
SCENARIO ONE: THEY SAY NO
You don’t have to do anything…
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 don’t know exactly what to do you can go ask
others for their thoughts, gain more insight, build
relationships with them and look good

*NOTE: Only use this if you actually have questions, don’t make up questions to look good. That’s lame. And annoying.
“I have a few questions*”
(1) if it’s appropriate ask them respectfully in the meeting
(2) if it’s not appropriate (as is often the case) write them down
and schedule a meeting later to ask

I wish someone had told me…
TREAT YOUR JOB LIKE IT MATTERS.
People will respect you for it.

I wish someone had told me…
TREAT YOUR JOB LIKE IT MATTERS.
People will respect you for it.
BUT NOT LIKE IT’S ALL THAT
MATTERS.
People will like you for it.

Kaleen Ogden
kogden@rpa.com

A little about me…

1not ordinary
but irreplaceable
2
3 4
instill confidence
& gain trust
collaborate or
perish
be brief &
be brilliant

be brief.
Unless it’s an email.
Then you have 7 seconds.
YOU HAVE 1 MILLISECOND

The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion
that it has taken place
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

be brilliant.
Too tall an order?
Better to aim high and miss,
than to shoot low and hit.
THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE ROOM

S H I N E
LIKE BEYONCE

Service oriented
Hard work pays
Invest in yourself
Never forget the business
Energy management

service oriented
LIFE IS AN OPEN MARKET.
YOU’RE SELLING YOURSELF.

hard work
pays off
THE BEST LEADERS ROLL UP THEIR
SLEEVES AND GET THEIR HANDS
DIRTY

invest in yourself.
seriously.

never forget
the business
Plus you’ll look smart and
your client will love you.
IT’S THE RAISON D’ÊTRE

manage your
energy
Workers today are exhausted,
emotionally depleted, unfocused, and
lacking purpose
– The Energy Project
WE ARE IN AN ENERGY CRISIS
59%
don’t 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

make it a habit
Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the
time thing.
You don’t win once in a while, you don’t 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

HI, I’m 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
(That’s 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.

1not ordinary
but irreplaceable
2
3 4
instill confidence
& gain trust
collaborate or
perish
be brief &
be brilliant

collaborate or
perish.
(sounds dramatic…because it is!)

lots of people to connect with
production strategy
creative
media
clients
team &
management
account
management

production strategy
creative
media
clients
team &
management
account
management
creative relationships are key

& we do creative
CLIENTS COME TO US FOR CREATIVE AS ACCOUNT FOLKS HOW DO WE
CHAMPION THOSE AWARD-WINNING
IDEAS?

3 ways to get the best out of your
creative teams
Develop relationships with them: it’s very similar to a marriage
Be the go-to person they want to talk to
Balance the creative idea & what’s right for the client

TYPICALLY WE’RE THE SUITS
Often account people come delivering bad news:
• “Sorry, your campaign died”
• “The 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 C”:
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 they’re interested in
• Spend casual time with them: grab lunch or a drink after
work (hint: creatives tend to like to drink)
“shit, here come the suits”
develop
relationships

“you know, one thing that
could be cool is…”
Have all the know-how
understand the client, the project, the competition, the marketplace, the
product…you get the idea…better than anyone else in the building
Be available
Bounce ideas off of them
Let them know you’re interested in their process
Go-to Person

“love that idea! did you also
think about…?
• Fine line between keeping the creative idea intact and knowing what’s 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 – lack of time is a creative’s worst enemy
• And then when a quick project comes through, you’ve got karma points in the bank, and
they’re willing to help out
balance
creative & client

Romy Flint
romy@common.is

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)