This issue of Research Matters contains highlights from the 2008 Account Management Conference, held September 24, 2008, in New York. 4A’s Information Specialist Rebecca Samson attended the conference and captured the major points presented by the speakers. Here is her recap of the sessions. We hope you’ll find the information useful; let us know what you think (marsha@aaaa.org). 

Nancy Hill, 4A’s president and CEO, kicked off the one-day Account Management Conference, held at the Nokia Theatre, in New York City. In her opening remarks, Hill explained that during his opening remarks at the 4A’s first-ever Account Management Conference (held in 2005), former 4A’s president and CEO Burtch Drake remarked that account management was so entwined in agencies’ DNA that the discipline had been taken for granted. Recognizing that the sentiment might have been correct in 2005, Hill observed that account management has rapidly evolved over the past three years, and the role of the account manager today bears little resemblance to what it was back then. For example, account management is no longer the only path to becoming an agency CEO.

Because the discipline has undergone a sea change, Hill said today’s account managers have the most exciting job in advertising, acting as “equal parts juggler, mediator, father confessor, mother creator and brand steward, all rolled up into one exacting and brilliant mind.” She compared the job of account manager to executive producer of a big-budget Hollywood film.

According to Hill, account management’s struggle in recent years with its identity is due, in part, to three industry shifts: The introduction of account planning in the United States; the adoption of technology in the workplace and by consumers; and the transformation of the white-collar workforce to reflect the diversity of clients and consumers.

In closing, Nancy cautioned today’s account managers to keep up with technology in order to avoid being “left behind.”

Thom Gruhler, executive vice president and global account director, McCann Worldgroup, and chairman of the 4A’s Account Management Committee, served as the conference presider. He spoke about the value of account management and how it has been called into question over the last decade. Gruhler said account managers have been depicted as “stuffed shirts” and cited news articles warning that the discipline must change—or accept its demise.

Gruhler said account managers, in the past, built their reputation as navigators at a time when the path to consumer engagement was uncertain. With today’s exploding media options and increasingly in-control consumers, brand engagement with consumers is evermore important and yet very difficult to achieve. Brand fates change more quickly than before, and messages must be delivered faster than ever. Media, Gruhler said, is as important as the message itself. The role of the account manager today is to help clients confront these new challenges by serving as brand navigators.

Shelly Lazarus, chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, said that when she started at Ogilvy in 1971, the business was much simpler. Account managers knew their place—clients were in charge and dictated everything. As Lazarus recounted, in the past, the biggest question that a client asked an agency was “which magazine to place print ads―McCall’s or Ladies’ Home Journal. Lazarus said she had colleagues at the agency who would call their clients to ask if they could go home.

According to Lazarus, account managers did anything and everything that wasn’t being done by other agency departments. The job was usually described as what it was not, rather than what it was (not a great job description). The best account managers are the ones who get close to their clients’ biggest ambitions, and make the clients’ goals their own. Great account managers solve business problems and don’t just make ads. Great account management also means being dedicated to the success of the client’s business.

Often account managers feel misunderstood and underappreciated. They are caught in the middle between clients and creative. However, Lazarus said, the best account managers have always liked being in the middle and view the position as a powerful place to be. Successful account managers develop deep relationships with client employees at all levels, including the research department and (especially) assistants.

Great account managers know how to foster creativity, building an environment in which great creative ideas can be born. Their job is to help their creative partners conceive and develop ideas. Creatives love account people who love the work, are passionate about ideas and who protect them.

Another job of the account manager is to help clients become better clients. Today, clients are hungrier than ever for ideas. Good account managers are accountable, loyal, use their clients’ products, are brave, speak up and say what they think, love their work, and are passionate about their clients’ businesses.

As the world grows increasingly more complex, there are more opportunities to try new things. Clients need solid partnerships with account managers more than ever. It is the account manager’s role to bring together all of the agency’s resources and present them to clients.

Laura Desmond, CEO, Starcom MediaVest, described the current period in advertising and media as a “disruptive time,” with many opportunities and risks. The industry is facing the “more” dilemma—people are more connected; there are more consumer touch points, more media and communication channels. Agencies need to test new approaches to reaching consumers, and take risks in order to be at the core of their clients’ businesses in the future.

Social media have facilitated conversations between brands and consumers, but brands need to be invited by consumers to engage in dialogue. Agencies must mine consumer data and leverage information like never before.

Desmond said the agency of the future needs to understand how to make personal, one-on-one connections with consumers. The agency of the future is not afraid of change, not hierarchical and not about silos. Terms such as media, creative and account management will be eliminated, according to Desmond, as they are no longer relevant. In fact, Desmond predicted that the agency of the future will be open source.

According to Desmond, four key elements of the “agency of the future” approach are:

1. Say yes to change and challenging ideas. Agencies should not be afraid of ideas, wherever they come from. Agencies must employ smart risk taking. Companies that changed the world over the last 10 years, such as Google, Amazon and Apple, all took risks.
2. Deal in, deliver and create consumer experiences, not just ads. Agencies must commit to creating and designing experiences that capture consumers’ attention and captivate them.
3. Develop a new measurement system that measures brand attitudes, preferences and change, rather than eyeballs. Desmond urged agencies to think about the outcome they want first, and measure based on the desired outcome. The agency of the past was limited by market mix modeling but the agency of the future will create new measures for what matters most for the brand.
4. Take big, smart risks. Great rewards come from big risks.

Four ways that account managers will help agencies get there:

1. Commit to reversing the agency’s genetics. Account managers know how things were done in the past but outmoded processes need to be reinvented.
2. Just because you have a hammer doesn’t mean everything is a nail. Desmond said holistic thinkers are going to rule the world. Someone who can collaborate best and facilitate the best work is the greatest leader. A non-linear approach will prevail.
3. Unlock the magic in simplicity. Make the complex simple, synthesize, summarize and explain how the agency’s work is going to deliver for the client.
4. Do what clients don’t know how to do versus what they don’t have time to do. It’s vital for agencies to be consumer experts. Clients aren’t experts at this. Their business is brands and an agency’s business is consumers.

Nina DiSesa, chairman, McCann Erickson, presented “The Creative’s View” on dealing with account managers. When DiSesa began her career, she said there was an invisible barrier between the account management and creative departments. She said there’s a learning curve for account managers to understand the creative mind. Account managers need to understand that creative people are defending their “babies.”

DiSesa said that over the years, she taught account managers how to deal effectively with creatives, and to be true advocates of the creative process. Account managers who learned to walk in creatives’ shoes gained a better understanding of the creative process and ultimately became better partners.

DiSesa’s advice to account managers for dealing with creatives:

• “Don’t scare us. We’re always insecure about something.”
• “Save us from all the bad things that can happen to our ideas. If we see that you will save us, we will see you as a partner.”
• “Protect us from public humiliation. When we make a mistake it’s so public.”
• “Make us need you. Help us get at a huge strategy.”
• “Let us trust you. You don’t have to do our job for us but clear away all the jungle crap.”

Despite his admission that account management is a difficult job that is not for everyone, Carl Johnson, founder and partner, Anomaly Communications, believes that it is still the best job in advertising He provided a sampling of thoughts submitted by colleagues on the subject:

• “The breadth and variety is like no other job. We get to touch everything.”
• “We have an all-access pass to every turn along the way.”
• “We are the only people with the whole picture.”
• “Account management is the only white knuckle ride in the industry.”
• “What account managers do is needed at every level.”

According to Johnson, account management is not simply about client service. The question, “Is it right for the business?” should serve as the driving force behind the discipline. Johnson suggested that “account direction” might be a better term to describe the function than “account management.” The fundamental principle is that it’s all up to the individual account manager, who must own the good as well as the bad.

Lastly, Johnson said it is important and powerful to speak the truth, no matter how difficult. Respect matters more than popularity. He concluded his remarks by saying the account manager’s job is the most demanding, most educational, most stimulating and most relevant position in the agency today.