The resourceful Account Manager

March 28, 2016

The resourceful Account Manager

As an agency Account Manager, our reason for being is to keep people (agency team, clients and suppliers) happy. We are the ones who will help turn a client's brief into reality, and sometimes that transformation requires a little bit of magic.

Offering high-value service is one of the best ways you can set yourself, and your agency, apart from the rest. By challenging conventional thinking, using your business and marketing nous, thinking of great ideas and being resourceful (pulling a rabbit out of a hat) you can demonstrate your value and impress your clients.

Situations where your resourcefulness may be tested include:

  • tight or conflicting deadlines
  • squeezed budgets
  • under-staffed team
  • doing something you have never done before
  • sourcing a hard-to-find product
  • the need to create something brand new

My strangest client request was from a company that sold milk products and regularly took part in agricultural trade shows and field days events.

They wanted to create an interactive display that would teach children how to milk a cow. The brief: create a life-size, milkable, transportable, friendly, gorgeous cow. OK [cough], no problem.

Working alongside a design engineer we explored various options. We considered constructing a 2-dimensional, cartoon-looking facade with milking apparatus in behind. Though cute (and functional), it was literally a bit "flat".

The final solution was lurking in a local warehouse full of stage and screen props. We found a delightful fibreglass, life-size cow. Hollow inside to comfortably house the milking apparatus (which we figured out how cobble together) we had struck client-nirvana! Transporting the cow to the tradeshows....now that was another challenge entirely!

What's the most unusual or logistically/creatively-difficult project that you have ever had to facilitate? When have you had to demonstrate how resourceful you can be?

.

.





Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Also in Latest Tips & Tricks

Client profitability - part 2, Loss Leaders

September 23, 2018

There are times when ‘loss’ (low, zero, or negative profit) is the aim rather than a healthy profit. These clients (or projects) are called ‘loss leaders’. When might you want to use a loss-leading tactic in your agency?

View full article →

Client profitability - Part 1

September 09, 2018

Having profitable clients and campaigns is what agencies strive toward. Your daily account management decisions will make or break the profitability of your accounts - from quoting to setting price structures and retainers, coordinating internal teams and handling client changes. Remember, if your work is not profitable, you (and your colleagues) won’t have a job (no pressure)!

View full article →

Research: pre-testing and post-testing

August 29, 2018

Research activities are typically initiated and conducted by your client, as part of their marketing remit. However, there is another type of research that is advertising-specific and is more likely to be initiated (or at least recommended) by your agency rather than by your client. The two main areas of research that an agency would get involved with are ‘pre-testing’ and ‘post-testing’.

View full article →

Our gift to you!

SIGN UP TO THE AM-INSIGHT NEWSLETTER, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE 100% OFF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF ANY ONE MICROSOFT WORD OR EXCEL RESOURCE FROM THE AM-INSIDER WEBSITE. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP NOW!