As an account executive I have come to ask myself this many times, are we really the black sheep / the bad guys in the movie / the annoying ones who want all of ASAP and have no mercy? Unfortunately, we've earned that bad name.
Let's see.... for anyone who is reading this and doesn't know what my post is about, I'll explain: Every advertising agency is divided by departments: Media, Digital, Creative and, of course, the Accounts Department. And what do these account people do? Well, they are the ones who meet (and negotiate) with clients to find out what their advertising needs are, take this information (brief) to the creatives (designers) to carry out the development of that campaign/application, resolve any problems during that process (doubts, etc.) and always make sure that delivery dates are met to finally present the final campaign to the client.
So far it seems simple, doesn't it? But really, to make sure that all of this happens, we have to be persistent, inquisitive, and we can even be bearers of bad news ("Guys, the client wants us to send him the proposals this Friday..."). All these situations are very stressful, as we have to endure the complaints of the client and also those of our co-workers.
There are several cliché things that relate to account executives for example:
- We get along badly with our team: This depends on the personality of each person, I usually get along well with people, I always try to support them in what they need.
- We don't do anything, basically you can find us at our stalls painting our nails: HA! Nothing is more false than this, I, for example, do not stop sending emails and doing follow-ups or being in meetings.
- Dress well and 0 smart: ... uhm no comments. We're as professional as anyone.
Then why are we the black sheep? We work as hard as the rest of the team, and while we can be annoying, that doesn't mean we're bad. A lot of negativity and bad fame surrounds us but it is not entirely true. Don't hate us, hahahaha.
If there are any advertisers/communicators/creatives reading this, I would love to hear from you! ;)
