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What's it really like to work in account management at a leading advertising agency?

Lottie Tonks - Senior Account Manager, Iris Worldwide - takes us behind the scenes and describes a typical day:​

​​I start my day by checking emails and catching up on any requests that might have come in overnight. I’ll action anything urgent, often trying to find more resource to help get work over the line! Once I’m all up to speed I’ll start pulling together actions for the day ahead, then it’s time for our internal project status, where we’ll make sure the wider team is clear on what needs to be worked on or delivered on that day.

By late morning I’m usually running status calls with clients and checking-in with any additional requests from their side. Always trying to see if there’s more opportunities for us to take on other aspects within the wider campaign, such as social briefs.

​If we’re presenting creative work that day, I’ll share this with the wider team for everyone to review and sign off, especially from a strategic point of view. We’ll then jump on our call to present, it’s up to us to tee-up the call and set the agenda. Once the work has been presented, we’ll encourage a conversation and initial thoughts before wrapping up the call, recapping any initial feedback and making sure next steps are clear, often letting the client know when to share feedback within timings. Creative presentations are a really exciting part of the job as you start to see the ideas coming to life.

"Creative presentations are a really exciting part of the job as you start to see the ideas coming to life".

Another really great part of the job is shoots and having the opportunity to work on those. Typically, on set you’ll be responsible for getting the client to sign off on wardrobe, set-ups and shots. It’s key to keep track of the shot list and ensure the client is reviewing and is happy with everything. Shoots are one of the best chances to continue to build client relationships.

​My afternoon is often spent pulling together or reviewing campaign toolkits and briefs for the next few days. It’s important to always check resource has been booked in for your projects and be on top of billing to avoid overburn.

"Another really great part of the job is shoots and having the opportunity to work on those".

If we’ve had a new brief come in, we’ll take the call with clients then review and pull together all the relevant information before briefing this into our planning and strategy team, this often involves researching previous campaigns and seeing what competitors are up to.

Throughout the day it’s important to keep on top of your inbox and be flexible to jump on anything that might pop up, such as pulling together work for clients to share with markets and agencies so all parties are always up to date with creative work and production, it’s important to be organised and making sure calls with clients and internal briefings are booked in.

I’ll finish my day by sharing any work due with the client, this could be updated creative presentations, artwork, digital deliverables or project documents; costs and timings.

This piece was originally published as part of Inside The World of Account Management for Campaign

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