Account Management and the Changing Advertising Landscape

Account management is neither new nor trendy. Yet, it retains its appeal for students entering the advertising profession. In fact, in surveys conducted among the finalists in the American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising competition, account executive has repeatedly been the choice of almost half of those surveyed (Kendrick and Fullerton, 2002, Kendrick and Fullerton, 2003).Although educators have explored how to best prepare students for careers in a variety of agency departments, little attention has been devoted to the skills and knowledge successful account managers need. Perhaps that is due to the low regard in which the position was sometimes held in the past. Within the advertising agency culture, as Matthew Creamer (2006) has suggested, account people were often known as "yes men," and "bag carriers." Considering that attitude there is little wonder that scant interest has been given to exploring what special training might be necessary for the position.If such a negative characterization of account executives were ever true, it no longer is. Today, they are more critical to an agency's success than ever. But the changes that have transformed the advertising landscape, are also leaving their mark on the account management function. As Advertising Age phrased it, "even the most dyedin-the-gray-wool suit will be forced to change, or accept his ultimate demise" (Creamer). To decide how best to prepare students for careers in account management, it is important to determine the changes that have most impacted the position and the skills and knowledge now required. This study is designed to do precisely that.Literature ReviewEducators and practitioners have been debating advertising education at least since Walter Dill Scott first spoke to Chicago's Agate Club in 1901. While earlier discussions explored the proper preparation for a career in advertising in general, more recently, the focus has been on the best way to prepare students for specific areas of the agency business. A number of scholars, for example, have examined the types of skills agencies look for in entry-level creative people (Blakeman and Haley, 2005; Kendrick, et al., 1996; Lee and Ryan, 2005; Otnes, Spooner and Treise, 1993; Otnes, Oviatt and Treise, 1995; Robbs, 1996; Robbs and Wells, 1999). Others have explored the curricular implications of changes in the media landscape (Lloyd et al., 2000; Slater et al., 2002) and the best ways to prepare account planners for entry-level positions (Lavery, 2000, Morrison et al., 2003, Gale and Robbs, 2004, Robbs and Gale, 2005).But account management has received little attention in academic literature. Deckinger et al (1989) surveyed agency professionals and educators to determine points of similarity and difference in the skills each group felt to be essential for four agency positions including account executive. The area has naturally received more attention in textbooks and publications directed to working professionals. Ed Applegate and Art Johnson (2007) present a helpful outline of the duties and skills of entry level and senior account people and then place the work itself in context through case studies. The cases, while helpful, are so brief as to provide little sense of what the account person's job itself actually entails. Jay Quinn (1999) provides a better sense of both the account person's role and its challenges as he points to the position's requiring a rare combination of left and right brain skills as well as to the internal conflict posed by the need to represent the interests of both the agency and the client. Robert Solomon (2000, 2003) draws on his many years of experience in account management to provide very helpful tips for dealing with those and a variety of other challenges. Because a broader picture of the account person's overall role does not accompany his advice, his insights are of most use to working professionals.Jon Steel (1998) has examined the more recent challenges presented to account people by the rise of the account planner. …