Life as an Account Manager & Dog Dad

What campaign are you loving at the minute? 

I absolutely loved the Weetabix x Heinz Beans partnership recently. The level of uproar that it caused was phenomenal and really caught my eye. Very clever, but equally very disgusting.  

Name your dream brand to work with?  

The North Face. For starters I love being out and about exploring. I love their more traditional work over the years, but they’ve also evolved to take on the current trends and younger market audience. Some of their more recent campaigns running in partnership with the likes of JD have been huge multichannel campaigns.  

Have you ever received a strange request from a client?  

With a previous client (mentioning no names) I was asked if it was possible to go and do their weekly shopping for them as they didn’t have time. At the time, they tried to fob it off as if it was needed for ‘samples and research’, but it was their weekly shop. Safe to say, me being a sucker in my early days of account management, I said yes.  

Favourite and least favourite part of Account Management? 

Receiving a fresh brief from the client and being able to take it away, digest it and come up with some brilliant ideas with the content and creative team must be up there with the best part of the job. It’s even better when a client gives you an open book to work from. The only hard bit then is presenting these ideas back and making sure the client has bought into them, but I suppose that’s all part of it!  

Chasing for work or feedback from clients is one thing I hate having to do. Everyone is so busy, so there is always a slight guilt in me when I’m having to send a polite nudge. Needs must sometimes though.  

Which marketing trend should brands have on their radar?

Personalisation is an interesting trend. Speaking to the consumer on an individual level rather than being generic always helps. Whether this is through marketing (personalised email) or product (gifting a bar of chocolate with your name on it) can make any consumer feel exclusive and involved in the brand.  

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Most of my spare time is spent either walking or taking pictures of my 11-month-old Fox Red Labrador, Willow (yes, we’re that obsessed with her). When I can get away from dog duties, I’m a big football fan so it’s huge relief that we’re able to go back to stadiums now and enjoy live football. That may or may not include a couple of beers before and after the match…  

What’s your most opened app?

It’s a bit boring, but it must be Instagram. Whilst I’m not a serial poster (maybe 3 or 4 highlights a year), I’m somebody that loves to see what’s going on. I’m quite partial to an Instagram story though, but then again people must get bored of me doing these because it’s either of the dog, or football!  

What’s left on your bucket list?

There are too many things to mention! I love visiting new places and ticking off a few more European city breaks is up there. My absolute dream is to go to South Africa and go shark cage diving followed by a safari trip. South Africa has everything, from mountains to beautiful beaches and incredible wildlife.  

Favourite podcast?

I like to listen to something very light-hearted whilst commuting into the office. “That Peter Crouch Podcast” is my top choice. An easy listen but always a great laugh.  

What’s the one quality you need most to be a successful Account Manager? 

I’d say strong level of communication. Building relationships with clients (and your colleagues) is vital to almost everything. Without that you’re going to struggle to get through your day. Keeping in touch regularly during the working week (and even on a personal level), scheduling chats and taking a general interest in their role(s) will always stand you in good stead.