The successes and failures of these efforts are a different story. The industry is growing, and businesses are spending fortunes on ad campaigns. As a result, ad agencies are recruiting some of the brightest and most-creative artists, copywriters, marketers, researchers, and economists.
This challenging fusion of business and art attracts many intelligent people to advertising. Account managers, media planners, copywriters, art directors, production managers, researchers, and media specialists form teams that deliver communications solutions to clients in order to help clients achieve their business objectives.
Client Service Departments
Ad agencies’ client service departments foster communication between clients and ad agencies. Client service executives, by making use of their agencies’ creativity, help clients achieve promotional objectives within specified budgets and time schedules.
Client service executives are responsible for overseeing all aspects of their clients’ ads-from strategy to concept and, ultimately, to execution. Efficient client service managers make sure that ad campaigns are profitable for both the clients and the agencies.
Client Service Executives’ Duties
Efficient client service managers know their clients’ businesses thoroughly, in addition to knowing the entire process of advertising. Usually, they perform the following tasks:
- act as liaisons between clients and ad agencies
- communicate clients’ needs clearly to ad agencies’ teams
- coordinate the efforts of different departments in order to fulfill clients’ objectives
- understand clients’ products or services, the market, and consumers
- understand clients’ promotional goals in terms of sales and market share
- help media departments develop media strategies
- communicate their agencies’ recommendations to clients
- prepare the creative briefs that creative teams use to produce ads
- oversee every stage of ad production
- ensure that ads are completed on time
Client Service Executives’ Skills
In any department of advertising, those who succeed are passionate about their work. Agencies usually try to hire intelligent people with degrees in commerce, economics, law, or the arts. Ad agencies also value degrees in business management. However, more than degrees, employers in this industry look for the following skills:
- good communication skills
- analytical skills
- problem-solving skills
- people-management skills
- project-management skills
- presentation skills
- negotiation skills
- statistical analysis
- tact and vision
- flexibility
- ability to work under pressure
- decisiveness
