Account service is where account executives and their bosses, account supervisors, work. Most of the day-to-day work is done by the account executive. He has to be a salesman when his agency presents a client with the solutions to advertising and/or marketing problems. He also needs to know a little about marketing, copywriting, art direction, production, and media, so he can intelligently converse with an advertiser when that client doesn't understand something or wants to make changes in the advertising the agency presents.
An account executive has a tough job. When the agency says the advertising should be done a certain way and the advertiser wants to make changes, the A.E. is the one in the middle. He's got to make sure the advertiser is happy with his advertising program, but he's also got to make sure his agency is happy with the program. This means he's got to work hard to make sure the agency and the advertiser agree easily on solutions to problems.
This is not an impossible task. First, because top management at most agencies loathe to disagree too vehemently with an advertiser for fear of losing his business. And second, because most advertisers will respect their agency's judgment and professional opinions. That's why they hired them in the first place.
Nonetheless, because an A.E. is the go-between for agencies and advertisers, he does put up with a lot of headaches, most of which don't come from top management at either the agency or the client. They come from the people in the trenches. The manner in which an A.E. can handle these day-to-day situations goes a long way in determining how well he earns his keep.
If an A.E. works for an agency that has earned its reputation by creating brilliant ads, then he invariably runs into problems with a client who wants to write a headline from time to time. This type of agency is more concerned with making an advertiser successful than contented, and that can spell problems because there are clients who would rather have their egos inflated than their wallets.
What if an A.E. works for an agency that's earned its reputation for keeping an advertiser happy, no matter what, even if they might feel an ad isn't actually what they would recommend if it were their own product they were trying to sell? Then there's a different set of circumstances for the account executive to deal with. In this case, he's got to deal with the folks at his agency who works on the advertising for that particular account.
Since an agency's philosophy is determined by top agency management and not by its advertisers or employees, an account person is likely to have minimal problems with a copywriter who doesn't like to have his copy rewritten. First, because most copywriters who can't live with those restrictions don't work for those kinds of agencies; and second, because any copywriter who kicks up too much of a fuss can lose his job.
Even though those kinds of decisions are made by the bosses and not the A.E., the day-to-day hassles can wear on an A.E.'s nerves. (They can wear on everyone's nerves!) Through it all, the A.E. still has to coordinate all of the efforts of everyone in the agency-the art directors, copywriters, producers, the people in research, in media, and in marketing. And he has to make sure everyone works together to solve the advertising and marketing problems of a client.
Obviously, you don't just wake up one morning with the knowledge and experience it takes to do the job of an account executive. So, if an A.E. is what you want to be, you'd better make your peace with the fact that you're not going to start out as an A.E.. You'll have to work your way up to that position.
Since most agencies have done away with trainee programs for account people (in which you spend a few months in each department to learn the business), you'll start out as a Jr. Account Executive if you're lucky. A Jr. A.E. assists an account executive in just about every area of his job, from making telephone calls and following up on the details of a project to perhaps even handling a small aspect of a project himself. In short, a Jr. A.E. does whatever needs doing, and he does it until he knows enough about the business to move up to greater responsibilities.
If you want to apply for a job in the account service department of an advertising agency, you should call an account supervisor. You can find out just who is an account supervisor at what agency by simply looking through the Advertising Red-book. If you can't get to an account supervisor, try an account group head. If you can't get in touch with the people with obvious titles in any of those areas, try an account executive. In smaller agencies, where things aren't as layered, you can try either the office manager or an account executive.
No matter what size agency you try to get into, though, you'll need a resume which simply and quickly presents your background. A genuine sheepskin from the college of your choice won't hurt either. Your degree could be in almost anything, but most aspiring young A.E.'s come out of school in business administration, marketing, merchandising, or communications.
