Understanding the advertising business inside out is vital, for it is they who must be aware of all the numerous restraints imposed, not only by the advertising industry itself through the Advertising Standards Authority and The Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA), but also by the manufacturers of products in sensitive areas. For example, those of the proprietary medicines industry, represented by the Pharmaceutical Association of Great Britain (PAGB). Here there is a maze of rules about what you can and cannot do and say but these are infinitely preferable to the alternative control through official regulations and legislation.
They should be familiar with the work of all their colleagues in media, research and production. Insufficient knowledge of the latter can waste a lot of money. Executives need to know how to lay on services that are outside normal agency routine: how to set up a direct marketing operation; organize an effective exhibition; or lay on a cabaret at a salesmen's conference. Being a good and persuasive talker is a must for this work as you may have to get up and speak at a sales conference or at an agency presentation. The telephone may ring at any moment and an account executive will be expected to know when a client can see the 'Answer print' of their new commercial or proofs of the latest press advertisement, so complete knowledge of the minutiae of the client's business ready at his finger tips is required.
Above all, account people must be able to get on with everyone colleagues as much as clients. There is no way to do this but to earn their respect and to remember that they, too, can be hard pushed. You never know when you may be asking colleagues to perform 'miracles' and they won't take kindly to being ordered about. There is next to no hierarchy in advertising, so you may be in charge of the account in the managing director's eyes, but an experienced creative person won't consider that you are 'senior' to him. This phenomenon actually adds greatly to the congenial atmosphere of an agency and encourages friendship and good relations at all levels.
There are no hard and fast rules for becoming an account person. Previous experience in advertising or marketing is obviously an advantage but it is possible to become a junior account executive without it although you would have to expect to be something of a dogs body at first.
Competition is keen as the way curricula vitae are now employers, is an eminently valuable asset in work where detail and exactness are essential. In my experience, women often have greater stamina and are able to handle comfortably the long, often arduous hours of agency work better than many of their male colleagues.
Don't think for a moment that the women are all on the creative side of the business. Some are managing directors of large international operations and others the best 'account men' in advertising. Good looks and youth never hurt your chances of success whether you are male or female. As to age, one of the most successful writers in British advertising was still claiming awards and enjoying the loyalties of major clients when she was over sixty.
Account direction
An advertiser's business with its agency is known as an 'account', and account people are the men and women who run it on a day to day basis. How many such personnel there are in an agency and exactly what they are called depends on the agency, but there will probably be, reading from the top position down, an account director, perhaps an account manager, an account executive, and an assistant account executive.
These are the front men and women who deal with the client at appropriate levels of seniority, interpreting the client's wishes to the agency and the agency's solutions to the client. At worst an account person could degenerate into a mere messenger. At best, he or she is crucial to the successful running of several accounts and, therefore, the agency.
What sorts of people are successful in account services? They represent the agency and so should be personable, likeable and a good mixer, successful with the client on and off the set. They should be trusted and respected for their grip of the job and their good judgment. At the same time they should know how to order the right meal and whether, when work is done, they should take their client to the opera or a night club or let him go home. They should be able to immerse themselves in their client's business, whether it is making machine tools or convenience foods or selling unit trusts. They may well have to take detailed briefings and relay them to the creative department, so memory and an articulate mind are essential.
Account executives must have a head for figures and a feeling for spending the client's money wisely because they may need to the price you are expected to pay for a varied and entertaining job with an above average wage.
There is a 'down side" to this aspect of a career in advertising for the long hours can and do interfere with attempts to strike a balance between work and play, career and home. There are prices to pay for success in many fields, but in advertising the demand on your waking hours is great. The idea that people in agencies start late in the morning, dash off a campaign idea, have a long, expensive lunch, and then go home early is a myth.
While high pay is not a myth, it is not as high as is generally supposed but if you turn into a super advertising star, the sky's the limit. On the other hand, well paid or not you will not enjoy great security. The profit margin in advertising is surprisingly low, currently about 1 2%. Staff costs are high. If an agency loses a valuable client spending millions, it may well be necessary to dismiss staff. The ups and downs of pay, position, and reputation are all part of the game in an advertising career. The story is told of two top executives from different agencies that would wave to each other, one from his chauffeur driven Jaguar and the other from his Porsche, as they passed on the M4 when buzzing up and down to important clients. One day, they met in the second class compartment of a train unemployed but taking the bad days as cheerfully as the good, knowing that tomorrow probably would find them enjoying the material rewards of advertising yet again. In advertising, no one is ever 'safe'.
Many advertising people increase their salaries by changing agencies. This is common practice, but it is a mistake to overdo it. A prospective employer can view too many changes with suspicion, often rightly. When you start working in advertising get a few years of solid experience with one agency under your belt.
Women in advertising
In a modern advertising agency women are welcomed in every department. Advertising is not alone in offering a fair and square deal to women, for public relations and other service industries in the communication field all offer unrivalled opportunities for women to complete on real and equal terms with men. Indeed, as the majority of consumer 'buyers' are women, a woman's point of view is most valuable and a woman's capacity for detail, at least in my opinion and that of many.
