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Hi everyone! I am working in Tata Consultancy Services Limited and getting released from my project by 31st Jan and I'm looking for project with onsite opportunities. Please do let me know if any openings available. I have 1.5 yoe. Skills - Network Automation, RPA(Automation Anywhere), Python, Power Automate, Cisco meraki, Zscaler. Willing to learn new technologies as well.
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Mccann creatives - what are the good groups?
Thoughts on having PMs manage media teams?
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Zero. AM is a repetitive non-product based add on. In reality with a stream lined process you could remove all of AM and just have Strat, creative, PMs and production. The only true AM you really need is head of growth just because that is a truly important FT that yields tangible results.
Hard to trust anybody who thinks that process is the answer to all of our problems
Oh yeah, clients love interfacing with PMs who can't understand why their project plan isn't reality, Creatives who can't take feedback, and Strategists who either regurgitate client briefs or are Diet Creatives.
BS you have to insulate them because you don’t know how to sell anything. You don’t understand concepts. That’s the problem with 99% of AM these days. The art of selling to a client is gone because you all aren’t taught how to sell. Clients don’t trust you because of that and because you’re always trying to sell other services they don’t need.
Guess who's in charge of the budgets lol
I’m aware, but the hiring/dept bias is insane. Why not invest more into departments who deliver stuff? Because they’re usually lean enough as is with overworked people. Just shows it’s about gathering department power vs making the work better.
You need so may account people because they’re now less “managing” the “account” in the classical sense, and more like project managers. It’s much higher touch, with more client side layers and overall volume to wrangle than ever.
The degradation of the discipline is also one of the single biggest contributors to the current state of the industry.
A great account person is worth their weight in gold.
If you’re referring to my comment, I didn’t put the current state of the industry on the backs of account people.
Agree with this, ECD1! I’ve seen more fluff in account than any other dept in my career. Good account buddies of mine will even admit their depts are bloated. This is especially bad in my current spot where I’m often one of 2 creatives on a project with 3 or more account people, and we’re lucky if one of them has a handle on the project/client. I know account folks put up with a ton of client nonsense behind the scenes, not to mention hand holding our sensitive creative asses. And the good ones that actually push the work/defend the creative/manage it all well are truly worth their weight in gold. But I’ve come across maybe 5 of these in my career. The majority schedule meetings, relay client feedback, and push back on us when we push back on the feedback
Usually a sign of agencies still running on the fumes of retainers. We rarely have more than one account person per client, even for $10M+ clients. Theres no room in the budget for more.
Wow. This thread makes me so happy I went client side after a decade of AM.
But if you’re looking for a ratio, I generally staffed teams at 1 AM person per $1.5M in agency fee.
There is so much behind the scenes work that happens to ensure you can do your job - and so much more to ensure your work makes it past the first round.
Yes, there are terrible AM people, as there are terrible creatives, and this an industry where you can “fail up” based purely on time in job, but a good account person is worth their weight in gold (as is a good creative).
Collaborate. Work together. Give mutual respect. And try to have some fun.
They sure do - and I would argue those smaller clients require MORE time because they want to feel like the big fish still - but good luck getting head count approval.
With as much as AM bills hourly (not what they actually make), $1-$1.5M per head always seemed to be what shook out.
Now - Keep in mind with smaller accounts, most AM (heck most of the team) was also working on other accounts - so that $1.5m at 1/3 of their time is only $500k.
I can also see the flipside if your Creative department are a bunch of typical Creative weirdos that would scare the client away. Then, yeah, you need an Account team to act as therapists 😂
and then the token producer is somewhere scratching their head wondering how this scope got approved and how the creatives are being completely unrealistic about what they want vs budget LOL
It’s a fair question and I'd also ask it if I didn't have 20+ years being a creative person living the account life professionally. The truth is that account roles aren’t just about managing timelines or relaying feedback. A good account team functions as the strategic and operational backbone that connects client objectives, creative execution, and business performance. In the best situations, an account lead also has a good, solid creative perspective as well.
When structured well, account people ensure the creative team can actually focus on the work, by managing scope, budgets, stakeholder alignment, approvals, and the constant flow of changes that happen behind the scenes. Without that layer, creative teams often find themselves spending more time chasing information than creating.
That said, I agree that the ratio can be 'off' in some organizations. When agencies over-layer titles without clear responsibility distinctions, it creates unnecessary hierarchy. The healthiest model I’ve seen is one where account roles are right-sized to the complexity of the business with fewer layers, and more critical thinkers who understand strategy, creative, AND client needs.
When done right, which is a tricky balance to achieve for reasons of staffing and available talent, strong account management doesn’t add “fat”, it protects both the creative process and manages the stressful aspects of client relationships so the work can shine, the agency can profit, and employees get paid.
On the flipside, being on the account lead and having weak support from creatives, strategy, or PM is about as stressful as it gets. No one has an easy job in the agency world aside from a founder finally getting their payday and selling to a conglomerate.
I highly recommend making a goal for yourself to meet and build relationships with your account people. It will benefit you in the short and long run.
If you ever dare go client side, prepare for 14-18 people to attend every creative review. 2 are CDs, one is an ACD, one is a designer. I can’t explain the rest.
They're “brand strategists”. Don't ask what they do.
Next time you are "concepting (i.e., flipping through award show annuals for "inspiration")," take a look at the creative credits for many of your most beloved campaigns. Did it really take two ECDs, three GCDs, four CWs and two ADs to make that :30 TV spot? Alternatively, you could just shut up and get back to work.
Goodby has 4-6x more account people than creatives? I find that very hard to believe. Agencies aren’t in the business of losing money so if layoffs are happening, you’ll see who is actually valuable and who can easily be replaced.
"Hard to believe" is an understatement. In my 11 years in the industry, I've worked for three of the four big holding companies. I've never seen a ratio anywhere close to that.
Clients understand account people better than creatives, unless the client is a creative run brand, so it’s easier to justify the spend. Creatives have a somewhat undeserved reputation for self indulgence and account people are the trusted whip. I have also found the most pain comes from negotiating the yearly budget and managing all the projects creatives aren’t aware of (like a lot of social and pure tactical spends). And here’s the worst part: account people and creatives have the same ego and rizz stats, they could probably do each others jobs, but they’ve developed complimentary needs for client validation.
Hm asking an account person to pick up the slack for creative, never heard that one before 🤔
Just to clarify: this post isn’t about whether account people are needed or valued. Good ones are increasingly rare and it’s a hard job (maybe even the hardest) wrangling everyone behind the scenes to keep things running.
It’s about that department often being bloated, or irresponsible decisions like hiring more account folks on an already sizable account team while non-account folks are laid off leaving their counterparts even more stretched. That doesn’t make sense to me in terms of hiring or scoping.
How many account people does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
I’ve never worked at Goodby but I’ve worked at other big agencies you’d know. Having been both a CD and an AD I can tell you both work equally hard. Just because creative is the product does not mean account people don’t work. If you don’t know what they (and strategy, etc.) do then you don’t really understand the business and you are limiting your future opportunities. I suggest you take some interest in how the business works, not just your part. Besides, creatives bitching about account and vice versa is a cliche.
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Generally seems like 1 per should be sufficient.