I work at a mid-sized agency, and I feel like I’m constantly stuck between protecting creative and pleasing the client. Senior AMs, have you figured out how to push back without damaging the relationship in the long term? I want to be more proactive with protecting the creative team, but I find myself more afraid of the clients side.

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That's a large chunk of the job, unfortunately. The trick is to always make the clients heard but if what the client wants isn't the best thing for them it's also our job as their agency to give them a better solution. It can look like "hey here's version 1 which follows the brief to the letter but here's version 2 and these are the changes we made, rationale behind the changes, and why this will be beneficial for you"

Now this comes off as double work but in the long run has worked to at the very least arrive at a compromise that makes the client happy and isn't butt ugly.

So yes, you work for the agency, but it's your client's money that you're spending to get the work done. If they want the ugly work then that's what they want.

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Ensure creative sells it to you. You can use some of that with the client. If your client can feel that you heard their concerns and needs, you should be able to convince them that you are looking out for their best interests and those of their brand.

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Remember who you work for.

Hint: it's not the client.

Definitely the ugly part of the job. When I was in accounts, I was ruthlessly protective of my creative team. But, I was always tactful in how I pushed back against the client. Most clients have short term memory unless it’s a risky big Brand play that could affect their career and internal reputation.

Most of the time, push back looks like compromise, as AS1 said. But when bigger changes are made that make the creative look unrecognizable, don’t be afraid to lean on your lead creatives and strategy team to push back (with TACT, of course). It lets your teams know you’re going to bat for them and they are being heard.

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