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Account guy here.
I’ve seen that “sense of entitlement” at PR firms.
But as for dedicated agencies, I would say this.
In my experience, it’s about trust and approach.
If an account person has built trust, has demonstrated they are about the work and that they have a good sense for it, a good creative partner will welcome the input and evaluate it.
I have seen some creative people who are better account people than the account people.
I have seen account execs who have a better creative sense than the creatives.
Don’t make a hard and fast rule. Judge each one as they come, and evaluate their input as it comes. Try to be objective.
But to be clear, any situation where an account person is “telling” a creative what to do with the work is not great, and a symptom of bigger problems (which could be weak creative leadership).
OP, if the account person has a valid point, then they have a valid point. The fact that the CD has seen it already is irrelevant. To your example, if an image is not right for a certain reason, it’s not just the account person’s right to say so, it’s their job. If it’s truly a subjective thing, then it’s an opportunity for you to have a conversation with them about it, so there are fewer unnecessary and annoying things in the future.
I bet the account person would benefit from the chat, and it would be better for everyone.
I would say it’s pretty common for some of them to try and play creatives. If the feedback is rooted in a legitimate concern pertaining to the business goal and brief or like past client reaction to certain imagery, sure that’s valid and appreciated. But it’s if purely subjective they can stay in their lane or take it up with the CD lead.
Ignore them. Or point them to your ECD. You don’t take their orders. You own the agency’s product.
It’s the sign of a bad agency and bad account leadership if the account people make subjective creative (or strategy!) recommendations and expect them to be actioned. By all means have an opinion, but respect the decision making authority to be from those in the right positions.
I actually think it’s quite common and to be honest, good account people are good account people, they’re not necessarily morons so why wouldn’t they have some POV on the project when the client is in THEIR ear most of the time anyhow? Agree I hate it when they’re playing art director but realistically this is not usually the case. As long as they’re respectful and collaborative I think it’s fine & can be helpful even. It’s not called teamwork for nothing. But yes, pulling them in at the right moment is key, there are definitely times where production & creative work best first undisturbed/without involving Account just yet.
Pretty normal if their concern stems from client feedback/pov
So common that they should be the creatives
I have this sick dream where im at an agency and the account team doing this type of shit is forced to be the creatives on a high stakes pitch – and then we film the presentation and watch it over and over for a great laugh. Also, if they lose the pitch they are executed by firing squad as an added layer of fun.
Pretty rare where I work, although I'd imagine it's often specific to the particular account person.
Here’s across the board. One big reason I’d like to find another job.
Lately, all the time.
What are you referring to as “a piece”? An idea in a deck? A mood board?
It’s pretty normal if a CD is newer and doesn’t know the client or category that well yet. Sometimes CDs don’t know all the client triggers, and they don’t really want to tbh, so they rely on account to watch their back.
If you trust your account person then it’s never a problem. That trust comes over time though. This is your CDs problem though, and if the CD doesnt care, then either the CD values the account pov (has the trust) or they are just a bad CD and you should consider not working for him/her.
Very common. There is always one or two account people whose opinions matter.