Account Director

Answer 1

In the world of advertising the position of Account Director may also be called an Account Manager, Account Executive, or Client Service Director, although some agencies make these separate positions. The Account Director is responsible for overseeing the complete advertising process. Affectionately called “Suits” in the Ad business, Account Directors help the client put together a cohesive marketing strategy and they follow that strategy by writing the brief, understanding the clients business from top to bottom, and overseeing all the production aspects of the advertising campaign.

In order to handle the workload an individual must be a great communicator, a strategic thinker, and have a sharp eye for detail. Along with those qualities an Account Director must have solid presentation skills so creative concepts and marketing strategies can be communicated to clients on a regular basis. The Account Director usually reports to the Group Account Director who oversees several accounts or to the Client Service Director who is in charge of the Client Service Department.

The Account Director’s duties include understanding the client’s marketing objectives in terms of market share, sales, and competitive products. Ensuring that the project is on time and is within budget are also important aspects of the job, and so is being able to solve client marketing issues as well as making sure the account is profitable for the agency and the client is getting expected results from the agency.

Advertising agencies look for energetic graduates with a degree in marketing, business, commerce, economics, law or art. Candidates with a double degree or a MBA are valuable entry level assets and are paid accordingly. The average salary for an Account Director is around $100,000 per year, but some Account Director’s average much more than that with larger firms. Most agencies pay $50,000 to $60,000 to start.

New grads may find it difficult to get a job with an Ad agency so they take a position in the sales or marketing department of another company to gain the experience that most Ad agencies require. There’s also AdSchools for industry newcomers that offers an Account Management courses. Most AdSchools also offer advanced Account Management courses for senior executives because the Advertising business is constantly changing to meet client’s needs.