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The great captains of modern football are so much more than just the guy in the armband who calls the coin toss. A captain of the quality of Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane and Bobby Moore are players who lead by example and unite and oversee a team to ensure it meets the management’s objectives, wins games and lifts trophies.
If you’re thinking of a career in advertising, relish challenges and have excellent creative, organisational and communication skills, maybe you should consider the role of an account executive. Here’s our guide to what exactly an account executive is and what the role entails day to day.
Pre-match
The best football captains liaise with the manager to best understand the strategic aims, objectives and requirements before the game. It’s not simply a case of saying we need a win, the captain and manager must discuss and understand the opponent to understand how to best achieve the win and the captain must then ensure this strategy if filtered down to players and implemented effectively.
Account executives oversee advertising campaigns and liaise with the client and the individual players involved in the agency. The account executive is involved creatively and strategically to devise and implement a brief that meets the client’s brief and budget.
Account executives meet with clients to present the advertising agency’s brief, so you need good sales and communications skills, much like Roy Keane contributing to Alex Ferguson’s pre match preparation and Steven Gerrard communicating with his team mates on the pitch to make sure they’re all sticking to the plan.
On the pitch
Just like the football player wearing the captain’s armband, the account executive plays a crucial and creative role on the pitch, overseeing the players and ensuring the team has the unity to execute the game plan.
Where a football captain will have a maximum of two teams to shepherd (their club and maybe their national side), an advertising account executive can be overseeing up to three or four advertising campaigns at once, which is a lot of clients, copywriters, art directors and other creatives to keep on the ball and playing together.
Once the staring whistle is blown it’s largely down to the captain to keep an eye on the team and ensure everyone knows what they’re doing – confusion and frustration can lead to bookings and red cards costs games.
In front of the camera
If the team wins the title, it’s the captain who lifts the trophy. Likewise, if the game doesn’t go well, it’s the captain who answers the media’s probing questions at the post match press conference.
An account executive needs to manage expectations and ensure clients are happy at the end of the match; returning clients are more valuable than new clients.
Advertising account executives jobs represent a demanding role in the team of an agency, but the returns and challenges make for a rewarding career for the right person. The best captains in football work closely with management and players to take the team to the top of the league.
James Anderson is a Freelance Copywriter for Brand Republic and a Liverpool FC supporter.
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