What's the most important function in any marketing agency? Is it outstanding creativity that cuts through all the noise? Or perhaps insightful strategy that opens up new opportunities? Well, according to at least one senior marketer, it's actually account management.
In a recent session at AdAge's Digital Conference, Gayle Troberman, Microsoft's Chief Creative Officer, made the point:
"The single most important piece for success for agencies we work with is actually orchestration. Account management is the most important function in our agencies, not creative."
Now, as a someone from the creative side of the fence, you'd expect me to at least raise an eyebrow at this. There is a significant difference between getting stuff done and getting the right stuff done. There is an even greater step up to getting stuff done that makes a real and lasting difference to the brand and to sales. To be blunt – the ability to manage crap well, doesn't stop it being crap.
Now of course there's a flip side. The best ideas in the world are useless if they are not brought to fruition. And, today, there are so many stakeholders involved in every major project that old-school silo mentality must surely be consigned to the scrapheap. But to place management above ideas and strategy seems wrong-headed to say the least.
Clients as conductors
To really make this work, clients need to take on the orchestrating role Gayle talks about in a far more active way. If they are to use an range of specialist agencies rather than one of the monolithic ones, then they must take the lead. In fact, given the turf warfare I've seen in many of the large agencies, they need to take more of a lead there too.
Project management is one of the most fundamentally important elements of any agency. If you are shopping for an agency make sure they have that nailed. But project management alone will not deliver sales and will not grow your brand.