How would you feel saying, 'howdy neighbor', each morning in-house with a client? Would your job be hampered or helped by the close proximity? Our guest today, Allison Baumann, has managed several accounts in this unique office setup that agencies are known to sometimes utilize. Coming at us straight from the ATL, here's a little about what Allison had to say:

• Advantages & disadvantages when your office is the same as your client's
• Why, regardless of your office situation, educating clients on their own industry is key to being an effective partner
• Quick tips on keeping yourself educated when you're not up in flames from client fires
• Alexa vs. Siri, and how Amazon search growth should scare Google

Email Allison: Ambaumann272@gmail.com

At the time of recording, Allison was at O&M. She has recently moved on to Adrenaline Agency.

The summer heat is well underway, and whether the weather causes you to stare at your phone more than usual or not, chances are you've already stumbled across multiple articles from Buzzfeed today, which is where today's guest, Natalie Cerabino, joins me from for a unique chat on being a Suit at Buzzfeed. What's on deck, you ask:

• A few housekeeping updates from yours truly
• An under-the-hood look at servicing clients at Buzzfeed
• How a flat, not hierarchical, managerial structure can lead to greater collaboration & responsibility (as long as it fits the company)
• Why tailored content is still king
• How Buzzfeed has fared thus far with Facebook's major algorithm changes earlier this year

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If the account service dream is to work with a client for years without end, then that deam begins with a solid foundation from the beginning. Luke Stafford, owner and CEO of Mondo Mediaworks joins me today to talk about handling those key moments between winning the business and transitioning to the standard agency team to build that solid client/agency relationship cornerstone:

• The need to pinpoint a new client's business goals early on, and never swaying from them amidst new campaign and/or ad opportunities
• Being looped in to the new business process early to ensure smooth transition when an account is handed off to the Account Manager/Account Executive
• Effective ways to build trust to further solidify a client's confidence in the agency team

Find Luke on... LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukeqstafford/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukeqstafford?lang=en

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It's ironic how easy it can be to stop communicating in a communications industry like advertising. Avoiding the pull to silo up in agency departments is key in keeping a spirit of collaboration and keeping all ad agency personnel in the loop on your clients. Being in a client-facing role means your colleagues in other departments will only know what you tell them about your clients.

Megan Paquin from &Barr offers excellent insights on the above and more from her PR background:

• How to balance managing clients directly day-to-day vs. delegating to employees under you (if you're in a management role)
• Using transparency to avoid agency silos and encourage idea creation
• Diving deep into the evolution of PR, including the state of influencers in 2018

Megan's bio: http://meganp.andbarr.co

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With March Madness in full swing, there's no better time to drop an episode with a sports theme. In the ad agency space, being in an account management role requires us to be rock-solid referrees. Client needs will always be constant, but referees must also be effective in managing the home team internally.

Today's episode features plenty of laughs. MaryKay Scott from Marketing in Color chats with me about balancing many of those internal-facing questions we face commonly:

• Adhering to agency processes, while knowing when to go outside of them on specific projects
• Keeping meetings focused and preventing them from drifting to being time-wasters
• Keeping the inherent tension between creative and account teams in check

Email MaryKay: mkscott@marketingincolor.com

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You could say we account managers work in the middle of a hurricane, balancing multiple masters amidst each crazy day. Being an effective, calm eye means tackling difficult client conversations well while diagnosing what trends to watch for in 2018.

Drew McLellan is well-known in the agency world for his years of experience both leading an agency and coaching others. He joins me in today's episode to talk about the above and more.

AMI Research & Resources: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/agency-tools/agency-edge-research-series/

3 Traits in a Great AE: https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/traits-account-executive

Email Drew: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com

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In the heart of downtown Birmingham is one of the coolest agency offices in the US, home to Kinetic Communications. Like, working in an old train car station turned night club turned agency, cool.

Today's guest is a Project Manager there that fantastically recalls transitioning to a digital agency from a full-service one, the need to stay collaborative when other agencies are working on the same client, and what it's like to work in such a darn cool office.

CAUTION! This episode contains a mild plot twist with our guest.

Take a virtual tour of Kinetic for some inspiration: https://www.kinetic.com/the-company/virtual-tour/

Picture courtesy of Kinetic's site/Google maps.

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Many suits and other agency folks yearn for the chance to work with big brands. But what's it like to work with one that's firing its agencies, cycling through CMOs amidst re-brand attempts, and eventually finding its footing again with consumers, all within a few years?

This is a tale of Wendy's you won't want to miss, in addition to other epic suit topics, from an Account Director who's keeping it weird in Portland.

Get in touch with Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-huling-aa06634/

Yes, that's one of my chihuahuas in the episode artwork.

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What happens to agencies during economic downturns? How can you inspire your creative team instead of just passing down menial project details? Should you consider mentoring (or being mentored by) another Suit?

Above are some of the topics covered in this fantastic discussion with Tom Smigielski, an Account Supervisor who brings 20+ years of agency & account management experience to today's episode.

Get in touch with Tom: toms@ndp.agency

Watch Shine: The Legacy of Roanoke’s Ad Men and Women: https://vimeo.com/191185195

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First episode hype! Chantell Glenville, Marketing Consultant & Author of What Clients Really Want, chats with me about her experience with agencies after going client-side and several topics all centered around approaching issues from the client's perspective.

Fun fact: She comes from the great city of London but currently lives in Bali (yes, she fared just fine from the recent volcano activity).

As a thanks for listening, download Chantell's 8 Tips to Improve Attention to Detail at masteringaccountmanagement.com/suitscast.

Got a question for Chantell? Email her at hello@masteringaccountmanagement.com.

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New to Suitscast? This mini-episode will give you the lowdown on what this show is all about.

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