SVP - Global Marketing & Communications | Robosoft Technologies - The Experience Engineering Company
The 90s and early 2000s ad agency account executive are fortunate in many ways. Account management folks in the ad agency environment of the 90s and early 2000s learnt a lot from peers, seniors and clients. My take on various ways in which we benefited: Lots to learn from Manager, Boss and Super Boss. They led from the front whether it was selling creative, recommending strategy or fighting the good fight. Many had great persuasive skills in communication and ‘selling’ the idea or an investment plan. Some of them gave it back to clients when they ill-treated some of the agency juniors. They commanded respect from client-in-chief. When I got into a managerial role, I felt I was a shade of the bosses I had - Importance of writing skills. Those were the days of the memo. And written creative briefs. Media requisitions. All of it had to be written cogently. Seniors invested in writing & presentation skills workshops. So we learnt the art & importance of writing well. - Presentation skills. We had to ‘sell’ campaigns, scripts, annual plans and such like aside from pitches. We observed how some of the great Creative Directors ‘planned’ and sold their ideas - it was mesmerising - Cost of mistakes. PPTs were made on 35-mm slides or acetate sheets on Overhead Projectors (look it up on Google). So a typo discovered after the slide was made, meant running to the vendor again. An error in a printed ad (I have had my share) meant a make-good which went from the agency’s pocket. Checking copy word-for-word against an original or through someone else was common. So prevention is better than cure was practiced. What else would you add if you had your advertising basics from back then? #advertising
Jaydeep Shetty
5mo
The halftone, quarter tone artist in the studio was the most important guy for black and white advertising. And waiting for the typesetting was such a pain. The junior most account executive had to do it. And was treated so badly.
Those were the days. While it was not defined, the art of selling creative to a client was in fact storytelling at its best. What a glorious period was. The early to mid 90s. Yup, the humble AE was the postman or woman across departments. Esp the studio and to the client. From the mid 2000s the agencies started to lose their sheen. Bhavneet Bhalla Jermina Menon MRICS
jonam bocaj
5mo
Libraries. Agencies had libraries.
Seema Chawla
5mo
1. The paper-memo pads with actual carbon paper. You messed up, you had to write the whole thing again, and you went back to the “bottom of the pile”, so you checked and re- checked all requirements. There was no “Reply All” 2. The one page printed creative brief form: you wrote in pencil and then wrote again in pen. That one page is all you got. No flipping over, no second page. That was it. 3. AORs - Understanding and execution of the art and science of the Promotion part of the 4Ps - media and creative and servicing all going in together. 4. Servicing being taught that their account was a business, and it was their responsibility to come up with ideas that served the brand and enhanced billing for the agency. 5. Collections: if you weren’t on first name basis with the client’s accounts department, you were going to spend many days sitting in their reception waiting for your cheque.
Shilpa Khare
5mo
Ethics. Of advertising. Of dealing with clients, vendors, own team (super seniors and juniors). Of writing a mail. Of dressing (even accessories). Of language. Of tone. Of body language. Of design. Of copy. Of judging. Of creativity. Codes. Morals. Authenticity. Ownership.
Chethan Shenoy
5mo
Guard books. Minutes of meetings. Job list meetings. Primary research at retail stores on products and with consumers. Frequent visit to their offices for meetings. The list can go on! 😊
Shantesh S Row
5mo
The dread of waking up one morning to see your ad in the TOI and hoping to god not a full stop was out of place, because you knew your boss would be calling you to his cabin that morning as soon as you reached office.
Anumita G.
5mo
Very true! So many to add - I had bosses from this era and they made sure I got to fall in love with advertising as much as go through the grind of what they had been through - Minute of the meetings within 24 hours - importance of timings, checking and rechecking artworks for every inch on the screens, reading and re-reading mails before they left the inbox - importance of checking and ownership and who can forget the newspaper deadlines for artworks to reach them... I have had my share of stress trying to reach the Times of India office in peak Mumbai traffic by 5 pm ( if I remember correctly holding the disk with the artwork and the print out with all the signatures)... phew! But all this and more helped us to fall in love with this industry!
I was late to the party, but the 'thought process' was the main takeaway. No one teaches 'how to think' now. The way the agency thinks about brand and communication in itself was a novelty
Minutes of the Meeting. Most underrated, avoided document.