Any advertising company is made up of a number of different departments/ components which form the big picture. The main purpose of an advertising company is to provide its clients with solutions to its marketing needs; in terms of print ads, written ads and video ads etc. But any advertising company cannot function only with one department i.e. the advertisement management department. One of the many other crucial departments is the accounts management department. The advertising account management hierarchy thus refers to the management structure of the advertising company’s accounts department. An elaboration of the advertising account management hierarchy is given below:
Account Director:
The account director is the head of the accounts department of the advertising company just like the creative director is the head of the creative segment of the company. The AD is responsible for the overall management of the company’s accounts and its structuring. All the accounts the company backs are to be overseen by him. In many instances, the AD is also required to pitch new ideas to the clients along with the creative director.
Account Manager:
Next in line to the Account Director is the account manager. This is a more senior role, though inferior to the AD position. This individual is assigned to be the main point of contact for one or more accounts/ clients. He is responsible for every sort of functioning of the accounts he is assigned, including the day-to-day operations. He is the one who is in direct contact with the client and has to get client appropriations.
Account Planner:
The account planner is more critical role in comparison to other account manager and account department executives. He is responsible for being consumer centric while the account manager has to be more client-centric. So the account manager takes care of the needs of the clients while the account planner takes care of the needs of the target consumers.
Account Executive:
The account executive or the AE is next in line to both the account manager and the account planner. This individual works in a more intimate proximity of the client whose account he is handling. The individual is answerable to the account manager who is heading the account that the AE is working on. Though a very rare thing, a single AE may at times be working on more than one account from the company’s clientele. He is the one to execute the pitches, the budgets, and the day-to-day running of the accounts. This why the individual has to have a deep understanding of the client needs, client’s business and the assignments he is given.
Account Coordinator:
At the bottom of the advertising account management hierarchy is the account coordinator position which is more of an entry level management position. The account coordinator job responsibilities and duties in most advertising companies will comprise of numerous small, regular, day-to-day administrative and management tasks. This position being at the bottom of the hierarchy is stated to be the stepping stone to the AE position and the progression thereof.