Advertising Account Executive

An advertising account executive works on behalf of an advertising agency to bring in new clients for its business. These executives serve as a link between the advertising agency and its clients. Their main job is to sell the agency’s services through the use of an advertising campaign; during the campaign, an account executive will work together with the client to make sure all work is done on time and within a specific budget. The account executive usually reports to a manager or supervisor concerning the status of the campaign.

In order to create a successful campaign, an advertising account executive has to conduct extensive research. You could say there’s a three step sequence involved: finding the target market, developing the idea to market the product or service, and selling the advertising campaign to the client.
Finding the target market– This is done based on information from the client and the advertising agency’s market research department.
Developing the idea to market the product or service– Before doing this, an account executive must have a good understanding of the client’s product or service, competition, etc.
Selling the advertising campaign to the client– This may require a lot of time and patience in order to meet the client’s expectations.
Once a campaign has begun, account executives will monitor the quality of advertising as well as sales from the advertising. This is important for both the advertising agency and the account executives because the results of the campaign could secure future business for the agency, or a loss of a client’s business.
In addition to their primary responsibility of selling an agency’s services, account executives in advertising are involved in other activities of a campaign such as setting up meetings with clients and the advertising agency staff. You can find a full list of these activities on a link provided below (the second one).
To become an advertising account executive, you need at least a bachelor’s degree; however, large advertising agencies desire entry level job candidates with a master’s degree in business administration. Candidates who also have experience in sales, advertising, market research, or advertising research may have a better chance of obtaining an account executive job. One way of gaining this experience is said to be through an internship. Because the job market is competitive, it is suggested that job candidates apply to the advertising agencies they want to work for. Account executive jobs are expected to increase with a growing population and as more opportunities for advertising become available.
On average, an account executive in advertising makes $64,513; the starting salary is $58,640.
Advertising account executives are the link between an advertising agency and its clients. They are a key factor in the success or failure of a campaign. Their work requires creativity and an ability to manage a campaign from start to finish.
Sources
http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/649/Advertising-Account-Executive.html
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showocc&pageno=1&idno=239
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_SM15000200.html

Originally posted by William Frierson