Blog Posts - Account Management
A place where we discuss the communication industry and give our insights on advertising, website development, graphic design and strategic planning.

5 Tips from a New Coordinator
By Texas Creative
I’ve been working as an Account Coordinator here at Texas Creative for about 3 months now, and boy, have I learned a lot. So whether you’ve been in the industry for years, are just starting out, or are considering a career in account management, I hope these tips and tricks help you on your way.
1. Write down everything
No seriously, everything. Take a notebook with you to every meeting, because at some point, someone will say something you’ll need to remember. Taking notes at every meetin

Conducting a Photography RFP: Keep the competition fair and respectful.
By Texas Creative
I appreciate the talent of a good photographer. It’s a profession that deserves a lot of respect because to make a livelihood out of it requires a lot of talent, business savvy, and hard work. Technology drives the industry and that particular field is constantly evolving. It’s an art form that I personally once toyed with making my career, but it was not in the master plan for me. Instead, I found myself working in the advertising industry where I regularly hire photographers to creat

What Is a Traffic Manager, and Why Should Your Agency Have One?
By Texas Creative
The average agency can be a hectic place, with multiple teams working on everything from media plans, social media posts, creative strategies, website builds, to page layouts. A Traffic Manager ensures that all work from the account service team flows efficiently to the creative and production departments, then back to the account service team and out for an agency’s clients to review (and hopefully love).
A Traffic Manager’s job centers around three primary responsibilities:
Deadlines
Wh

Retainer vs. Project Estimate which is better for your business?
As an agency, one question we get often from both new and existing clients is how do retainers work and do I need one? This is something that, as the Accounting Manager, I help the account team at the agency evaluate for clients regularly.
Below, I outline the differences between a monthly retainer and per project estimates. This will hopefully answer any questions you may have about the differences between the two, the advantages and disadvantages to each approach, and possibly help you d

To Research, Or Not to Research.
By Texas Creative
The idea of conducting market research can seem overwhelming and expensive. I recently had the privilege of helping conduct market research for one of my clients and it has been an extremely educational and eye-opening experience for myself, my internal team and my client. Because market research has been a huge part of my daily life lately, I thought I would share with you the three reasons why you, as a brand, should invest in market research.
Market research bases your communications strategy

Timesheets Are Sexy
By Texas Creative
A low grumble moves throughout the building... My group email has just gone out out to remind everyone to make sure all their time has been entered for the month.
It’s understandable, since it makes some people feel micromanaged while others believe minutiae, like recording time, takes valuable time away from their “actual job”. Furthermore, if you haven’t kept a running tally, trying to remember what you’ve worked on and for how long can take as much time as the actual projects; not t

The Met Gala: Hollywood’s Ultimate Creative Brief
By Texas Creative
Hollywood was recently briefed on a creative marketing project – The Met Gala. Fashion’s biggest night in Hollywood gives us a glimpse into how celebrities respond to the same creative challenge. This year the task at hand was “Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
I am (humbly) assuming the role of the client as I select the winning creative idea. I will be analyzing who spent time thinking about the meaning behind the Gala’s theme, who jumped at the first obvious solution, and

Facebook's 3 Customers
So much talk about Facebook these days – in the news, in the office, on the playground. Like it or not, it’s become ubiquitous.
In a single day two weeks ago, I went from watching Congress grill Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg on a live-stream from my office, to learning just a few hours later from my social team that one of our client’s Facebook accounts had been put on hold due to a “suspicious credit card on file” (an account with the same corporate credit card in use for over a ye

5 Tips to Strengthen Client Relationships
By Texas Creative
Last time you saw me here in the blog-a-sphere I was writing tips for clients who were looking to partner with agencies, that blog can be read here.
As I was spending time thinking about what blog topic I wanted to tackle this time around, I felt drawn to the importance of building strong relationships with CURRENT clients. While it is common in the advertising agency world to focus on gaining new business, taking care of the business you already have is key to long-term success. Below I have ou

3 Tips for Improving Your Agency Billing
Like most people, I was drawn into the world of advertising agencies because of the excitement in the everyday—something I am not sure most accountants would say about their job.
When people think of advertising agencies, the first thing that comes to mind might be super bowl commercials, big bucks, or perhaps the uber-talented Don Draper of Mad Men. I would assume that one thing people are not quick to think about are the complexities and questions that can come from an ad agency accoun