Karine Payette’s Approach to the Art of Listening

Karine Payette is the vice president, client services at LG2’s Montréal office. With over 15 years of experience in account management, she has been an integral part of the agency since December 2015. Her trademark is her strategic mindset, but her secret weapon is her love of creative products and ideas.

Starting out her career in event planning, then audio-visual production, before moving into advertising, Karine excels as the right -hand to her creative and client teams. Her passion is fuelled by the intersection of creative product, business acumen, and anthropological insight into consumers.

She leads multifaceted national and Quebec-based mandates, with notable long-term partnerships, – including a relationship of trust with Les Producteurs de lait du Québec for more than a decade, and provides key leadership on accounts such as Keurig Dr Pepper, Éco Entreprises Québec, Mondou, Loto-Québec, Gestion FÉRIQUE, and several others.

She has also been at the helm of major strategy and campaign initiatives across sectors – from food and beverage to environmental organisations – which have earned numerous industry awards and strengthened the presence of beloved Quebec brands.

Karine recently sat down with LBB to look back on these 15 years in account management, the benefits of allowing more daring ideas to rise, and the secrets to fostering long term working relationships…

LBB> How did you first get involved in account management and what appealed to you about it?

Karine> I’ve always been drawn to art direction – whether in films, advertisements, or print design – which is why I knew I wanted a career in creative work. But I have to admit, I'm really bad at creating things myself. And since I'm good at organising, it became clear that the place where I would thrive most would be as a right-hand person, helping to bring someone else's ideas to life!

Looking back, I know that what fuels my passion for agency consulting is the combination of creative product, business strategy, and consumer understanding – the anthropological side of things!

LBB> What is it about your personality, skills and experience that has made account management such a great fit?

Karine> I think the most important qualities are listening and curiosity. Really listening. The kind that allows you to understand what lies behind what is explicitly asked, and helps you to sense when what is said is not all there is to know. I have always been someone who listens more than I speak. I think that in account management, by really listening, you can understand the risks and address them before they even arise. This allows the most daring ideas to come to life, because you limit potential points of friction.

LBB> What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting their career in account management?

Karine> Work hard, stay open -minded, and trust that opportunities will come. In this industry, you can quickly see who is focused on the success of the project, versus their own personal success. I believe that team success leads to much greater things.

LBB> Thinking back to some of your most challenging experiences you’ve had in your career, what do you think tends to lie at the heart of the more tense or difficult client-agency relationships?

Karine> Lack of alignment. This is where communication comes into play, as well as strong relationships. I believe that when we truly listen, we understand what our clients want to achieve, and in our role as an agency, we must ensure that we help them achieve it.

Continuously ensuring that we share the same goal and communicateing transparently about the reasons behind our recommendations is, in my opinion, the best way to avoid relationship issues.

LBB> And what are the keys to building a productive and healthy relationship?

Karine> Showing that you care. Treating the client’s business as if it was yours. It’s OKok to challenge or disagree, but when you feel that the other one cares about the business, the conversations are easier.

Also, anticipate. Clients have a lot to manage. I believe they all appreciate rigorous follow-ups, well-structured timelines, and potential pitfalls being anticipated. Positioning yourself as an extension of their team and making their lives as easy as possible is key.

LBB> What’s your view on disagreement and emotion - is there a place for it and if not, why not? If so, why - and what does productive disagreement look like?

Karine> I think the key is to focus on the goal we are pursuing. It's a fact, and we can debate the best way to get there, but when we talk about the goal, it depersonalises the debate, leaving room for frank conversations and disagreements without making it personal.

I think we need to keep in mind that the client usually has a different point of view. There is a whole other work reality for our clients, including internal stakeholders, shareholder pressure, and so on, that colours the debate. I think that being empathetic and, above all, understanding these considerations, allows us to better arrive at win-win solutions.

LBB> Historically, account management has been characterised as the mediator in an adversarial client and creative relationship - what do you make of that characterisation, is there any nugget of truth in that or is it wildly inaccurate?

Karine> I think that in a relationship, everyone has a role to play. I wouldn't say that account management is the mediator, but, sometimes, simply because the idea wasn't created by account managers, it allows for a distance that helps move discussions forward. It's only human. The tenacity of creative people can pay off. So, I really believe that the trio is what makes it work. I don't see it as linear with accounts at the centre, but rather as a trio.

LBB> These days, agencies do so much beyond traditional campaigns and as account management you’re pulling together creative, experience, data, e-commerce, social and more - and that complexity can often be mirrored on the client stakeholder side too? What’s the key to navigating (and helping the client navigate) that complexity?

Karine> Throughout my career, I have always focused on my clients' businesses. I’ve never felt that traditional campaigns were at the core of what I was doing. So, I think that staying aware of everything that can affect consumers and our clients' businesses allows us to remain relevant on these issues.

Then, of course, it's about surrounding yourself with the right experts, and not keeping client relationships to yourself. Our role as account managers is to be generalists so that we can advise, but also to know which experts the client needs to solve their challenges and to facilitate those meetings.

LBB> What recent projects are you proudest of and why? What was challenging about these projects from an account management perspective and how did you address those challenges? What was so satisfying about working on these projects?

Karine> I cannot fail to mention the privileged relationship of trust I have enjoyed with Julie Gélinas of Les Producteurs de lait du Québec for over 10 years. Julie is an exceptional client, so I don't deserve all the credit for my management skills, but I would say that the challenge is to stay connected to her issues year after year, never fall into autopilot mode, and always allow myself to see the brand with fresh eyes. It's something that drives me. And what's so satisfying is seeing that when the relationship of trust is there, it allows us to have frank conversations, seize opportunities, and bounce back quickly.