Art of Account Management: Building Trusting Relationships with Karin Carlisle
Karin Carlisle is the head of accounts at The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz’s inside agency. With over 15 years of experience in account services, she leads the account team and helps build strong relationships within Kraft Heinz. She works with strategy and creative teams to deliver strategically driven, award-winning creative that drives business results across 15 brands.
As head of accounts, Karin leads with empathy, strategic problem-solving and well-timed dad jokes. She fosters trusting relationships within The Kitchen and with brand partners, grounded in a foundation of clear communication and transparency. Beyond her role at The Kitchen, Karin is passionate about mentoring industry peers and staying abreast of the latest trends and innovations shaping the advertising landscape.
LBB> How did you first get involved in account management and what appealed to you about it?
Karin> I’m one of those few people who went to college and got a job in exactly what I wanted to do! I’ve always had a creative drive, but lacked the talent, and was interested in advertising as a teen and into college – I just always thought it was cool and it was THE “it” job in a lot of early 2000s movies.
Interning at my uncle’s ad agency in Idaho really solidified my love for the industry and showed me how robust and rewarding account management can be. I loved being ingrained in the creative process, working with clients and building relationships and honing my problem-solving skills.
Nothing is more rewarding than finding a new or unique solution for a problem and feeling like a hero. Graduating in 2009 was a pretty tough year to get into advertising but I eventually made it into my first account role and haven’t looked back since.
LBB> You work in account management for an agency that is purpose-built for its client. How does this influence the way you approach your role?
Karin> Working for an internal agency has lifted some of the duelling roles you play as an account manager. I’ve been able to shift my focus from balancing the agency’s interests with the clients to aligning entirely on the brands goals and working in service of those.
Because we are all truly on the same team at The Kitchen, you can have more honest, open conversations to get to truly collaborative solutions. It takes the weight of providing for the agency off and enables us to build deeper, more meaningful partnerships with our brand teams.
LBB> With that in mind, what are some of your key responsibilities?
Karin> As the head of accounts, I am really focused on cultivating strong relationships with our brand teams and ensuring our teams are meeting business needs. I work closely with the account team to establish consistency and foster partnership with strategy and creative to help bring the brand perspective into to the work while also championing the work we are presenting.
LBB> What is it about your personality, skills and experience that has made account management such a great fit?
Karin> My approachable and relatable demeanour, coupled with a penchant for dad jokes, has helped me build strong relationships with brand teams. Bringing your authentic self makes it easier to have real conversations and work through challenges, and I can’t be anything but myself. Understanding that clients are people too; I strive to empathise with their needs and concerns, making them feel understood and valued and encourage my teams to do the same.
Additionally, my love of puzzles and finding solutions aligns well with the problem-solving nature of account management.
LBB> What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting their career in account management?
Karin> Watch and learn! Observe experienced account leads and how they are and aren’t successful with clients. Each manager I’ve had has had their own unique style, and by understanding their methods, you can adapt and refine your own approach.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to account management, so take time to identify what works best for you and your clients and try out different methods until you get to a place that feels right for you. Success in this role comes from building trusting relationships and a willingness to continuously learn and adapt.
LBB> What are the keys to building a productive and healthy relationship between client and agency - especially when both are technically part of the same company?
Karin> Establishing clear communication and transparency is key to any productive and healthy relationship between client and agency. The barrier to establishing such a relationship is less when you start out feeling like you’re on the same team but it’s equally important regardless of any agency structure.
When working with brand teams it’s important to have regular check-ins with open dialogue, alignment on clear goals/objectives and ways of working together and be adaptable and open to discussing differing opinions and solutions to problems. All of this, paired with consistent follow-through, sets the stage for a productive and healthy relationship.
Lastly, account teams need to truly understand the brief and work being presented without always needing other team members present. It’s my firm belief that, with a strong foundational relationship, account can help sell in great work when clients are hesitant as a trusted partner who acts in service of the work and can help dissuade or discuss concerns before a client is ready to move forward.
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?
Karin> Disagreements are a natural aspect of any working relationship, including those between clients and agencies. As an account lead you are the face of the work to the client and it’s a crucial part of your role to work through disagreements effectively.
Successful account managers can step back from an ‘us vs. them’ and especially a ‘me vs. them’ mindset, and instead focus on identifying the underlying issues at a deeper level as it relates to the work or differing expectations from the client.
By taking emotion out of it you can get to a quicker understanding of the core of the disagreement and therefore a quicker solution. A productive disagreement is a process where both teams feel heard and valued which then leads to a collaborative problem-solving and can often result in even stronger work.
LBB> Historically, account management has been characterised as the mediator in an adversarial client and creative relationship - what do you make of that characterisation? And how do you view it from your perspective at The Kitchen as part of Kraft Heinz?
Karin> I think 'mediator' is a very high level, shallow, understanding of accounts role. Accounts are much more than a go-between client and creative teams – they are strategic partners who work in service of driving creativity with a rooting in business objectives and collaborating/problem solving to get to the best solution with the best results in service of their brands. They foster open communication, build trust, and champion the client's vision while advocating for the agency's expertise.
Relationships don’t start adversarial and, in my experience, only end up that way when you haven’t built respectful relationships and can’t work with both the client and internal teams to navigate brand expectations and business goals together.
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 Kraft Heinz navigate) that complexity?
Karin> A good account manager is a jack of all trades. We aren’t experts in everything but should know enough to be a little dangerous and know when to bring in the experts in service of getting to the best solutions for our brand teams.
Fostering strong relationships within all applicable departments of both The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz, and the other agencies we work with externally and understanding the best time to tap into them is a core skill for account managers. Seeing a solution to a problem as a diverse patchwork with various approaches is what ultimately delivers on the best and most innovative work.
Lastly, keeping a pulse on the ever-evolving advertising landscape is also crucial to staying adaptable and agile.
