The Art of Account Management: Being Your Real Self with Olivia Packshaw

VCCP born and bred, Olivia joined the agency as a graduate working on VCCP's flagship airline brand, easyJet. Over the years, she has worked on a range of different accounts across sectors including Royal London, Aunt Bessie's, Which?, The Football Association and Canon as well as winning WACL's Future Leaders Award in 2015. Olivia had the privilege of enjoying a secondment to VCCP's New York office where she helped win and embed their lead client at the time, T-Mobile. She returned to the UK in 2017 to re-join the easyJet team and in 2020 led the Walkers pitch win from 22 year encumber, AMV. Running VCCP's 110+ strong account management team and some of our biggest client accounts has deservedly seen Olivia’s shortlisted as 2021's Account Person of the Year in Campaign Awards.

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

Olivia> I am VCCP born and bred starting my career here on what was then the graduate programme. As well as enabling me to try my hand at another company within Chime, I got exposure to a number of departments in my first six months. Although planning nearly tempted me, it was in account management that I found my forever home. Drawn in by the opportunity to see work from a mere glint in the clients eyes to live in the world and staying for the pace, the problem-solving and the people, account management felt right for me. 

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

Olivia> I am passionate and enthusiastic by nature, which can go a long way in account management. I have grit and tenacity, which you certainly need. And I like people which normally helps. 

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

Olivia> Work hard, make friends and most importantly, enjoy it. 

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?

Olivia> Even the best agency/client relationship can have tricky moments. Creative work is not a simple or linear process. You can often move two steps forwards and one step back when time is rarely on your side. And great work is scary. It comes with risks on both sides. Trying to shepherd that into the world can be tricky and put a strain on relationships. The best clients know this and know you all want the best work. If it’s great... it is always worth it. 

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

Olivia> Put simply - trust and honesty.

LBB> What is 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?

Olivia> Part of being an account person means bringing who you are to the workplace. Being your real self, being authentic. Of course, ideally the best parts of your real self but you get the point. Well my authentic self is an emotional one. I feel the work in creative reviews. I feel the emotions of my clients and my team. I think this makes me better able to connect and to sell. I think it plays a part. I am not sure my bosses would always agree. 

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?

Olivia> It can be, of course. But mostly I feel like times have moved on. Great client agency relationships don't just exist between account people and clients. It's a team effort. Goals and ambitions are mostly shared so even if you might need to mediate the way something is said or shared, the relationship rarely feels adversarial.

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?

Olivia> It is more complex than ever and structures of marketing functions can add to the complexity at times but, at VCCP, we always strive to challenge that complexity and simplify. And if you have those foundations of trust and honesty with your clients, exposure to this complexity offers a chance to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. After all, it only works if it all works.

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?

Olivia> I am always proud of the work we make on easyJet, a brand I have been involved with for four or so years, and of the relationship that we have with that brand and the clients. Helping them through the pandemic and out the other side to make better work than ever is such an achievement for all involved. I was extremely proud to be part of the pitch winning team on Walkers, taking on the account from a 22 year incumbent, and leading that business at VCCP ever since. It is an incredible British brand and a national treasure. Beyond my clients and campaigns, I am extremely proud of my current role and the responsibility it gives me over our over 120 person strong Account Management department. It is a department full of the most talented and hardworking individuals imaginable and it is an absolute privilege to manage them. What a bunch of total legends.