The Art of Account Management: Matt Bonny on Knowing What Good Advertising Looks Like

Matt is head of account management at BMB, where he has been for the past four years. He leads multiple accounts within the agency, namely the FREENOW, Nike and Farrow & Ball accounts, as well as working across new business pitches. Before this he worked at VCCP on Domino’s and Unilever.

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

Matt> I had just watched the classic Nike ad ‘The Cage’ for the first time - I had no knowledge of advertising or what it entailed but I knew I wanted to be involved in whatever that was. Years later, leaving university, with only slightly more information about what a career in advertising entailed, I undertook a series of work experience placements at some great agencies, and it was then that I decided account management was the job for me. 

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

Matt> I think the most important skill that has helped me through my career is an obsession with creative work and making the best possible ads we can – I’m forever chasing my own ‘The Cage’. That and I think I’m good at understanding people. In account management, your job is reading people, be that internally or with clients. Understanding what motivates them, what helps them - I think a lot of the time not enough emphasis is put on the people behind the brand, the ones that are actually buying the work – understanding what makes work buyable gives the work a much better chance of getting made.

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

Matt> Know what good advertising looks like. 

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?

Matt> I think trust or the lack of it is the thing that sits at the heart of difficult relationships. This goes back to my earlier point about understanding the people behind the brand – no one sets out to make things difficult, but we work in an industry that does a good job of over-complicating itself at times and if you have a good, trusting relationship with your clients you can have honest and open conversations when difficulties arise.

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

Matt> It’s much like any relationship and whilst I’m sounding like a broken record, it’s trust and openness. Have a difficult conversation, be the one to simplify when things seem confusing, and be a genuine partner not only in your projects but in their business. 

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?

Matt> Disagreements are natural in any walk of life and it’s naive to think you won’t ever disagree with people in your agency or your clients. We work in an industry where everyone has an opinion and rightly so. A huge part of account management is mediating, and you must have the ability to work through the disagreement and take the emotion out of situations at times.

However, we shouldn’t stifle emotion - as soon as you stifle emotion you end up creating resentment, which is only negative. Emotion should be acknowledged but channelled in the right way, that gets to the best result for everyone and especially the 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, is there any nugget of truth in that or is it wildly inaccurate? 

Matt> I think it’s completely true. We are in the unique position of being involved in all parts of the process and with all people. I think successful mediation is key to building trust with everyone, take no side but understand all. However, I don’t think it should all be down to account management. I think the best agencies in general are also great mediators, juggling what is best for the brief, best for the client and ultimately best for the work. 

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?

Matt> Strip the complexity away. It’s too easy to overcomplicate, be that in processes or the conversations we have. It’s often said, but people use complexity to hide a lack of understanding, if you can simplify to the point where everyone can understand it means you truly know what you are talking about.

I’m a huge advocate for agencies being involved in client’s business beyond the marketing function. It’s how we work with our clients, and they appreciate it. Agencies have the benefit of working across multiple sectors at any one time, so we see when things are done well and when things are over complicated. If we can help a client simplify their business, we go from just being an executor of campaigns to a true business partner. 

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?

Matt> There are multiple projects I’m proud of over my career. The most recent one is the new campaign we launched for FREENOW. It was a pan European launch, so we had to consider nine different markets, but it was also a complex production process as the AV was full animation. We had to manage multiple stakeholders as well as our client team, but the end result was a bold, distinctive and creatively ambitious campaign that moved the brand from a functional mobility company to an established brand. 

Also, Farrow & Ball. Very soon after winning the account, Saturday Night Live ran a parody skit about the misconceptions about the paint being delicate. The client was fully on board with responding with our own tongue-in-cheek full page ad in the NYT. We have since produced a range of campaigns to dispel the myths – including highlighting how F&B Consultancy can help homeowners to be confident with colour, to reassuring overly protective homeowners that their paintwork is washable and more durable than they thought. Our work together grew the business, and won a D&AD Wooden pencil, plus British Arrows and Kinsale awards. It is a great example of a successful business/agency relationship, built on trust. 

Lastly pitching and winning Nike was a nice full circle moment. There were no international footballers and no cages but it was a career bucket list moment for me personally.