The Art of Account Management: Never Stop Learning with Nadine Hadidi
Nadine Hadidi is an accomplished group account director at VML Germany, who has a track record of managing high-profile accounts across the EMEA region. Nadine has been part of the WPP network for over eight years, where she started as an account manager at JWT back in 2016. Before joining WPP, she began her career at a Fortune 500 company, where she was groomed in marketing and communications.
This foundational experience provided her with a deep understanding of the brand world at the highest standard.
Nadine is known for her leadership skills; building and nurturing high-performing teams, and fostering a collaborative and positive work environment. Her adeptness at client relationship management, strategic planning, production, and international brand coordination are credited to years of dedication and multi-disciplinary communication experience, which has established her as a respected figure in the field.
LBB> How did you first get involved in account management and what appealed to you about it?
Nadine> The appeal was at the time centred around working in a creative industry, in a young environment and a routine that was not mundane. The learning experience and environment that an agency offered were something I had longed for.
The truth of the matter was, that despite my business background, I have been dabbling in comms my whole life. Some of the skills and side gigs I had before joining the agency were blog writing, voice-over recording, translation, and other skills that made the agency work familiar and thrilling to me.
LBB> What is it about your personality, skills and experience that has made account management such a great fit?
Nadine> Working with people, getting to know them, and understanding them is a big part of my personality and skill set that has come in handy while working in account management. Being able to foster an environment that celebrates people and builds them up is my forte.
LBB> What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting their career in account management?
Nadine> My advice is to focus on honing your communication skills first and foremost and maintaining a relentless curiosity. Never stop learning, as this will enable you to have meaningful conversations and gain a holistic understanding of the challenges that you, your team, and your clients face.
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?
Nadine> Reflecting on my most challenging experiences, I believe time constraints were often at the heart of the tension. Especially in new partnerships, the pressure to deliver results quickly can hinder the natural development of trust and understanding. Given more time, these relationships could flourish without the added stress.
LBB> And what are the keys to building a productive and healthy relationship?
Nadine> Very much like our personal lives, the keys to building a productive and healthy relationship are clear communication, consistency, and our ability to receive feedback. Open dialogue ensures everyone is on the same page and receiving feedback openly builds trust and understanding.
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?
Nadine> Disagreement and emotion are inevitable and, when handled with care, understanding, and respect, can lead to better and stronger relationships. Productive disagreement can be fun and challenging as long as it remains honest and humble, it helps us uncover new insights and build deeper connections.
LBB> Historically, account management has been characterized 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?
Nadine> Seeing the relationship as purely adversarial ignores the collaboration potential and great experiences we have. Effective account management builds trust and aligns goals, transforming conflicts into productive partnerships.
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?
Nadine> It requires the right people, and a clear game plan that all stakeholders understand and champion. It is also crucial to educate all team members on the process from the very beginning. Having a clear roadmap helps ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
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?
Nadine> It's difficult to say which I am proudest of, as I was fortunate to take part in a lot of exciting work lately. However, our team has done some great work for Coty. Inc. that will be launching later this year and I am thrilled about it. I am certainly proud of the Inheritance campaign by Beko which was a triumph earlier this year.
The common challenge was the level of agility at speed we needed to work at to meet important business goals for our clients' brands.
