The Art of Account Management: Why It Truly Does Take a Village with Julian Rocco

For over two decades, Julian has collaborated with restaurant and retail clients. He’s spent the past ten years at H/L building brand equity and cash flow for McDonald’s restaurants across New England and the Southeast. With a sharp eye for detail and a passion for client service, Julian leads development of strategic recommendations that resonate with local consumers. When he isn’t occupied with client requests, he enjoys cooking, fishing, and sailing.

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

Julian> The first job I landed out of college was at a promotional marketing agency where I started as an account coordinator. My first client was in the exciting world of plumbing control valves, but I soon expanded to clients in a wide array of industries: footwear, pet specialty retail, premium cigars, and restaurants.

This was my first experience working within an agency, so I soaked up knowledge from the seasoned veterans around the office. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the importance of a call report recapping key discussions in a meeting; however, over 20 years later, I still appreciate my boss at the time marking it up with her red pen so I could make it even better. (We sure did kill a lot of trees back then.)

The fast-paced nature of the business, aligning cross-functional teams on the same goal, and being able to see tangible business results from campaigns drew me to account management. No two days are the same and there is always a new challenge to solve.

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

Julian> Being a good listener, practicing diplomacy, willingness to dive deep into analytics, attention to detail, and performing calmly under pressure have served me well over the years.

Some of these skills were honed working as a caddie at a world-renowned golf course when I was growing up; others while navigating challenges during offshore sailing races. (Those are stories for another day.) Ultimately, it comes down to strong communication skills, asking the right questions, leveraging data to make decisions, and treating everyone with respect.

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

Julian> Be a sponge. Study your client’s industry so you become an expert. Read their industry trade publications. See what their fans and competitors are saying on social media. Be curious and ask lots of questions.

It may seem trite, but also “Be Nice.” Treat people with respect—even if you don’t see eye-to-eye. Leverage data to influence those with differing opinions. Recognise that nothing can sour a client relationship faster than a bruised ego.

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?

Julian> Lack of respect often lies at the heart of difficult relationships. If someone feels they aren’t being heard or their feedback is being dismissed, it can harm a healthy working relationship.

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

Julian> Strong communication. Establish a steady cadence of touchpoints and use them to make sure everyone understands what needs to be done…and why. Memorialise key decisions in writing so stakeholders have a record of what was decided and the rationale behind it. Hold everyone accountable to following through on deliverables. After a program ends, debrief on what worked well, what could be improved, and whether the project delivered the desired results.

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?

Julian> There will always be disagreement and emotion…particularly when you work with passionate teammates and clients. Strong teams are adept at calmly addressing it and influencing through thoughtful POVs based on data and analytics. Thankfully, we have an amazing Insights 360 team and an equally amazing analytics and engineering team at H/L to collaborate with—even if they occasionally tire of me asking “Can we look at the data just one more way?”

Plan communication touchpoints to hear concerns and discuss how they can be addressed while staying true to the program vision. By taking the time to truly listen to someone (whether in person or by picking up the phone), you’ll make a lot more headway than firing countless emails back and forth.

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?

Julian> When clients thank our account management team for a job well done—be it a profitable new product launch or an engaging plan presentation—I respond “Thank you—it truly does take a village.” Success is never the result of one single person; it’s due to a team working in harmony toward a common goal.

At H/L, we have incredibly smart and talented people. One such group is our H/L AI ThinkTank. They interact in a Slack channel in which I quietly lurk in the background. Admittedly, I only understand a fraction of what they discuss, but it’s exciting to see them experimenting and exploring this new space. I truly learn something new each day.

To harness the collective brainpower and maximise efficiency, strong communication routines are crucial. Also, don’t underestimate the power of a good, old-fashioned status report.

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?

Julian> I’m quite proud of a recent talent development initiative at H/L. Working as part of a cross-functional team within the agency, we built out standardised career paths and a visual career ladder for every agency department. Each career level includes an overview of the role and key milestones indicating when someone is ready to move to the next level. 

It took lots of collaboration and conversations to ensure it works across all agency clients. The result is a clear and useful tool that helps everyone better understand growth opportunities. It also fosters more impactful career conversations during 1:1 meetings so we can keep growing strong talent at H/L.

Aside from that, our PR team recently wrapped up an inspiring project for our McDonald’s of Atlanta clients in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities. What started as an inkling of an idea on a conference call eventually came to life as a contest inviting families to create artwork representing “What Ronald McDonald House Means to Me.” Working with stakeholders from three different legal entities and navigating countless legal approvals was certainly a challenge.

Hearing the winner’s story, seeing them receive a $5,000 prize, and ultimately having their artwork enlarged and posted on high-profile OOH billboards around Atlanta was nothing short of inspiring. Grateful for a strong team that pushed through hurdles to make it happen and to our McDonald’s clients for funding this project to tell the story of how Ronald McDonald House Charities helps keep families with sick kids together.