How to recalibrate traditional mindsets for digital agency work

Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in a new advertising landscape—digital marketing.

I recently made the switch from account management at a traditional advertising agency to the same position at a digital marketing agency. The function of these positions is essentially the same at their core: acting as the liaison between the client and agency team.

Given this, I figured my new job couldn’t stray too far from my former in terms of necessary skills and responsibilities.

Traditional vs. digital advertising responsibilities

At a traditional agency, creative teams help craft brand strategy and execute messaging through mediums such as television commercials, print ads, radio ads, billboard ads and online display banners.

The main role of the account management team is to keep work flowing in the agency and also to help keep new work coming into the agency through establishing strong relationships with clients. With this comes a wide array of day to day responsibilities. As an account executive, I built timelines for campaigns, helped write creative briefs, communicated with partner agencies, trafficked creative deliverables, helped manage budgets and overall helped to ensure that client expectations were met.