The Art of Account Management: Why Alyssa Drysdale Always Brings a Sprinkle of Optimism

Alyssa is client services and operations director at Spin, a social media agency creating industry-leading social content and campaigns.

Alyssa has worked in the social sector for 15 years with experience across a broad range of verticals and brands including Disney, Pringles, Stella Artois and De Beers. Alyssa specialises in building bespoke agency teams to deliver on client needs, focusing in on social-first strategy and content.

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

Alyssa> After studying journalism at university, I decided I wanted to get into PR to use my writing and people skills so started my client services journey as a PR account manager. It seemed like an exciting and fast moving industry which would challenge me but also allow for growth.

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

Alyssa> I love understanding and working with people and find great satisfaction in problem solving - both key attributes of any client services professional. There’s such a perfect mix of business and creative skills needed, which suited me well - I was always a bit of a hybrid creative/academic, never focusing in on one side of the coin. I’m also the organiser in my circle which is of course key to agency life in account management.

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

Alyssa> I have two pieces of advice - firstly, be yourself. This is a people-led role from both an internal and external perspective and they need to buy into you - trust yourself, your judgement and experience and it’ll get you far. Secondly, always show ambition - whether that’s in your vision for your clients, the agency, commercials - be realistic but with a bit of optimism sprinkled in.

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?

Alyssa> Lack of initial alignment can be a big issue - and I mean true alignment. Are we as a client and agency team in total agreement on what we want to achieve both long and short term, on services and deliverables, costings and ways-of-working? Regular face to face time together to really work through this together is key.

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

Alyssa> Transparency, honesty and communication. Both client and agency alike need to be committed to giving each other these traits and from there, real partnership can form - and success naturally flourishes from there.

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?

Alyssa> Disagreement is natural and healthy in our industry - encouraging diverse opinions gets us to the best outcome. And I think with passion comes emotion - which isn’t a bad thing. But coming into those discussions with respect, self awareness and curiosity is absolutely key. 

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? 

Alyssa> A good client services team should feel like an extension of the brand team, switched on to what the brand wants and needs and why. We are the internal brand guardians and it is our job to ensure we have all the information we need in order to successfully fulfil that element of our role. Coupled with this, good creative working relationships are all about good chemistry and fit. So if you have these components, there won’t be any unnecessary tension between creatives and clients - only healthy discussion.

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?

Alyssa> You can’t be an expert in all verticals so lean on and trust those who do have the specialisms but also remember that the key to successful campaigns is one overarching ambition and strategy that all areas will work into.

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?

Alyssa> I am really passionate about helping brands transform their marketing approach to be far more social-first - thinking about culture and audience rather than brand. These projects can take months or years to make a true impact so it’s first about those small steps - proving how this approach can work on a micro-level - and then getting in-front of the senior decision makers in businesses to build that case over time.