Tête-à-Tête Tuesdays with Molly

I am excited to introduce Stephanie Retcho, Managing Director at TBWA/Chiat/Day. I won a lunch and industry chat with her through AWNY’s yearly silent auction hosted by their Young Executive committee and she was kind enough to share her insights and expertise.

What’s your background?

I've been working in advertising for more than 15 years now. I started out on Bell Canada at Leo Burnett in Toronto and then moved to New York. I've worked on everything from The Ford Motor Company and Jaguar to Nextel, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and now touching many brands at TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York. I also did a stint as a client at Sirius Satellite Radio.

I graduated with an Arts degree and began work in travel and later as a copy writer for a software development company as well as an editor for a small publisher in Toronto before getting into advertising.

How would you describe the difference in culture and experiences between working for a smaller agency or medium sized versus a larger firm?

Both have strengths and weaknesses. While larger shops generally have greater resources and infrastructure, smaller shops most often allow for more innovation. Culturally, either can be entrepreneurial if you have the right drive. It's a matter of having a vision for the agency and for your clients.

What are some important skills and ways of approaching situations to be a successful account manager? Or advice on collaborating with a group of people in a professional environment?

There are two fundamental skills at the core of everything an account person does. These were synthesized for me by a mentor and they still apply today - be a leader and know your client's business. You need to have a genuine interest in understanding what your client does and how to sell it to others and you need to have the chops to get in front of things and try to solve them. If you don't want to pick up the phone and address a situation that needs to be addressed, don't be an account person.

In addition to these two base level strengths, you also need foresight to know what needs to happen next, and the ability to view situations laterally and understand what is going on around you that will impact what you are doing.

Where do you see advertising going in the next five years? Will print and television ads still be relevant?

I have to go against the common trend today and say that TV will still be a very powerful medium. I think print already has, and will continue to, transition to being the written word in alternate media, but as much as people say the :30 second spot is dead, it continues to be one of the most impactful media options that exists. I think the key to the future will be about the connection between TV and other media. There are wonderful examples of TV inspiring incredible work in other media and great business results, like the recent work from Old Spice.

And finally, you’re sitting across from a potential candidate in an interview. You’ve decided that you’re gong to hire him/her. What are the top three things they did that got them the job?

The most important quality to me in a candidate is the ability to engage in a non-rehearsed way on the spot. If I ask a question, I don't want to hear a canned response. I want to hear what you think and see you have a new idea, in front of me. That can't be rehearsed. Beyond that, what I don't want to hear is that you think being an account person is a facilitation role. We don't facilitate - we lead.That's not 3, but that's what I look for.