Opinion

Suits: less popular than pest controllers

Naren SanghrajkaAdvertising suits have a thankless job that is currently being eroded by the changing industry says Naren Sanghrajka in a piece that first appeared in Encore.

Not in my wildest, craziest nightmares would I ever have thought I’d say this. But I’m going to. Being a bean counter is far more appealing than starting as a suit in advertising. There it is. I said it. I actually said those words.

Yes, it’s incredibly depressing. But it’s true.

Last week the most wanted job, according to an article published by the Wall Street Journal, unsurprisingly wasn’t to start a career in an advertising agency, but surprisingly it was to become a bean counter. Not just any type, an actuary, the type that assesses the physical risk and cost of floods, volcanoes and bush fires.

Whichever way you look at it, that’s someone who sits in front of a screen all day, modelling numbers, geeking out on pivot tables and then leaving at 5.30 to (presumably) go home and crochet. That’s the job people actually want, rather than to start in advertising as a suit. US website, CareerCast, ranked 200 jobs according to physical demands, work environment, income, stress, and hiring outlook. Out of those 200 jobs, being an advertising account executive ranked 124.

Not that bad, I hear you say. Well, let’s put that into context for our industry. Recruiters came in at 69 and PR execs bagged 73rd place.

Even more remarkably depressing is when you consider that being a funeral director and a pest controller are also more appealing (ranked at 116 and 95). That’s right. Digging holes, burying people, killing rats and vermin are more appealing than starting as a suit in our industry.

A few months ago an article was published by Y&R worldwide planning boss Sandy Thompson saying that many suits have turned into “nothing more than glorified bag carriers”. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of discussion about that at the time. But, perhaps, she’s got a point.

The role of a suit has been, and continues to be, eroded from all angles. When I started in advertising you had to write your own briefs, plan your own strategies, manage the finances, drive new business and be able to talk about all media with equal gravitas.

Now we have planners to strategise, finance departments to manage revenue, new business leads to pitch and specialist shops seizing the territories of social, digital, PR, direct, data and technology.

Perhaps the erosion of the role, combined with tireless working hours, low pay, unforgiving stress and the volatility of it all, means young people don’t want to start in an agency.

I think Sandy has a fair point. The role of a suit is getting more complex, unspecialised and increasingly diverse; yet most agencies, and the industry as a whole, haven’t sought to redefine the role.

Alongside AWARD and the APG, the Communications Council will launch The Account Management Group in New South Wales next month which will represent account management at an industry level. The body will address this issue head on and seek to define the modern role of account management answering once and for all the question of whether suits are anything more than glorified bag carriers.

Naren Sanghrajka is the chairman of The Account Management Group, NSW.

Encore issue 13

This story first appeared in the weekly edition of Encore available for iPad and Android tablets. Visit encore.com.au for a preview of the app or click below to download.

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