The Intersection of Cat Wrangling and Account Management
Every project has those moments that never make it into a client recap — the real-time calls, the pivots nobody sees, the decisions that quietly hold everything together. The end product gets the credit, but the person managing all of it? Usually not so much.
For Senior Account Manager Geneva Turrini, that’s just part of the job — and what really makes a project sing could be anything from a “mic drop” strategy moment to watching a team member step up and own it. Sometimes it’s bridging a communication gap or being a steady hand for a client when things get complicated. And sometimes, it’s pulling off a near-perfect shoot day for Pets Best — with six dogs, two cats, and ten pet parents – without breaking a sweat.
“What’s something the client rarely sees that happens behind the scenes on a production like this?”
The inevitable pivots and game-time decisions — every day on set comes with challenges you never see coming, no matter how well you plan the production. Factor in ✨🐶 talent 🐱✨ that doesn’t take direction well and strongly disagrees with our value props (aka the literal treasure trove of dog and cat toys), and sometimes we have to figure it out as we go and just trust the process.
“When you lead a campaign with this many moving pieces, how do you determine what to protect creatively versus what to compromise on?”
One of the great things about working so closely with the associate creative director and creative lead is that this distinction usually shows up organically throughout the project. The more aligned we are on the overall strategy — and how we’re translating that into the creative — the easier it is to know where that line is. If the feedback impacts the creative integrity of the work or dilutes the strategy we’ve built, that’s where I’ll push back and protect it. But if it’s a preference that doesn’t compromise the bigger idea, that’s where we have the opportunity to be flexible and meet in the middle.
“What does a good client partnership look like to you during a production phase versus a review phase?”
During the review phase, a good partnership feels collaborative — it’s a real discussion where we’re offering guidance and recommendations, and the client is leaning on us as the experts in our field. Production is more about trust. The client has to believe we’ve got their brand’s best interests at heart, that we’re going to do right by them, and that they can hand us the keys and trust we’ll bring their brand to life the way they hope.
“Reviewing the final photos selected from this shoot, what does a ‘great’ production result look like to an account manager versus a creative one?”
I think the answer is the same: great results come from execution. How a project is brought to the finish line can fundamentally change the work we deliver.
Was the project on-time and on-budget? Did it feel like it actually was our first rodeo? Or did the team work like a well-oiled machine?
Are we showing off our creative chops? Is it on-strategy and on-brand? Did we stay true to our original creative concept? And is it work that the agency can be proud of?
