A Day in the Life of Sharon Oliver

Name: Sharon Oliver

Company: SMP

Job title: Account Director

What keeps you busy all day?
Monitoring progress on accounts, hinting someone should do the tea run, checking creative, looking at briefs, people development, sign off, and lots of client meetings and of course the dreaded emails (can I avoid being copied in less I ask myself!).

What keeps you awake at night?
Weekly results on a current project and solving any gripes and groans from the team, and my toddler

Describe your working day:
Get up 6ish and get my toddler ready for nursery. Drop him off and drive 1hr to work. Get in the office and hint for the strong coffee to arrive. Have a team catch up and read numerous emails. Ensure that our team is on target, check the time V’s fee’s, plan meetings and presentations and lots and lots of sign off’s on creative. Wind Matt up (one of our AM’s), write or check someone’s appraisal. Often thrown in with a quick management meeting to see how new business is going. Lastly and not least try and be supportive to my team and keep up moral when it’s gonna be another late one.

What’s your busiest time of day?
All of it – even when I get home at night

What brands/accounts have you worked on?
Kraft
Braun
Bel
CAF
Mattel
Novartis
PPP

Best day at work:
Launching Cruzer Shaver at Ripcurl Boardmasters down at Newquay sipping on tequila sorbet’s and surrounded by hunky surfers – wish all accounts could be like that!

Worst day at work:
Any bad day at work has to be when a supplier lets you down at the last minute and it’s completely out of your control. Lucky for us this doesn’t happen too often at SMP!

Name one thing you’ve achieved that has made your bosses sit up and take
notice: This is tricky as I believe you are part of a team so your team, creative and your boss still have an input to what you have achieved not just you. I guess ongoing glowing reviews from my client’s year on year and growing a large team in the agency by securing repeat business and winning a few awards has made it all worthwhile.

Having a baby certainly was something that made them fall off their seats!

Ambitions:
To make it to GAD ASAP, keep my lovely team happy and carry on getting clients that you can be mates with.

Advice to other rising stars:
Always remember you are part of a team, use the people around you to gain experience and get as much information from them as you can to move up the ladder. Always listen to your clients and the people around you and really try and understand their position on things. Lastly be proactive – no one else is going to do it for you…

Quote from the boss:

“Given her dose of hot drinks, Sharon takes tenacity to a different level. She never fails to impress and keeps not only her team’s but also the agency’s spirit up at all times”