An Account Manager’s Brain

Account managers and SpongeBob SquarePants have the same brain. Believe it or not, we all have a little bit of SpongeBob in us—especially account managers. As we process information, our brains organize and store it in a similar way.

Have you ever seen the episode of SpongeBob where replicas of SpongeBob work day in and day out to sort information in his brain and store it in the proper filing cabinet? When Squidward asks SpongeBob to forget everything that doesn’t pertain to fine dining, SpongeBob goes into his brain, a mini version of an office, and literally shreds and disposes of all information not related to fine dining. Account managers have the same structure: filing cabinets upon filing cabinets of information that we gain from working on our clients’ businesses.

As a liaison between client and agency, we work to gain the most insight from our clients to provide our team the opportunity to exceed in their deliverables. In order to do this, we must constantly mentally file away details about projects and campaigns to serve as a reference for future work. This way, we can share this past knowledge with both our clients and our team and serve as forward-thinkers and valuable resources.

A woman in a red sweater is standing in front of a shelf full of binders.

Each account manager organizes his or her file system differently. This is because even though we all share similar skillsets, we all work with different clients who have individualized needs based on their business. Our clients shape our filing system. Pretty crazy, huh? Our client-based filing system is what allows us to meet our clients’ needs, to the best of our ability, every day.

So thank you creators of SpongeBob, for illustrating the extensive, yet organized system that every account manager’s brain consists of. Each day we determine what needs to be retained (fine dining) and the other items that we will be ok without (everything else). It is a great depiction of how we bring forward the smallest, yet highly important, details that could be the key to the efficiency and accuracy in our daily communication with our clients.

Post published on

August 28, 2017

Share This Article

MORE FROM OUR BLOG

Your Media Budget Isn’t The Strategy

July 14, 2026
Marketing budgets are under a microscope right now. Every dollar is expected to work harder. Every channel has to prove its value. And every campaign is supposed to build awareness, drive engagement, support conversions and deliver measurable results, often all at once! That pressure is real. But a lot of media planning conversations still start in the wrong place. They start with the buy. How much should go into TV? Should we increase paid social? Do we need CTV? What about streaming audio, search, display, outdoor or retargeting? Those are important questions, but they are not the strategy. They’re the execution of a strategy. When media planning begins with channel allocation instead of business goals, even a well-built media plan can turn into a spending exercise instead of a growth strategy.

What Attractions Can Teach Every Brand About Seasonality

June 22, 2026
Most brands treat seasonality like a problem to solve. There are busy months when demand is high, slower stretches when attention drops off, and the constant pressure to keep people engaged year-round. But attractions tend to look at seasonality differently. They use it as an opportunity. Zoos, botanical gardens, museums, cultural institutions and destination-based brands understand how to turn seasons into experiences people actually look forward to: a holiday lights event, blooming spring garden, summer concert series, fall festival or limited-time exhibit. Each season becomes a built-in reason to visit, come back, bring friends or make plans. That’s something almost every brand can learn from.

Don’t Just Promote The Event. Give People A Reason To Go.

May 27, 2026
Seasonal events, limited-time exhibits, concerts, festivals and special experiences can be huge attendance drivers for attractions. But there’s a difference between simply promoting an event and building a campaign around it. A promotion tells people what’s happening. A campaign makes them care. For zoos, botanical gardens, museums, cultural institutions and other destination-based attractions , that difference matters. The real competition usually isn’t another attraction. It’s everything else competing for someone’s time, attention and wallet. People are deciding between sporting events, movie nights, road trips, backyard barbecues, streaming at home or simply staying in. So attraction marketing has to do more than post dates, ticket links and event details. It has to create anticipation. It has to make the experience feel worth the planning.
Show More