Ryan Murray director of account management, Solve
Ryan Murray, who brought Hollywood experience to the Twin Cities advertising world, has been promoted to director of account management at Minneapolis agency Solve.
In his newly created role at Solve, Murray — formerly an account director/partner at the firm — oversees the account management discipline including training, staffing and recruiting.
Murray joined Solve in 2013, two years after its launch.
"It's been a rocket ship ever since," Murray said. "It's been a fun ride to win some great pieces of business and hire some great people."
At Solve, Murray has run accounts including True Value, Polaris' Indian Motorcycle and Sunoco. He also has contributed to new business efforts and led the firm's internship program.
Before going into advertising, Murray worked for several years in Los Angeles at the Endeavor Talent Agency, the basis for HBO's "Entourage" series.
He was on track to become a film industry talent agent but decided that was not his long-term goal.
"But working with creative people, which I was doing there, with A- and B-list screenwriters and directors and helping them advance their careers, was something I loved," Murray said.
He pursued his desire to continue a career in a creative field at Fallon, where he worked in accounts for five years before moving to Solve.
Q: What's your focus in this new role?
A: My mission is going to be to help formally train, develop and mentor our people even more and build a strong recruiting base. We've had some success bringing in folks from out of town. The goal is to continue to mine that. We've got to be just as best in class as Solve's creative and media groups are.
Q: What can account management do for clients?
A: Clients are looking for creativity to solve their business problems and to move their brands in a positive direction. You make every effort to get up to speed and to know every nook and cranny of their business. Because you never know what you'll learn along the way that might translate into what you can help the agency do internally, whether that's steering a creative to a more relevant idea or helping media say no that's an outdated placement. The goal is to get as immersed into our clients' business as possible.
Q: How does your talent agency experience influence your work now?
A: It was about working with creative firepowers and creative personalities. I had to manage those types of folks and partner with them. There's a right way to bring the best out of those people. I feel like that's a big part of what an account person does.
Todd Nelson
