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A Beltsville ad agency's newest executive says his previous acting career on stage and screen helps him engage clients on a different level.

Michael Hammerstrom, 30, was recently promoted to account executive for Merrick Towle Communications. Hammerstrom, who started with the company as a receptionist and later became a project coordinator, has been with Merrick since 2007.

"We found him to be so bright and so aggressive at problem-solving that we kept giving him more challenges," said Glenn Towle, COO and partner. "An account executive has to be more than just a pretty face and do more than just take orders from clients."

Hammerstrom has helped Merrick on advertising campaigns in which Columbia Heights rentals were introduced to clients via drinking contests at bars to emphasize their "hip, urban professional" style. Another campaign reached out to environmental-minded renters, drawing them from farmers markets and organic-food stores to fill energy-sustainable apartments in Chicago.

Merrick employs 60 people and provides services to clients in numerous industries, including commercial and real estate development, property management, energy and engineering

"In advertising, you have to find out who's your audience and what keeps them up at night. Then you go where they are," Hammerstrom said, emphasizing that he often visits locations Merrick advertises to get to know the people. "We offer clients a different perspective than what they're expecting; we market in the lifestyle of the product."

He said his previous career contributes to that perspective, helping him engage with clients as an audience and providing him with easy access to performers to promote campaigns.

Hammerstrom had been acting since he was a teenager, performing in venues from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York to NBC's "Ed," plus independent films.

"Acting was my childhood dream but not what I wanted to do with my whole life," Hammerstrom said. He still belongs to the Actors' Equity Association and travels to New York to check out the latest shows, many of which feature people he knew from acting.

But when Hammerstrom decided he needed a change, he struggled to pick a career where his acting skills would be relevant. While acting, he had already worked "every side job you can image," from bartending to personal training. His first full-time step into the non-acting world was as a project manager for clothing manufacturer Hue of Greensboro, N.C., entertaining customers in its New York showroom.

"It is always a song and dance for me," Hammerstrom said.

Advertising soon proved to be the perfect fit for Hammerstrom, allowing him the creativity he enjoyed without limiting his career growth to just an acting degree.

Towle said Hammerstrom began his career climb after company executives observed him in front of some clients during a rare opportunity in his receptionist days.

"He was outstanding," Towle said, adding that Hammerstrom's level of comfort around clients and self-confidence could be another result of his acting experiences. "He continues to work in one capacity or another with our largest clients."

As an account executive, Hammerstrom will be the interface between the client's needs and what the agency can provide, Towle said.

"Everything happened pretty quick for me," Hammerstrom said.

When not working or taking in the latest performance, Hammerstrom, single, enjoys grilling with his family in Silver Spring and reading. He particularly enjoys psychology books.

His advice to others in the acting or advertising fields is to be fearless.

"Don't let the industry dictate what you should be typed as," he said.