Guardian

Guardian had a blossoming creative department to reposition as an in-house agency, further developing their new brand identity into a comprehensive brand experience.

A Digital paid campaign was in the pipeline, and it was an ideal scenario for the Agency/Studio model of workflow and best practices.

It would also be a great proving stage for brand experience to be added to their brand guidelines. Growing from assets, and dos and don’ts to aspirational examples as conceptual campaign works.

From a leadership vantage, my goal was to organize, clarify, inspire and support the creative and client teams.

The department goals are for all members to take on the roles of creative leadership, to give them process to lead conversations, then form concepts and strategies, with artistic and creative directions to deliver against.

I provided both Leadership Process and Strategic Creative Direction: Translate a complex spreadsheet into easily understood deliverables, and give creative direction and team support to drive the work home.

My weapon of choice was Figma – take the spreadsheet, map and group the ad units verbatim – now we can see what we’re up against. Now we can make something we love.

What started as “Yeah, we do a lot of these banner ad campaigns no one cares about.” and “We don’t really have a sensitivity to photography.” as it was said to me, became “Wow, this really looks like a real campaign from a real brand”, and “These are the best photos we’ve ever ran”.

What often seems like throw away work, can actually be a department’s best opportunity to work together and show, by design and creative process, just how good it can all be.