2020 In-House Creative Management Report

2020 In-House Creative Management Report

The 2020 In-House Creative Management Report from In-Source and inMotionNow is here! Download your copy of the report to learn about the top challenges and opportunities facing in-house creative teams in 2020! Did you know that 89% of survey respondents from the 2019...

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Plan and run better meetings

Plan and run better meetings

Meetings are a necessary evil in our business. Between staff meetings, project planning and review meetings, vendor meetings, and of course client meetings, its any wonder we get real work done at all. But one thing I have learned in almost 25 years in the creative...

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In-House Perspectives 2019: Save The Date

In-House Perspectives 2019: Save The Date

Join us for an evening of insight and networking at the next InSource Signature Event: In-House Perspectives 2019 Early bird tickets are on sale now, so reserve your seat today! In-house managers are more than brilliant creatives, they are mentors, coaches, and...

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Lessons learned working in-house that helped me be a better consultant

Lessons learned working in-house that helped me be a better consultant

By the end of 2015, after being an in-house creative director for nearly 8 years and working in this field for over 20 years, I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I attribute some of my success as a business owner to my experiences and the lessons I learned by working in-house. Reflecting on that time being in-house, I can also say that my consulting mindset, and teaching instincts, also attributed to my success leading in-house creative teams.

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2019 In-House Creative Management Report

2019 In-House Creative Management Report

InSource and inMotionNow are excited to announce the 2019 In-House Creative Management Report! Over 500 creative and marketing professionals across industries participated in the survey which took a deep dive into the leadership, collaboration, and relationship between marketing and creative teams.

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I Am In-House: Trish Olives

I Am In-House: Trish Olives

Trish is the Creative Studio Manager at YETI, the popular Austin-based manufacturer of premium outdoor lifestyle products (think coolers, tumblers and assorted accessories). As a seasoned creative leader, she spends her days working with the absolute most badass creatives and marketers in the outdoor industry, creating idea-driven, on-brand, award-winning work so nobody has to suffer from melted ice ever again. Her work in this field has been recognized by GDUSA Magazine several times over, and she’s been featured as a speaker at the HOW Design Live Conference.

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I Am In-House: Vanessa Dewey

I Am In-House: Vanessa Dewey

Vanessa Dewey is an award-winning Downtown Los Angeles-based designer who champions development and creative endeavors. Prior to her current role at Mattel, Vanessa was an Art Director and worked across numerous IP properties as well as properties for licensors such...

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I Am In-House: Jim Woods

I Am In-House: Jim Woods

Jim Woods is the Creative Director of Spectrum Brands PHG Aquatic division. He and his team create all the collateral materials for PHG’s industry-leading aquatic brands such as Tetra, Marineland, Instant Ocean, Jungle, or half a dozen other store brands, which means...

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I Am In-House: Kevin Mau

I Am In-House: Kevin Mau

So far, Kevin Mau’s career focus has been—and will always be—about putting creative strategy rst. To stay true to that focus, he actively seeks out collaborative environments and like-minded people. Kevin gures that if he gets the creative right, everything else falls wonderfully into place; and he can enjoy himself at the same time!

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I Am In-House: Martin Schott

I Am In-House: Martin Schott

Martin Schott is Creative Director at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, one of 11 resident organizations on Lincoln Center’s 16.3 acre campus. He responsible for developing creative visual strategies to support Lincoln Center’s brand identity, including programming (American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival and Live from Lincoln Center), fundraising and education.

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In-House Business Startup Journal Part 9: Performance Reviews

In-House Business Startup Journal Part 9: Performance Reviews

Well, it’s that time of year again for many corporate creatives… the year-end performance review cycle has begun again. Unlike many of my colleagues on the outside, I need to follow a prescribed process whereby I self-evaluate my performance against several goals (SMART ones) for both the business and my own professional development.
As if providing an evaluation to my boss about my own work wasn’t hard enough, I’ll also need to review the evaluations my staff wrote about themselves. And if I’m very lucky, no one has any delusions of grandeur about their accomplishments (or lack thereof), including me.

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In-House Business Startup Journal Part 8: Admitting Mistakes

In-House Business Startup Journal Part 8: Admitting Mistakes

“Steve jobs would never have done that” I thought to myself, as I read the open apology by Tim Cook regarding the new Maps app in iOS6. As I said those words I realized that I don’t actually think that Tim Cook was wrong to do it though. While not the approach that Jobs would have taken, Cook did something few leaders are bold enough to do…admit when they make a mistake.

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Thoughts on Management

Thoughts on Management

Thoughts on management from Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur, and author.
“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them”

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In-House Business Startup Journal Part 5: Planning the Rollout

In-House Business Startup Journal Part 5: Planning the Rollout

After a couple months of planning, the time has come to institute the plans that I have been developing since the day I started. I’ve built some key relationships, assessed a few situations, identified needs, designed processes, and (I hope) built some trust. Now all I need to do is stop talking about the “big plan” and start getting it going already.

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Flash of Inspiration

Flash of Inspiration

Your weekly inspirational quote to help you manage and lead your creative team from John D. Rockefeller, American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist and founder of the Standard Oil Company.

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Flash of Inspiration

Flash of Inspiration

Your weekly inspirational quote to help you manage and lead your creative team from Stephen Covey, author of several best-selling management and leadership books including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The Leader in Me.

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The First 5 Days

The First 5 Days

As the day approaches for my new hire to start working with the team, I’m thinking about how important his first few days on the job are. These first few days are my only opportunity to make sure he has a smooth transition to his new position, and get him to want to come back after the weekend.

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InSide InSights: Shel Perkins

InSide InSights: Shel Perkins

This month’s interview features a conversation with Shel Perkins, exploring some of the challenges that face in-house teams today.
Q: Tell us a bit about your background and credentials.
A: I’m a graphic designer who is very active on the business side of professional practice. I’ve managed the operations of leading design firms and consulted with a wide range of creative services organizations in both traditional and new media. I also teach professional practices in an MFA program.
Q: As a frequent lecturer, what topic are audiences most interested in?
A: Right now, everyone is worried about the recession. Apart from that, I’m often asked to do presentations and workshops related to intellectual property, designer/client contracts, project planning and tracking, new business development, pricing and proposals, teams, financial management, and ownership transition.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing today’s in-house teams? How has this changed from even 5-7 years ago?
A: Corporations are more aware than ever of the importance of effective and comprehensive branding. There’s also increasing pressure on U.S. companies to innovate in order to remain viable. Successful in-house teams have positioned themselves at the center of these issues.
Q: Do you see more companies investigating an in-house agency business model given today’s economy?
A: Yes. To function at the highest possible level, I think it’s important to recruit, manage, and market in-house creative resources very much like an independent consultancy.

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A New Dimension to Performance Management – Part 1

A New Dimension to Performance Management – Part 1

Most performance management systems focus on tasks and outcomes, clarifying what each individual needs to do or deliver, and what is the result. This is important. After all, that’s why we are employed. There is work to be done, and results are required.
However, for a creative team—and arguably for every employee— there is a critical dimension missing from the above simplistic approach to performance management. It’s the measure of behavior. You’re probably thinking, behavior…we’re not in grade school anymore!
Read this article by Steve Benfield, Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Creative Director, SAS Institute Inc. and Insource Board Member, and learn Steve’s unique approach to measuring performance.

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