The Corporate Creative Second Edition Tips and tactics for thriving as an in-house creative

by Epstein, Andy

• ISBN13: 9798350971163
• ISBN10: 8350971169
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2024-11-13
• Publisher: BookBaby
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Thriving as a creative professional in a corporate setting presents unique challenges. It's not just about delivering exceptional work; it's about navigating a business landscape that often undervalues creative execution. This means that whether you're a designer, copywriter, project manager, or any other creative role, your success in a corporate environment hinges on your ability to embrace a range of best business practices not typically taught in school.

The Corporate Creative focuses on key strategies and tactics to help you and your team establish yourself and your team as powerful players in your organization. It also acknowledges the cultural dissonance that right-brainers working in a decidedly left-brain environment often encounter and offers inspirational support. Know that you're not alone and that there are ways to adapt to a business environment that doesn't always value the creative mindset and ways of working.

Unlike many of their peer departments, which work with fixed inputs and outputs, in-house creative agencies are tasked with executing a wide variety of complex assignments that demand an exceptional degree of collaboration, communication, and processes. These needs necessitate a level of organizational and business expertise and practices that are addressed in detail in the book.

Experienced in-house agency leader and veteran of corporate craziness Andy Epstein shows you how to:

Communicate clearly and effectively in a way that resonates with the "suits."
Hire and train a winning team that is driven by a healthy, supportive, creative culture.
Collaborate powerfully with clients and other departments.
Maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality creative.
Establish operational and organizational infrastructure and design that sets your team up for success.

Author Biography

Andy informally:

Andy started his career drawing crayon murals on the walls of his parents' apartment (much to their consternation) at the age of three. It was downhill from there as Andy's compulsion to create only intensified, culminating in his attendance at Carnegie-Mellon University, where he started out in fine arts (again a bit to his parent's consternation) but then moved on to the study of illustration and design.

For the first ten years of his career, he freelanced, providing design and illustration for a variety of clients, from book publishers and magazines to large corporations, in industries ranging from finance to pharma to consumer goods.

At some point in the early 1990s (yep, he's THAT old), Andy was engaging in the freelance worst practice of having almost all of his business eggs in one basket—a private-label toy company. Fortunately, they decided to commit to an in-house model and Andy joined the company and the world of in-house as an employee of that company.

From then on Andy established, led, and enhanced in-house agencies as either a direct leader of those teams or as a consultant. If that wasn't keeping him busy enough, Andy took on non-work-related activities, cofounding InSource, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the in-house creative community as well as supporting various in-house initiatives with HOW and AIGA, and speaking and writing extensively on in-house issues.

Andy has now established Invangelist LLC to continue his commitment to and passion for the in-house community. It's the exceptional professionals and human beings who make up the in-house community who fuel Andy's commitment to the in-house cohort.

Andy formally:

Andy Epstein is the principal of Invangelist, an in-house agency consultancy. With over 40 years of experience in the creative services space, 30 of which have been working in, creating, and leading in-house agencies (IHAs) in a variety of industries, Andy has broad and deep IHA expertise and robust contacts in the field.

Andy began his career as a freelance illustrator and designer before transitioning to in-house creative services and managing creative teams and business operations. His professional expertise includes the creation, documentation, and delivery of creative services and the implementation of general business best practices. Andy's focus lies in professional development, the optimization of creative team operations and organizational design, leadership and team coaching, and strategic consulting.

By leveraging both creative and operational expertise, the teams Andy has led have consistently exceeded established KPIs and outperformed peer groups in the industry. Andy has been a passionate supporter of the in-house community and has written and spoken extensively at numerous industry events partnering with flagship organizations such as HOW and AIGA. In addition, he co-founded InSource, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting in-house creative teams and published "The Corporate Creative," one of the few books specifically focused on the in-house professional.

Andy firmly believes that in-house creative teams possess the potential to drive substantial positive change within their host organizations, extending beyond the creative they deliver to clients. He is dedicated to advancing this positive impact by consistently establishing and supporting in-house creative agencies. Business can change the world. Creatives can change business.