Built & Scaled a Creative Services Function
Established and scaled a Creative Services function that brought clarity, consistency, and visibility to creative work across a global organization.
Background Context
The problem
Rocket Software’s marketing organization was scaling quickly, and creative demand was increasing in both volume and complexity. After the former VP of Marketing (who also served as lead designer) retired, the Marketing and Communications (MarComm) team lacked a creative team lead and a formal operating model.
What wasn’t working
Requests arrived via email, ad-hoc conversations, and incomplete briefs. Projects had inconsistent outputs, zero prioritization, limited visibility, and unnecessary rework and scope adjustments for both the MarComm team, as well as those requesting the work.
Core Objectives
Primary goals
Establish a scalable Creative Services function within Marketing Communications
Create clarity around intake, prioritization, workflows, and resourcing
Introduce governance and shared expectations across stakeholders
Scope
Creative requests per month: ~20–30
Global marketing organization headcount: ~40 people
Full organization headcount: ~1,500
My Approach
Designing the operating model
I replaced informal request paths with a structured intake and prioritization model, supported by workflow and resource tracking in Wrike.
Standardizing inputs
Created project-type-specific creative brief templates
Documented clear guidance for how to work with Creative Services
Driving adoption
Led live training sessions and walkthroughs
Rolled out supporting documentation and communications to reinforce new behaviors
Scaling capacity
With structured intake and governance in place, demand became visible—and quickly outpaced what I could support alone. I first grew capacity internally through mentorship, then extended the team by sourcing and onboarding freelance design and copy partners.
All requests continued to flow through a single system. I owned resourcing decisions, budgets, and briefing, ensuring work scaled cleanly while maintaining quality and consistency.
Leading through influence
Partnered closely with marketing leadership and adjacent teams to align priorities—without direct reporting authority.
While I did not formally manage copywriter, marketing coordinator, or videographer roles, I mentored and guided their workflows to improve clarity and delivery.
Business Impact
Operational improvements
Higher-quality briefs reduced ambiguity and revision cycles
Improved visibility into priorities and tradeoffs before work entered production
Provided transparency into resource allocation
Enabled us to see repeat project types, which later guided our collateral templating and optimization strategy
Organizational shift
Creative Services evolved from a reactive order-taking function to a trusted strategic partner
Leaders gained clearer insight into demand trends and resourcing needs
Key Reflections
What mattered most
Systems and clarity—not heroics—enable sustainable scale
Adoption requires enablement, not just tools
Lasting insight
Clear governance ultimately improved creative quality by reducing friction, protecting focus time, and building trust across teams.