Table of contents
Key learnings
- Outside partners should extend in-house creative teams, not replace them, by absorbing high-volume production work.
- Earn trust through early discovery, proof-of-concept projects, and a phased rollout instead of handing over everything at once.
- Dedicated teams, quality checks, and quick reassignment of underperforming work keep brand output consistent.
- A ways-of-working document, a RACI, and one account contact set expectations and prevent hidden approvers.
- When choosing a partner, lean on your network, prioritize flexibility, start small, and test them on your hardest project.
In this episode of Creative Ops Compass, host Jesse Krinsky of In Focus Consulting talks with our very own Lori Gilbert Mosley and John Maasik of Continuum Marketing about a common challenge: in-house creative teams working with an external production partner that someone else, often procurement, selected.
Lori and John explain how a partner earns trust in that situation. They involve the creative team early through discovery and proof-of-concept work, and they position themselves as an extension of the team rather than a replacement, taking on high-volume, labor-intensive production so internal creatives can focus on strategic work.
The conversation also covers keeping quality consistent across brands and distributed teams: dedicated teams, a “four eyes” review process, hybrid onshore checks, and moving work quickly when it isn’t performing.
Lori and John stress getting alignment in writing before any project starts, using a ways-of-working document, a RACI to clarify roles and surface hidden approvers, and a single account point of contact.
They close with advice for creative leaders evaluating a partner: lean on your network, look for flexibility during peak seasons, start small, and test candidates on your hardest project.
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