Case Studies

A look at some initiatives and their outcomes

Building an in-house studio: Craft Detroit

Challenge
After winning the global Chevrolet advertising account, McCann needed to reduce content costs without sacrificing quality—especially for award shows and “utility” content that wasn’t always worth high production spend.

Solution
As Global Director of Content, I identified an opportunity to bring this work in-house. I cleaned out an unused space, secured CapEx for a small editorial setup, and hired a single editor to pilot the idea. Once the creative teams got comfortable, I made a case to General Motors to bring utility production under our roof at a favorable rate.

Outcome
This internal content unit quickly became a content engine and grew, Once GM approved the model, we expanded the scope, including live action production, eventually internalizing $5–8M/year in production work in a few short years.

Value Based Bidding

Challenge
General Motors’ procurement system prioritized low bids—fine for commodities, but a poor fit for creative production, where quality, nuance, and trust in the team matter. The process often resulted in vendor misalignment, budget surprises, and strained creative relationships.

Solution
I developed and implemented a Value-Based Bidding model. We set a fixed maximum budget for the project—any vendor exceeding it was disqualified. Within that cap, vendors competed to offer the most value: stronger teams, better execution, and added capabilities. This reframed bidding from “who’s cheapest” to “who delivers the most within our budget.”

Outcome
The approach was simple, elegant, and effective. It eliminated budget overruns, reduced friction between creative and procurement, and aligned stakeholders around a shared definition of value.

Virtual Production Strategy

Challenge
While overseeing over $50M/year in production budgets for Chevrolet, I saw two persistent inefficiencies:

Major projects were leaving Detroit for out-of-state shoots
Travel and logistics were eating into production budgets—and driving up carbon output

As the executive in charge of sustainable production, I needed a smarter model—one that reduced waste while increasing creative flexibility.

Solution
I designed a proposal for a Virtual Production stage in Detroit, tailored to automotive workflows. The plan included financial modeling, carbon savings, and ROI projections. The model offered:

20% savings by eliminating location travel
80%+ reduction in carbon footprint
Increased shoot time by avoiding company moves
Expanded creative possibilities not achievable in a fixed-location shoot

Outcome
Although the plan was not executed due to a GM agency transition, it remains a sharp example of forward-thinking production strategy—one that tackled cost, sustainability, and creative ambition in a single move.