An operating model for TheStudio

01

The situation

iHeartMedia had strong creative talent across design, video and audio, including the national spots that ran across every radio division. What it lacked was a cohesive studio: clear financial management, a service model for the departments it supported and a consistent way to account for the work.

02

The build

TheStudio was rebuilt as a 75-person internal agency serving 10 divisions across iHeartMedia on a $5M annual P&L, with a structure for bidding work and charging services back to the teams requesting them. Creative output and financial accountability ran through the same system.

As Vice President and close partner to the Chief Creative Officer, I shaped the team, hired and managed talent, negotiated contracts and ran departmental operations and HR. The remit covered pricing, vendor relationships, financial reporting and production risk with Legal, alongside executive producing the visual branding and in-show packages for iHeartRadio’s tentpole events.

03

The outcome

TheStudio had a defined way to serve the business at real volume: seven tentpole events a year, each with more than 2,000 assets across digital, in venue, social, billboards, radio and direct mail, plus promotion for more than 50 shows a year at each of the New York and Los Angeles theaters. Creative leadership and financial management became parts of the same job.