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The Sandy Journal

Close-up of a ruler with measurement markings, representing the need to track AI performance and creative workflow impact.

Leadership Guidance

AI Is Helping Creative Teams Move Faster. But Are We Measuring What Matters?

AI is quickly becoming part of the everyday creative process, and we’re seeing that show up in obvious ways for in-house teams: faster drafts, more variations, smoother handoffs, and less time spent on repetitive work. But speed alone is not the answer. For us, the real opportunity is using AI to help teams work with …

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Creative team collaborating in an office, placing sticky notes on a glass wall during a strategy and brainstorming session.

Leadership Guidance

The Real AI Challenge for Creative Teams Isn’t Adoption. It’s Alignment.

Our 2026 AI Creative Impact Report explores where leaders and talent are aligned, where the gaps are growing, and what creative teams need next. AI is no longer a future-state conversation for creative and marketing teams. It’s already here, already influencing workflows, and already changing expectations. But after talking with leaders and talent across the …

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Graffiti wall with a weathered poster reading “Creativity takes courage,” symbolizing creative operations and leadership mindset.

Leadership Guidance

Six Unexpected, High-Value Insights for Creative & Marketing Leaders

We were at Creative Ops LA in November, taking in a full mix of sessions, panels, and conversations with some of the brightest operators, studio leads, and creative strategists in the industry. What surfaced was a set of deeper, structural themes that point to where creative operations is heading and what today’s teams need to …

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Person holding a brown glass bottle labeled “mate” above an open magazine that reads “MORE SOULS” in large bold letters, symbolizing creativity, authenticity, and the human element behind storytelling and marketing.

Leadership Guidance

LA Tech Week Recap: 5 Creative Themes Shaping the Future of AI and Marketing

We recently had the chance to connect with some of the brightest minds in tech, media, and VC to explore how creativity and AI are reshaping the future of marketing. From conversations with leaders at Google, McKinsey, and Amazon to late-night discussions about where human imagination meets machine intelligence, one thing became clear: marketing is …

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Abstract 3D illustration of grouped rectangular blocks, symbolizing people in a flexible workforce environment. Shapes are arranged in two sections, suggesting adaptability and scalable team structures.

Leadership Guidance

Scaling Your Creative Team Without Full-Time Hires: The Power of Elastic Teams

1) The Campaign Crunch is Real If you’re leading a marketing or creative team, you know the feeling all too well: campaigns keep piling up, budgets keep shrinking, and somehow “do more with less” is still the rallying cry of the year. Full-time hiring, meanwhile, can feel like slogging through quicksand – slow, expensive, and …

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Leadership Guidance

Talent Acquisition: Tips for Finding and Onboarding the Right Talent

Let’s be real – building a high performing creative or marketing team isn’t for the faint of heart. Between sourcing, screening, onboarding, managing personalities, and trying to get actual work done… It’s a lot. And hiring the wrong people? That’s how timelines go sideways, budgets evaporate, and suddenly everyone’s asking, “how did we end up …

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Diagram with arrows comparing in-house, agency, and hybrid creative team models, illustrating differences in control, speed, and scalability.

Leadership Guidance

Forget In-House vs. Agency – Focus on What Moves the Needle

Over the past 15 years, I’ve watched the creative world do a not-so-subtle shift from agency to in-house. One by one, my former agency colleagues traded late-night pitch decks for corporate life. These days, they’re leading in-house studios, creative teams, media squads, and data nerds for some massive brands. And the few still living the …

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resource management and assembling high-performing creative teams

Leadership Guidance

Resource Management Strategies for High-Performing Creative Teams

Most CMOs and creative studio leads can probably relate. Your in-house team is loaded with passion, drive, and plenty of rockstar talent. They’ve always got your back with big ideas and great storytelling, and there’s nothing you like more than the ability to share a brief and watch them work their magic bringing fresh ideas …

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