Work AI Tooling / Creative strategy · MadHive Creative Services
From production engine to campaign partner.
The client asked for one spot. We moved the decision upstream — to audience research and stereotypes, before a single frame — and handed back a campaign platform they chose to scale on their own budget.
A clearer six-step workflow, from research to production.
The problem I saw
The incumbent spot was genuinely well-crafted — technician-hero, product-forward. But it sold the service, not the buyer. The story was about what the brand does, not about who is standing in the room deciding to call. Our own data disagreed with the brief: the two highest-value segments in the account weren't being spoken to in any meaningful way.
A same-day swap wouldn't have fixed it. Replacing one execution with another inside the five-day SLA solves an asset problem, not an audience problem. Clever is not the same thing as relevant.
The system I built
I took the account outside our standard SLA and ran an agency-level process: audience data first, two stereotypes second, creative third — with the client signing off at step two, not step six.
- Maverick Research — audience data pulled first; behavior and channel signal, not a category brief.
- Two stereotypes — presented and aligned on before anything was made. Client sign-off here
- Vignettes — six short persona stories to test tone and situation.
- Selection — our strongest vignette per direction, rather than asking the client to referee six.
- Loose storyboards — both directions boarded and styled, presented together.
- Production — built against an intent already approved. Nothing to relitigate on finished frames.
The Chaos Coordinator
Female, 38–52. Suburban, kids at home. Hosting season drives her.
- The most mobile-dominant persona, by a wide margin
- Lifestyle, food, games daily; reality & true crime on CTV
"Get the house ready for whatever's next."
The Asset Manager
60–75, male-skew. Long-term homeowner. Cleaning is care, not vanity.
- Daily portfolio check out of caution, not trading
- Classic dramas & Westerns, well above average
"The same care you've always given it."
Bringing people in
Because the personas came with behavioral evidence, the directions weren't a matter of taste — the client debated fit, not preference. And I presented a pair, not a single recommendation. Given ownership of the choice, they took both rather than trading one away.
"Battle the Burnout"
Text Graphic + Snapshot — bold type, static home imagery, grime sucked off screen.
- Speaks to time, not dirt — her scarcity is the weekend
- Text-forward, mobile-first; cuts to geo variants without reshooting
Scaled to 18 geo-personalized versions.
"Hit Right in the Feels"
Nostalgia Emotions — lifestyle b-roll, warm filters, the home as a life's backdrop.
- Reframes cleaning as stewardship of something earned
- Cinematic pacing suits classic-drama habits
Delivered as the hero brand spot.
What changed
One requested spot became a platform the client extended past its original scope — onto linear television, in three markets, on their own initiative.
Why it became a template
This account is the prototype for a distinct creative-services tier — a second gear reserved for accounts where the audience question is the real problem. The move is repeatable: name and scope the tier separately from the five-day SLA; qualify it for high-budget, campaign-level asks; templatize the deliverables (research readout, stereotype cards, vignettes, loose boards); and instrument the geo variants so the next review carries hard numbers.
My role & team credit
I designed the workflow and led the audience-first creative direction and client alignment; the work was produced by the MadHive Creative Services team across the US and India. Front-loading every reversible decision — stereotypes and loose boards cost hours, finished video costs weeks — is what let a small team hand back a platform instead of an ad.