Sales wants new decks. The CEO wants a sharper brand. Your marketers are buried, and every creative call still lands on you.
I'm Rick Gore, and I've worked in creative since 1996. I step in as the senior creative director you're missing, for the hours you need. I take creative calls off your desk and keep your agencies on track. When you need more output, my crew of 10 years comes with me.
You pay for senior help when you need it, and nothing when you don't. Some months that's strategy. Other months it's creative direction, or making the work itself. More of your budget lands in market, and less of it goes to rework.
Clear briefs, one review rhythm and someone senior setting priorities. Your designers stop redoing work and start finishing it.
Concepts, feedback and approvals go through a senior creative director. You sign off on the plan, not every banner.
One plan, one standard, one voice. Every deck, ad and booth looks like it came from the same company, because it did.
Most clients start with me alone. The crew comes in when there's more work than hands.
01You still run your team. I take the creative calls off your plate: briefs, critique and day-to-day review that keeps work moving. Your people get a senior creative partner, and you get your time back.
02You own the relationship. I manage the cadence, review the work and keep it on brief. When the agency has questions, they come to me. You only hear about the decisions that need you.
03Need more output? My crew has worked with me for 10 years: copywriters, designers, art directors and project managers. Add them by the month, as many as the work needs. I direct it all and stand behind everything that ships.
Founder and Chief Gorilla
I've worked in creative since 1996. Designer, art director, then creative director, at agencies first and then inside B2B brands.
I'm the one you call when creative is backed up. Too many requests, no clear priorities, and a brand that looks different in every deck.
I fix the plumbing first: clear intake, turnaround times by project type and one weekly review where priorities get set. Then the work starts moving.
Every piece also gets a marketer's read. Who it's for, the one benefit that matters and what the reader should do next.
More about how I work →The usual options, side by side.
| Rick Gore | Creative agency | Full-time CD | Freelancers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whose side they're on | Yours. I keep the vendors on track. | Their own. They are a vendor. | Yours | Their project |
| Time to start | 2 weeks | Weeks of onboarding | Months of recruiting, then ramp | Days, per project |
| Monthly cost | $3,500 to $6,500+ | Retainer plus project fees | About $20K, loaded | Hourly |
| Best fit | 0 to 5 designers, no senior creative lead | Large campaigns with big budgets | A brand big enough for the full seat | Clear, contained projects |
The quick wins come first. The part I'm proudest of is what keeps working after I leave. The briefs, the review rhythm, the standards, and a team that runs on them without me.
If you need a full-time creative director by then, I'll write the job description and help you hire them.
If the work is clear and there's just too much of it, you need more designers. My crew can help.
If the brand drifts from team to team, the designers take orders and nobody senior is making the calls, you need a creative director.
Most teams I talk to need some of both. The first call sorts out which, and how much.
One case for each way I work. Names, numbers and pictures included.
Two designers working an online form became a twelve-person function that marketing planned around.
An agency had circled for months. I redirected it, wrote the tagline and ran the rollout across 12 departments.
A prototype, a pitch eight days out and no brand. I built strategy, identity, UI, campaign, motion and copy.
Short pieces from LinkedIn. [Swap in the three posts you pick.]
Stop optimizing tactics that weren't working to begin with.
Read on LinkedInApprovals cost time, and time makes or breaks a CMO. What deserves your input?
Read on LinkedInCreative feedback is different. Getting it right doesn't have to be hard.
Read on LinkedInA short ebook for marketing leaders. Three changes you can make this month.
Email me the ebookAn agency makes what you brief. I write the briefs, keep the agency on schedule and field their questions. You stay in charge of the relationship. If you don't have an agency, my crew can make the work.
More designers fix volume. A creative director fixes drift, weak briefs and a team that only takes orders. Many teams need both, and I can supply both.
Advisory is $3,500 a month. Creative Lead is $6,500 a month. Interim is scoped by proposal. The Two-Week Read is $3,500 and counts toward month one if you continue. Crew production is quoted per project.
Week one is review and interviews. By day 14 you have a written plan. Most teams see overdue work moving within the first month.
Yes, when that's the fastest way to get it right. For volume, my crew or your team produces the work and I direct it. That way you aren't paying a creative director's rate for production.
Yes. I lead every engagement. There's no account manager between us.
Monthly plans start with 90 days, then go month-to-month with 30 days' notice. The Two-Week Read is a fixed project with no ongoing commitment.
Yes, with teams across the US. On-site work in Seattle and Bellevue, and travel for kickoffs and events, is scoped separately.
Tell me what's stuck, who's doing the work and when you need it. I'll set up a 30-minute call.
rick@rainandroads.com · Prefer webmail?
