Backup, AI training, and leadership for agencies and studios

What owners in agencies bring me

“We have a pitch in two weeks and nobody senior on AI.”Senior help for a pitch: monthly by days, or a fixed fee
“Clients keep asking what our AI offer is.”AI workshop: agency training $2,000 half day, $3,500 full day
“Our creative director left in the middle of a big account.”Interim leadership: monthly by days
“We want to sell service design and nobody here has run it.”Service design: workshop from $3,500
“The agency's name describes work we stopped doing.”Brand & website: naming and full brand from $6,000
“We need a prototype before the client will buy the idea.”Prototypes and odd jobs: $150 an hour, or a fixed quote

Work in this industry

Olson. Interactive developer, 2000 to 2001: the Phillips UV site, a One Show Merit.
Carmichael Lynch. Senior creative technologist: Porsche, Harley-Davidson, American Airlines, Gibson Guitars.
Catalyst Studios. Partner and director of UX: grew it from one person to more than twenty, sold to Initio3i in 2013.
Thread. Executive creative director: renamed and rebranded Go East, a 50-person print agency, as a digital and social studio.
CAKE. My own service design and UX consultancy, often working under an agency's name.

The Thread identity, after the rename from Go East.

Can I bring in a senior person for one pitch or one project?

Yes. A senior strategist, UX lead, or AI lead for a pitch or a hard project is one of the most common ways agencies use me, and the work goes out under your name. I have been on both sides of that call, as the agency and as the person brought in. More in bringing in a senior person for a pitch.

How does an agency add AI services?

Use AI inside your own work first, train the team on real client jobs, and sell one small, clear AI offer before building a practice. Agency AI training is $2,000 for a half day and $3,500 for a full day. More in adding AI services and who can train an agency on AI.

When should an agency rename itself?

When the name describes work you no longer sell and it is costing you clients or hires. At Thread I renamed and rebranded Go East, a 50-person print-born agency, as a digital and social studio, and the name came with new positioning, new work to show, and new people. More in when an agency should rebrand.

How can an agency sell service design?

Sell a workshop with a deliverable to a client you already have, and connect the map to work your team can build. At Catalyst Studios, one of Minnesota's first human-centered design studios, that is how the practice grew from one person to more than twenty. More in selling service design to clients.

What does it cost?

Agency AI training is $2,000 for a half day and $3,500 for a full day. A service design workshop starts at $3,500. Interim leadership and pitch help are priced monthly by the day, and prototypes are $150 an hour or a fixed quote. Anything over $3,000 can be paid by the month, no interest.

Case studies

Phillips Beverage Co. · 2002 The Phillips UV site, a One Show Merit in 2002. How a two-person digital team at Olson built the Phillips UV vodka site, a One Show 2002 Interactive Merit, for a launch with no TV, print, or outdoor.

Questions

Will you work under our agency's name?

Yes. Much of my consulting has gone out under agencies' names, and your client relationship stays yours.

Can you cover for a creative director who left?

Yes, for a stretch. Interim leadership is priced monthly by the day, with a plan to hand off to whoever you hire.

Do you work with agencies outside Minneapolis?

Yes. Pitch help and training work remotely, and I come on site anywhere in the Twin Cities.

Do you train agency teams on AI with our own client work?

Yes, on real, non-confidential jobs, so the team leaves with work done and a process they will keep using.

Have you run an agency yourself?

Yes. I was a partner at Catalyst Studios, grew it from one person to more than twenty, and sold it, and I ran creative at Thread.

Should my agency hire a creative technologist?

When ideas keep getting sold that nobody can build. More in hiring a creative technologist.

Owners in agencies also ask

How can an agency sell service design to its clients?Sell one workshop with a clear deliverable to a client who already trusts you, and tie the map to work your agency can build next. Clients approve a day that ends with a blueprint and a ranked fix list. A service design workshop with me starts at $3,500 for a day, and I can run it under your agency's name.
How do I choose a branding agency in Minneapolis?Look for work in your category and at your size, meet the people who will do the work, and get in writing what you receive: naming, identity, voice, and guidelines. Ask for the price up front and call two references. With me, identity starts at $2,500 and naming and a full brand at $6,000.
Should I hire a consultant or an agency?Hire an agency when you need a team producing a lot of work at once: campaigns, content, ads, a large rollout. Hire a consultant when you need a senior person's judgment and that person doing the work, on a smaller scope. Many companies do best with both: a consultant who directs, and an agency that produces.
Should my agency hire a creative technologist?Hire one when your pitches keep promising things nobody in the building can build, or when good ideas die in the handoff from creative to development. A creative technologist talks to both sides, prototypes the idea before it is sold, and keeps the pitch buildable. If the work is not steady yet, bring one in part time at $150 an hour or as an interim lead by the month.
When should an agency rename or rebrand itself?Rename when the name describes work you no longer sell, when clients keep hiring you for the thing you have outgrown, or when good people will not apply. A new name only works if the positioning, the work you show, and who you hire change with it. Naming and a full brand with me start at $6,000.
Can my agency bring in a senior person for one pitch?Yes, and it is common. Agencies bring in a senior freelance lead for a pitch, a launch, or a new service line when they do not want to hire for it yet. With me it is $150 an hour or a monthly seat, I can work under your agency's name, and I have done it for Minneapolis agencies since 2001.
How can my agency add AI services without hiring an AI team?Start by using AI inside your own work, train the team on real client jobs, and bring in a senior AI lead part time for the client work you cannot do yet. Sell one small, clear AI offer first, like an AI audit or a workflow automation, and grow from what clients actually buy. Hire full time only when the work is steady.
Who can train my agency's staff on AI?Someone who has run an agency team and builds with the tools every day. The training should be hands-on, on your own client work, with the creatives and the account people in the same room. A half day is $2,000, a full day $3,500, and it should end with a one-page policy your clients can read.

Tell me what the agency is short on this quarter.

Thirty minutes is usually enough to know whether I can help, and what it would cost.

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