As a leader of The Creative Studio—Morgan Stanley’s in-house agency—I help drive a best-in-class model that delivers advertising, marketing, and design solutions across every channel of the Firm’s global brand.
Below is a selection of some of my favorite projects from over the years, presented in no particular order.
Below is a selection of some of my favorite projects from over the years, presented in no particular order.
International Wealth management Rebrand
The IWM Marketing team reached out to the Creative Studio with a straightforward ask:
they wanted to revitalize their design suite and align their materials with the Firm’s latest brand standards. Through our discovery phase and initial conversations with the IWM team, we found there was a broader opportunity to support the group’s business goals by reimagining their brand from the top down, including their visual identity, customer narratives and market positioning.
they wanted to revitalize their design suite and align their materials with the Firm’s latest brand standards. Through our discovery phase and initial conversations with the IWM team, we found there was a broader opportunity to support the group’s business goals by reimagining their brand from the top down, including their visual identity, customer narratives and market positioning.
Thanks to the comprehensive up-front discovery work, The Creative Studio was able to deliver ahead of schedule and under budget by $60k by delivering the strategy early, which was swiftly approved by the IWM team. By going beyond the initial ask of simply updating designs, we delivered additional expertise and capabilities. The results is a strong brand foundation that can support their business’s growth, while helping Morgan Stanley stake a claim in this unique market sector.
Morgan Stanley at Work Rebrand
MSAW is a unique sub-brand of Morgan Stanley. They deliver workplace financial solutions that help employees build financial well-being, and help employers attract and retain top talent.
As a means of differentiation within the benefits provider space, and to appeal to a younger employee demographic, MSAW adopted an illustrative approach to their brand. Over the years, this library of imagery evolved to encompass varying scenarios and characters to ensure all communications spoke directly to the audience and subject matter. Color and typography also evolved with the larger updates to the Firm's brand which meant continuous maintenance and enhancements.
The results spoke for themselves: 83% of employees noted the brand felt unique/differentiated against industry competitors. 84% said the brand prompted them to want to learn more about the offerings. And a stunning 95% of employees polled used positive descriptors when referencing the MSAW brand.
The Creative Studio
While there has always been a form of "Creative Services" within Morgan Stanley over the past many decades, it was in 2021 that The Creative Studio took it's current form. With support from Oliver, we have stood up a global team of Creative Directors, designers, account and project managers who work with us each day to deliver award winning work. As an internal agency who competes with external creative houses, it is critical for us to define ourselves with our own brand. What sets us apart is the simple fact that we are insiders - each of us are subject matter experts in the Morgan Stanley brand, the financial marketplace, and have cultivated relationships with the stakeholders we need to collaborate with.
I led the team over a months long branding effort to set The Studio apart in all touchpoints - from our pitch decks and our estimates, our website to our email signatures, our strategy to our tonality. The result has been a massive shift in perception of The Studio from being simply a reactionary design team, to a strategy-first agency who transforms creative vision into competitive power.
