The Brief

Skift was a fast-growing travel intelligence platform with a strong editorial voice and a sales team ready to monetize it — but no creative infrastructure to deliver for brand partners. The opportunity was to build an in-house content studio that could produce world-class branded content without diluting the editorial product.

The Approach

I designed the studio model, brought it to market, and ran it. In year one that meant building the pitch framework, creating the first capability decks, and personally developing every concept that went to clients. The offering scaled from sponsored articles into research reports, video series, interactive microsites, podcasts, event activations, and white-label agency work. I staffed the team — strategists, producers, analysts, writers — and led creative and partnership strategy for clients including Mastercard, Hyatt, Accor, Brand USA, Destination Canada, Amazon Web Services, and Visa.

The Outcome

SkiftX became the company’s top revenue stream and a recognized model for how niche media companies can build agency-grade content operations. The studio ran for six-plus years before I moved into a company-wide role as Head of Creative Strategy, overseeing brand and design across five editorial platforms and Skift’s flagship events.