Scaling creative delivery across Whitbread’s multi-brand portfolio through a unified Creative Operating Model.

ROLE
Head of Studio | Creative Operations Lead
Responsible for creative operations, delivery governance and stakeholder alignment across Whitbread’s multi-brand portfolio.

CONTEXT
As Whitbread’s in-house studio expanded to support Premier Inn, hub, ZIP and seven restaurant brands, creative demand increased rapidly across BAU activity, national campaigns and complex brand initiatives. Processes had not evolved with demand, limiting visibility, prioritisation and governance across the creative delivery lifecycle.

IDEA
Designed and led the implementation of a unified Creative Operating Model, standardising intake, prioritisation, resourcing and delivery across brands while introducing clear checkpoints, shared ownership and real-time visibility.

SCOPE
Led implementation of the operating model across Whitbread’s multi-brand portfolio, aligning marketing, brand, CRM, digital and studio teams around a shared creative delivery framework.

DELIVERY
Introduced structured workflows, prioritisation frameworks and governance checkpoints to improve visibility, coordination and delivery consistency. Delivered stakeholder education to embed the new operating model, helping teams understand the creative lifecycle, decision points and shared responsibilities.

IMPACT
The Creative Operating Model increased creative output by 50% and improved speed to market by 25%, transforming Whitbread’s in-house studio from reactive production into a strategic enabler of consistent brand delivery across brands and national campaigns.